The Los Angeles Lakers will not have the services of big man Jaxson Hayes for Saturday night’s huge matchup in Beantown against the Boston Celtics. Instead, it will be Jarred Vanderbilt, who will start for LA as center against the reigning NBA champions on the road, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.
“Jarred Vanderbilt is starting at center tonight for the Lakers, the team says,” posted McMenamin on X (formerly Twitter).
Hayes’ absence is not a completely surprising development for the Lakers, who are coming off a 113-109 overtime win over the New York Knicks last Thursday. They had Hayes listed as doubtful before he got ruled out.
Entering this meeting with the Celtics, the Lakers have only played Vanderbilt as center in just 20 percent of his time on the floor in the 2024-25 NBA season. He’s mostly operated as a power forward this campaign, but with Anthony Davis no longer around and Hayes sidelined with an injury, Vanderbilt will have to find a way to deliver the goods for the Lakers as a center.
However, the 25-year-old Kentucky Wildcats product should be able to get help in the frontcourt from the likes of Trey Jemison III and Alex Len. The Lakers could also try to give Dorian Finney-Smith a run at the five when running a smaller lineup on the floor.
Vanderbilt entered Saturday with season averages of 4.1 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists while shooting 49.1 percent from the floor with a 55.5 effective field goal percentage through 17 games.
Hayes has been playing well of late, emerging as a favorite target by Lakers superstar guard Luka Doncic. He had 19 points on a perfect 8-for-8 shooting from the field in last Tuesday’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans and eight points on 3-for-5 shooting in the victory versus the Knicks. His next chance to see action will come on Monday night against the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center.
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