According to the California Post’s Khobi Price Vanderbilt was injured during the first half attempting to block an alley-oop for Chet Holmgren. Vanderbilt’s right pinkie hit the backboard as he swiped for the ball.
The 6-foot-8 forward immediately went to the ground in pain, holding his right hand near the Thunder bench. Some Oklahoma City players turned away when they saw Vanderbilt’s hand.
The loss of Vanderbilt would remove a frontcourt option for the underdog Lakers, who are already waiting for superstar Luka Doncic to return from his hamstring injury. Vanderbilt averaged 3.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 13.4 minutes per game against Houston during the first round.
He was benched during the decisive Game 6 after playing just six minutes in Game 5. He appeared in 65 games during the regular season, averaging 4.4 points and 4.5 rebounds.
Oklahoma City went on to win the opener, 108-90. Once Vanderbilt came out in the first half, the Lakers essentially went with an eight-man rotation until garbage time.
Vanderbilt has two years remaining on his four-year, $48M deal.
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