When a team is shorthanded like the Lakers are, the only way to not only survive but thrive is for everyone who is available to step up.
The Lakers have gotten that during this postseason from Marcus Smart.
One of the ways he’s stepped up is as a vocal leader. As a 12-year veteran and the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year, Smart is well-respected not just in the Lakers’ locker room but across the NBA. When he talks, players listen.
When the Lakers lost Luka Dončić and Austin Reaves, they not only had
to play without their two best players but were suddenly down a pair of leaders.
Smart has helped fill the void they’ve left and is now an even more prominent floor general for the purple and gold. And it’s a big reason why the Lakers have been able to protect home court in this first-round matchup.
This elevation in leadership from Smart this postseason is a combination of him understanding the situation and Lakers head coach JJ Redick speaking with him before this series even began.
After LA’s Game 2 win over Houston, Redick didn’t delve into the details of his talk with Smart, but he did stress how important he is to the Lakers’ success.
“Him and I had a conversation coming off those three losses…in San Francisco,” Redick said. “I’m not going to share you the details, but the biggest thing was just he, because he has the voice he has, he can help create the belief and the confidence in our group. I think he’s done that.”
Smart’s already a starter when the team is fully healthy, so his adding more of his voice while key players are out has been crucial. This is the playoffs, and even with a less-than-full roster, it is an opportunity to go after the ultimate goal: the NBA title.
Smart knows better than most how rare these chances are. Injuries disrupted his career, and he went from playoff-contending teams in Boston to a struggling franchise in Memphis and a tanking one in Washington.
Now he’s back to playing important games in the playoffs, and he’s not just grateful, but seizing the moment.
“Me and JJ, we talk all the time, right,” Smart said. “Constantly talking to the staff to see what I can do to help. The coaches aren’t out there and I try to be that quarterback out there for the coaches, relaying messages, getting everybody together.
“That talk was just, to sum it up, was really just, ‘Hey, go play basketball, be you.’ To be able to have him trust me and then not only that, to have this team and these guys trust me to be able to do that, it’s something that I’m grateful for. It shows a lot. It shows the camaraderie. It shows the long way that we came and we’re going to continue to trust them.”
Beyond being a vocal leader, Smart has continued to do the things that make him an impactful player. He’s been diving for loose balls, putting his body on the line, taking charges and embracing all defensive assignments.
Smart’s also added some offensive potency to his repertoire. In LA’s Game 2 win over Houston, Smart scored 25 points, knocking down five 3-pointers, which was only two fewer than the entire Rockets team had in this contest.
The majority of the credit for Smart stepping up goes to him, but a tip of the cap also goes to Redick. Having a conversation with Smart and asking for more of him so the team can win is part of the game within the game. Redick’s job is to optimize what he has, and he is excelling in that during this playoff run.
It would’ve been easy to just give up and justify a lack of focus or effort as a result of LA losing Dončić and Reaves.
Instead of backing down, the Lakers have stepped up. Smart has spearheaded that mentality, LeBron James has also contributed and the rest of the team has followed.
You can follow Edwin on Twitter at @ECreates88 or on Bluesky at @ecreates88.bsky.social.
