The Lakers’ win over the Rockets in Game 3 on Friday put them in such a commanding position that thoughts of future series could really start creeping into minds.
Not only has no team come back from a 3-0 deficit in NBA history, but the way the Lakers beat the Rockets sure made it feel like this series is over. Now, fans can start thinking of a second round series and the potential return Austin Reaves and Luka Dončić.
But Marcus Smart absolutely will not be doing that.
After his heroics helped the
Lakers steal a win, Smart was asked postgame if he and the team has thought about the ramifications of winning these games and extending their postseason. Smart decisively pushed back.
“It’s not over,” Smart said. “We got one more. We’re in their home and nobody wants to get embarrassed in their home. We got them in a nail-biter tonight, so it’s one more. We can’t worry about what happens after that because we got to take care of [the game]. We’ll worry about that after the game. Right now, Sunday is the only thing on our mind.”
This is exactly the type of mindset you’d want your veteran leader to have. Everyone else can think about the future, but if Smart is preaching about the present, then you can have confidence that the team will follow suit.
The Rockets will likely respond in one of two ways in Sunday’s Game 4. They could let the demoralizing way they lost the game snowball and, with a head coach actively throwing them under the bus, give up on the season. Or they could look to save face, avoid the embarrassment of being swept on their home floor and come out fighting as they did for most of the second half.
However they approach the game, the Lakers need to have the same approach. It’s going to be a tough challenge just because the Lakers’ starters and top players played heavy minutes, but this is still the playoffs where one game can swing anything.
Again, though, having Smart as one of the leading voices should give Lakers fans hope the team has the right mindset.
“We got to be like a lion,” Smart said. “We got to have that killer instinct. We got them on the ground. We just got to finish them off and keep our foot on their neck.”
Join the conversation!
Sign up for a user account and get:
- Fewer ads
- Create community posts
- Comment on articles, community posts
- Rec comments, community posts
- New, improved notifications system!
You can follow Jacob on Twitter at @JacobRude or on Bluesky at @jacobrude.bsky.social.
