The Los Angeles Lakers got their first piece of good injury news in several weeks when Marcus Smart was cleared to return to the lineup on Friday night against the Phoenix Suns. Smart had missed L.A.’s last nine games with a right ankle contusion.
Smart’s impact was felt immediately, despite playing just 18 minutes off the bench. He had six points, five rebounds and seven assists and played a pivotal defensive role in holding the Suns to 73 points. He explained the feeling of missing time this late in the season and how he felt in his return.
“It’s been pretty stressful, honestly,” Smart said after the win. “Me as a competitor seeing my guys out there and not being out there to help, especially with things the way they are now, we’re down bodies. It’s been tough, but everybody in the organization, players, coaches, have been giving me full-time support. No rush, take your time, whenever you feel ready get back out there. There was no rush.
“The training staff, we’ve been doing everything possible day in and day out to try to expedite this while making sure we’re not sacrificing other things that can cause the ankle to flare up and we’re back at square one. So we felt like we passed all the tests, went through all the Xs and Os and everything checked out to get out there and give it a go. Today, it felt great, so I should be back out there again on Sunday.”
The Lakers were already without their top two scoring options in Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. Losing Smart — their best defensive player — as well rendered them ineffective against any other competitive team. Smart’s defense and leadership could give L.A. a puncher’s chance in a first round series with Doncic or Reaves.
Him feeling great in his return and saying that he’ll likely play on Sunday as well against the Utah Jazz is a hopeful sign that he can be at full strength when the playoffs begin.
JJ Redick knows everyone wants Lakers in playoffs
The teams making the playoffs have been solidified with one game remaining in the season. But teams are still jockeying for positioning, including the San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets. And head coach JJ Redick believes the reason for this is to try and face the injury-riddled Lakers at some point in the playoffs, whether that be in the first round or the second.
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