The Los Angeles Lakers (23-23) treated the home crowd to a scoring palooza Thursday night, as they overpowered the Chicago Bulls for a 141-132 victory. D'Angelo Russell led the team with 29 points, giving general manager Rob Pelinka more reasons to second-guess trading him. He made sure to share the attention with a notable role player, however.

“When y'all tweet make sure y'all give {Jarred Vanderbilt} some love, he played his a** off,” the 27-year-old guard said postgame, according to ClutchPoints' Michael Corvo.

Austin Reaves, who was also at the podium and in the middle of answering a question when Russell politely interrupted him, followed suit. “{Vanderbilt should be in here instead of me,” he chimed in. “I said I'd come sit in here and listen to DLo talk.”

Is Jarred Vanderbilt ready to fully shake off the injury rust?

Lakers' Jarred Vanderbilt with a big smile on his face

The praise is well-deserved. Vanderbilt became unleashed versus the Bulls, laving his imprint on both ends of the floor. The 24-year-old forward recorded 17 points on outstanding 8-of-11 shooting, five rebounds, three steals and one block in 27 minutes of action. After missing the first 20 games of the season with a heel injury, this big showing was surely euphoric for the man they call Vando.

There has been much chatter about what the Lakers need to do before the Feb. 8 NBA trade deadline passes them by, but the most inexpensive and possibly practical route to take is to simply trust the members of their existing supporting cast. Although Jarred Vanderbilt can't be expected to pack an offensive punch on a regular basis, he can realistically re-establish himself as a key contributor. The “other guys” stepping up is a simple yet proven formula that worked wonders for LA last year.

Consistency has eluded the team to this point, but if scuffling players who were instrumental to the 2023 playoff run can re-ignite, then there might not be a need for another drastic in-season adjustment.