So far we’re not off to a great start, but I think Vando’s absence is really underrated. Just looking at some stats on NBA.com, Lakers are:
20th in steals per game
23rd in deflections per game
29th in opponent second chance points per game
29th in Offensive Rebounds grabbed per game
29th in 3PT%
The way I see it Vando will help immensely by grabbing offensive and defensive rebounds, which he’s a beast at, and by getting steals/deflections with his energy on D.
Also, he can’t hurt our 3 Pt shooting much because we’re already at the bottom of the league in it.
Hopefully that heel heals (haha) and we can get him back in the starting 5 to clean up these issues!
Dlo and Reaves defensive issues were less glaring with Vando out there. He’s been sorely missed and we will see how huge his impact is when he returns to the starting lineup. It sucks that when we finally got the wing depth we’ve been craving for years the injury bug hit us so early. I’m looking forward to him and Rui coming back and helping us get on the right track