The Los Angeles Lakers will be without forward Jarred Vanderbilt for the foreseeable future as he's expected to miss multiple weeks due to a right foot injury, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Vanderbilt suffered the injury in the first half of the Lakers 114-105 victory over the NBA-best Boston Celtics.
This is the second major absence for the sixth-year player, as he already missed the first 20 games of the season due to a heel injury.
It'll be interesting to see how Los Angeles reacts to the absence of Vanderbilt as the NBA trade deadline rapidly approaches on Feb. 8.
Los Angeles has already struggled on the defensive end as of late, allowing over 130 points in four of their last five games, and will now be without one of their best defenders.
For everything Vanderbilt offers defensively, he's left as much to be desired on the other end.
The 24-year-old is averaging 5.2 points, his lowest since his sophomore year, on a 58 per cent true shooting rate through 29 games this season.
This is also the latest in a slew of injury news for the Lakers. The team has been without stars Anthony Davis (hip spasms) for two games and LeBron James (ankle) for their most recent contest.
Meanwhile, Cam Reddish (ankle) has missed four games, and Gabe Vincent has been sidelined following a knee procedure, having played only five games this year.
A tough pill to swallow for a Lakers team sitting at 25-25, the ninth spot in the Western Conference, as they try to climb out of the play-in mix and into a top-six spot.
Los Angeles is already rumoured as a buyer in the trade deadline market, linked to players like Atlanta's Dejounte Murray or Toronto's Bruce Brown, and another injury to a key player could increase their sense of urgency.
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