Lakers’ Jarred Vanderbilt embraces tough defensive assignment

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Memphis Grizzlies moved the basketball swiftly down the court in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Lakers, pushing the pace during one of many frenetic sequences Sunday. Jarred Vanderbilt lagged behind. The Lakers’ small forward had a different assignment.

Instead of chasing after the ball, Vanderbilt’s job was to cling to Grizzlies guard Ja Morant like lint.

It wasn’t as if Vanderbilt turned his back on the game in order to focus solely on Morant, the Grizzlies’ best player and their leading scorer with an average of 26.2 points during the regular season. Vanderbilt did keep an eye on what was happening around him, but his focus remained on Morant.

If Morant had the ball in his hands, then Vanderbilt guarded him tightly.

If Morant didn’t have the ball, then Vanderbilt guarded him tightly.

The final statistics indicate Vanderbilt lost the battle, but did he really?

Morant scored 18 points on 8-for-14 shooting, playing spectacularly at times before he was forced from the game after aggravating a right hand injury after a fall to the court with 5:48 left in the Lakers’ 128-112 victory over the Grizzlies. Vanderbilt scored four points on 2-for-4 shooting.

Lakers coach Darvin Ham had a different view of the one-on-one matchup.

“It’s a testament to him,” Ham said of Vanderbilt, “and it’s a teachable moment for all the young basketball players out there. They just think it’s all about making 3s and dunking on people. Whatever. If you’re able to lock in defensively, rebound, really embrace that role, there will always be a place for you on a high-level basketball team and in a high-level league such as the NBA.

“So, his ability to just lock in and be selfless, take the tough matchups, diving on the floor, doing the dirty work, setting screens, going to the second and third actions when he’s involved, it’s great. It’s invaluable, and I’m just happy we have an asset like that on our roster.”

RUSSELL REBOUNDS

D’Angelo Russell’s poor shooting game in the Lakers’ play-in victory last week over the Minnesota Timberwolves didn’t deter him in the least when he returned to the court for Game 1 against the Grizzlies. He put his 1-for-9 clunker against the Timberwolves behind him in no uncertain terms.

In fact, Russell came out firing.

And missing.

He misfired on four of his first five shots.

And he kept shooting.

Finally, something clicked for him.

Russell scored 19 points on 7-for-17 shooting, including seven points on 3-for-6 shooting during the pivotal third quarter, when the Lakers turned a 65-59 deficit into a 96-90 lead. He also finished with four rebounds and seven assists in 36 minutes, a bounce-back game if there ever was one.

“That’s what I do, man,” Russell said. “Shot-maker, man. Just reading the game, honestly. At this time of the year, you’ve got to take what the game is giving you. If you’re not making shots or doing what you need to, you kind of have a feel for what else you can do to impact winning. For me, it was getting guys involved.”

Ham said he didn’t expect anything else from Russell after the Minnesota game.

“Sometimes you’ve just got to go out there and hoop,” Ham said. “I thought he was a lot more aggressive. He came out and missed the first couple of shots and I looked at him and I told him, ‘I want those same shots. Stay aggressive.’ He nodded his head and I thought he was great for us tonight. He was huge, hit some huge 3s when we needed them. I expect him to continue forward in the same fashion.”

CHESS MATCH

The Grizzlies said they planned to revisit their coverage of Rui Hachimura after he torched them for 29 points on 11-for-14 shooting, including 5 of 6 from beyond the 3-point arc, in Game 1. They seemed willing to let him try to beat them from the perimeter Sunday. It wasn’t a sound strategy.

Hachimura set a career playoff high, topping his previous best of 21 points.

“Hachimura got a lot of open 3s,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “We’ll continue to discuss the game plan. He played extremely well. I thought the ball moved really well for the Lakers tonight. We’ve just got to continue to go watch the film and see where we’ve got to make the necessary adjustments.”