Four games of frustration were enough for JJ Redick to pull the plug on Kevon Looney for at least one night. Against the Los Angeles Clippers, it was Jarred Vanderbilt getting the nod for bench minutes over the veteran center. It helped pave the way for a decisive 103-87 win for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Vanderbilt delivered strong impact off the bench. Despite being held scoreless, Vando chipped in with hustle and energy on the glass and on the defensive end. In short, he gave you the strengths that make his weaknesses easier to stomach.
For as good as Vanderbilt was, somewhere in the back of Redick's mind had to be a thought about how this could all look when it is Adou Thiero in there for the Lakers. The second-year forward continues to miss games with a knee injury. Eventually, that should no longer be the case.
Vanderbilt was impressive when sharing the court with Sandro Mamukelashvili as the frontcourt combination. That is something that was always thought possible. If Vando can have that type of success alongside Mamu, Thiero should be perfectly poised to deliver even better results.
Adou Thiero should be even more capable of pairing well with Sandro Mamukelashvili
Thiero can do a lot of the things that Vanderbilt is capable of. His motor and athleticism allows for impact on defense and the boards as well, which was Vando's bread and butter against the Clippers.
The nod still must be given to Vanderbilt in terms of strength between the two. That gives the older forward certain advantages in terms of switching on bigs, or otherwise. However, Thiero also has him beat in a crucial area as well. That would be the offensive end as a whole.
Naturally, Thiero is still raw on that side of the court. The shot is still a work in progress. Plus, there continues to be a need for truly harnessing his athleticism in a consistently positive manner.
Even so, Thiero is a clear threat to score and that cannot always be said of Vanderbilt.
Adou can get up for the lobs that Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves throw. Thiero can also position himself in the open court to finish fastbreak opportunities. Even in a halfcourt set, the Lakers forward works on cutting to the basket off the ball. All of that makes him far from an afterthought.
The long and short of why there should be genuine excitement about Thiero securing a bench role alongside Mamukelashvili: Adou can deliver many of the good qualities that made Vando so effective, but bring more on offense. His return cannot come soon enough.
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