Right after the Los Angeles Lakers’ 107-91 loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Wednesday, there was a minor incident on the court. Shortly after the final horn sounded, Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt and the Spurs’ Jeremy Sochan had some words for each other, and Vanderbilt appeared to poke Sochan in the face, which resulted in Julian Champagnie shoving Vanderbilt.
No penalties were assessed, at least at the time of the incident. But Sochan took a minor shot at Vanderbilt afterward by claiming the forward “wasn’t emotionally stable” during the incident.
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Via ESPN:
“I must’ve said something to him during the game, and maybe it wasn’t very nice,” Sochan said. “He must have taken it in the wrong way and told me to see him after the game. So, I did. And we just had a polite exchange. I was, I think, intact and very joyful and the other person wasn’t. Yeah, he just wasn’t emotionally stable in that moment. So, it’s something he has to work on. It’s just life.”
Vanderbilt fell out of coach JJ Redick’s rotation and didn’t play at all for a stretch of eight straight games in November and December. But since returning to the rotation a few weeks ago, he has averaged 6.4 points and 5.5 rebounds in 22.9 minutes a game, and he has even hit 37.9% of his 3-point attempts during that time.
Even though he’s very limited offensively, he clearly gives Los Angeles a lift with his defense, rebounding and overall activity, and that is the type of thing that can temporarily get under the skin of an opposing player.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: Jeremy Sochan throws shade at Jarred Vanderbilt after recent incident