Los Angeles Lakers: Vander Blue gets called up from the G-League

With Lonzo Ball out the next two games for the Los Angeles Lakers, the team has made the decision to bring up Vander Blue from the G-League.

The Los Angeles Lakers have fallen on hard times in the month of the December, and a few injuries to starters haven’t helped them get wins. Recently, it was announced that Lonzo Ball will be out for the at least the next two games for the Lakers, as he won’t be traveling with the team.

Without Ball, the Lakers offense has really struggled. Not having a reliable traditional point guard has hurt the offense, as they have looked really poor at times. In the first two games without Ball, the Lakers started Jordan Clarkson in his place.

In his two starts, Clarkson wasn’t very efficient, and he clearly looked more comfortable coming off the bench for the Lakers. In their most recent game, the Lakers decided not to use a point guard at all. This, of course, didn’t work out well either.

Since the next two games are on the road, the Lakers will be without Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as part of his plea deal. Since they will be out as well as Ball, the Lakers’ backcourt is a bit short-handed. Knowing this, the Lakers made the decision to call up Vander Blue from the G-League.

With Blue coming up, the Lakers have sent down both Thomas Bryant and Ivica Zubac to the South Bay Lakers. Even with Brook Lopez out, neither Bryant or Zubac has played much, as most minutes have gone to Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr., Andrew Bogut, and Kyle Kuzma in the frontcourt.

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So far in the G-League, Blue is playing very well once again as the reigning MVP. This season, Blue is averaging 21.0 points and 5.5 assists per game. While Blue is not a traditional point guard, he will be able to give the Lakers some minutes in the backcourt. As a pretty good scorer, Blue might be able to fill in Clarkson’s role if Walton moves him back into the starting five.