What happened to Jarred Vanderbilt? Status explored as key LA Lakers player ruled out for second game

LA Lakers starting forward Jarred Vanderbilt is expected to miss Thursday's game against the Phoenix Suns, his second absence already, due to left heel soreness. He suffered the injury at the start of the preseason, and the soreness has reportedly worsened.

Vanderbilt is listed as sidelined due to left heel bursitis. It isn't known how long he'll be out.

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What can we expect from the LA Lakers vs Phoenix Suns matchup on Thursday?

Phoenix Suns v Los Angeles Lakers

It's only the beginning of the season, and fans are already being treated to playoff-worthy matchups. Tuesday's opening night saw the LA Lakers go up against the Denver Nuggets, then the Phoenix Suns against the Golden State Warriors. Both matchups were close, but it was the Nuggets and Suns who came out on top.

Phoenix has momentum on its side after beating the Warriors on Tuesday 108-104. It did so with only the duo of Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. Its fellow big three star Bradley Beal was sidelined due to a back injury. According to several reports, Beal is unlikely to play on Thursday as well.

So what does that mean for LA? Based on what was witnessed on Tuesday when they faced the Nuggets, the Lakers seem to be a more solid team now. The fact that a newly formed team kept up with the defending champions already says a lot. The only real issue their team has is chemistry. Given that they're technically a new squad, a lot of adjustments and fine-tuning needs to be done.

The LA Lakers versus Phoenix Suns game will likely be an even matchup. Both teams are somewhat new, but Phoenix has a slight advantage in terms of offensive prowess. Unless Anthony Davis, Austin Reaves and D'Angelo Russell help LeBron James in scoring, the Suns could win by a small margin on Thursday.