The Lakers' Defensive Utility in the Finals

Vanderbil's defensive role started to change and he was de-emphasized defensively, which is what his primary purpose is within the construct of the Lakers game plan. He is a defensive chess piece, not a two way chess. If you're not getting something from him defensively like they did in game one, where he was ball denying Steph all over the court and really limiting Steph's touches, then his overall utility falls. I'm not convinced that you can't deploy Jared Vanderbil on Jamal Murray, for example, to start games or on Michael Porter Jr. just as an option.