Lakers' Jarred Vanderbilt Out vs. Jayson Tatum, Celtics With Foot Injury

Los Angeles Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt will not return to Thursday night's game against the Boston Celtics due to right foot soreness.

Vanderbilt left the court with 46 seconds remaining in the second quarter. He had 10 points and had gone 2-for-3 from behind the arc before exiting the game.

The injury thins the Lakers' roster further after starters LeBron James and Anthony Davis were sidelined to injury prior to the game.

Rui Hachimura is likely to see more minutes in Vanderbilt's absence.

Hachimura started the third quarter in Vanderbilt's place.

Vanderbilt had recorded seven rebounds and three steals in 16 minutes of what was shaping up to be one of his best outings of the season.

The broadcast appeared to show Vanderbilt pivoting to guard Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, then wincing and hopping to avoid putting weight on his right foot.

After being examined courtside, Vanderbilt could then be seen limping as he headed to the locker room.

The game had marked just his fifth start of the season, as Vanderbilt was called up in the absence of James (left ankle peroneal tendinopathy) and Davis (bilateral Achilles tendinopathy and a left hip spasm) in the first game the two had missed simultaneously this season.

Vanderbilt has yet to be a regular in the 2023-24 Lakers starting rotation after missing the first 20 games of the season with an injury that the team initially classified as foot soreness before later defining as left heel bursitis.

The Lakers forward has played in 28 of 29 games since returning on Dec. 2, missing only one due to back spasms. He was averaging 10.6 points and 5.1 rebounds per game over his last seven appearances heading into Thursday's matchup.

This marks the second time in three games that Vanderbilt has made an early exit. On Monday against the Houston Rockets, Vanderbilt was ejected after an altercation with Rockets forward Dillon Brooks.