-
Dave McMenamin, ESPN Staff Writer
DENVER — Lakers forward Jared Vanderbilt has been sidelined since Feb. 1 with a sprained midfoot in his right foot, but is expected to return for Game 3 of Los Angeles' first-round series against the Denver Nuggets. A person familiar with the situation told ESPN. .
Vanderbilt has ramped up his on-court training over the past two weeks, officials told ESPN, and participated in one of his most intense workouts yet at Ball Arena on Monday morning.
Vanderbilt's availability will be determined based on his body's response in the coming days leading up to Thursday's Game 3 in Los Angeles.
Vanderbilt and Lakers backup big man Christian Wood have not been cleared to return as of Monday, team officials told ESPN, but Los Angeles remains “excited” that both players could return for the game against Denver. “I'm working on it,” he said.
Wood has been sidelined since February 14th due to an injury to his left knee that required arthroscopic surgery in March.
“Let's see how he reacts to what he did today,” Lakers coach Dervin Ham said when asked about Vanderbilt's morning workout. “Still, nothing will change in terms of new information. It's just a day-to-day thing. So we have to see how he endures the recovery process. Today he showed his strength at a fairly high level. So we'll see how he feels tomorrow. We'll just take it one day at a time.”
Known for his impact on defense, the 25-year-old Vanderbilt was in the best offensive shape of his career before being injured in the first half of a game against the Boston Celtics nearly three months ago.
In Vanderbilt's last eight games before hurting his foot, he was averaging 10.5 points on 66 percent shooting, 5.4 rebounds and 2.3 steals. And in those last six games, Vanderbilt averaged 11.3 points. This was the highest points averaged over six games in his six-year career, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
