LA Lakers fans in complete agreement over ‘awesome’ star who ‘transformed the defense’ in win over Warriors

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LA Lakers fans in complete agreement over ‘awesome’ star who ‘transformed the defense’ in win over Warriors

The battle between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Golden State Warriors was between two teams who are trending in opposite directions and so it proved.

The LA Lakers rocked up at Chase Center and brushed aside the Golden State Warriors 118-108 to go fifth in the Western Conference.

The Warriors, on the other hand, are below the .500 mark again and have more soul-searching to do after a dry night from Steph Curry condemned them to a loss.

The Lakers were buoyed by the efforts of the usual suspects as Anthony Davis and LeBron James top-scored for them but another star was hailed as the true difference maker this game.

Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images

Davis scored 36 points, James followed with 25, and Lakers’ third ‘star’ Austin Reaves contributed 16 but the Lakers fans raved about the player who scored the least.

That is because Jarred Vanderbilt, on his return from injury after almost a year, did all the basics right and was a key part of a herculean defensive effort that kept the Warriors down.

His impact wouldn’t show up on the stat sheet but the fans were enamoured by his impact despite playing just 12 minutes.

“The Vando effect has completely transformed our defense,” wrote one account, adding a clip of Vanderbilt during a defensive possession where he switched to multiple players and caused a Warriors shot-clock violation.

“VANDO WAS OUT FOR 359 DAYS AND STILL MADE AN INSTANT IMPACT IN HIS FIRST GAME BACK,” wrote another, putting things into perspective.

“Vanderbilt was created by the Lord to be a defensive player in the NBA,” said another, in awe of his defensive impact.

Another said: “Jarred Vanderbilt does not look like he hasn’t played basketball in a year. Pretty insane.”

Skip Bayless echoed a similar sentiment: “WELCOME BACK, JARRED VANDERBILT. Finally. After missing a year. Now you can be the X factor LeBron & AD need, especially on defense. You’re like a crucial deadline pickup. Congrats, Bron.”

“Vanderbilt and Dorian Finney-Smith on the same team is a cheat code,” said another, clearly happy with the defensive effort of the duo.

Finally, one fan summed up his impact by calling him just two words- “Jarred Vanderbilt is a game changer!”.

“Like a new signing” is a cliche in sports whenever a player returns from a long-term injury and for the LA Lakers and Jarred Vanderbilt, that was prophetic.

LeBron James said after the game that the Lakers “missed him”, while JJ Redick said he was “awesome” who “did everything we needed him to do”.

With Dorian Finney-Smith’s minutes restriction easing up with every game, the Lakers finally look to have gathered the role players to maximize the strengths of their superstar duo.

Could a fifth ring be in the offing for LeBron James? A long way to go yet but they’re peaking at the perfect time!

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