The LA Lakers said that Jarred Vanderbilt will not be able to play in their home game against the Phoenix Suns at Crypto.com Arena.

Vanderbilt hasn’t played since October 7, which was the Lakers’ first practice game. He will now miss his second game in a row to start the 2023–24 season.

Vanderbilt signed a four-year deal, so he should be in the running for the fifth starting spot. Instead, he’s been sitting back and watching the team play. Taurean Prince was named the last starter, and he seems to be doing a great job with it based on how well he fits in with the other starters.

At first, it looked like a small injury, but now the Lakers and Vanderbilt are worried because the team hasn’t given them a time frame for his return. However, they are now calling the condition left heel bursitis after first calling it soreness.

Vanderbilt has had problems with his lower body before, and it looks like he’ll need some more time to fully recover.

Los Angeles added a few wings over the summer, so they can handle Vanderbilt’s loss for now. However, Darvin Ham would love to have him back because he’s one of their best perimeter defenders. The 24-year-old was taken off the court during the playoffs, but he’s still useful as an energy guy and flexible defender.

Rui Hachimura will likely still leave Prince on the bench and let him play most of the small forward minutes. Cam Reddish also played some minutes in the team’s first game, which was against the Denver Nuggets. He could play a bigger part if Vanderbilt has to miss more time.

Vanderbilt would have been useful against the Suns because he would have picked on Kevin Durant. Even though Devin Booker and Bradley Beal are both mentioned as doubtful, Prince will step in and take that matchup. The Lakers may be lucky, though.

Booker played great in the Suns’ first game of the season, but his left foot has been hurting him, and Beal hasn’t been able to play yet because his low back hurts.

Vanderbilt’s next game is on the road against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, but that is the first game of a back-to-back set. The team could also choose to have him miss that game. Instead, he could make his start on Monday against the Orlando Magic at home.

Cam Reddish has pain in his right foot and is listed as likely to play against the Suns.

Cam Reddish was also written down as hurt for the game against Phoenix with pain in his right foot, but he is still listed as doubtful. Reddish played well in his first game against the Warriors and could make a case for more playing time against the Suns.