Marcus Smart is only four years removed from winning the Defensive Player of the Year award. However, injuries and trades derailed him, limiting him to 54 games and zero playoff appearances for two teams in the last two seasons. He found a home with the Los Angeles Lakers last offseason, and is now a key contributor to a playoff team.
Smart has scored 40 points, dished out 15 assists and tallied six steals through two games against the Houston Rockets, two wins for the Lakers. Now, as they head to Houston with a 2-0 series lead and Smart playing easily his best basketball in years, the veteran guard spoke about how happy he is to be back in this position.
“For me, it’s very important,” Smart said. “I’m very grateful to be doing this. I thank God every day, because I could’ve been out of the league, right? Injuries and things like that. So to be able to be back on this stage again, making the plays that I’m making with these guys, with this team, this organization, I’m just grateful.”
Smart has not only stepped up in a major way with Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves out of the lineup, but he has been a pivotal part of the team for the entire season. He has anchored the team’s defense from the perimeter and has been a verbal and emotional leader when the team has needed it.
It’s hard to tell exactly where the Lakers would be without Smart this season, and it’s possible this stop was one of his last opportunities to show he can stay healthy and still be a quality defender before being out of the league, as he says.
Smart will play a big role in however far the Lakers can go this season.
LeBron James describes on-court connection with Marcus Smart
It’s almost a shame that it took until LeBron James’ 23rd season and Smart’s 12th for the pair to team up. They spent the entirety of Smart’s first seasons in the league as rivals, when James was on the Cleveland Cavaliers and Smart was on the Boston Celtics.
But their play styles are a perfect fit, and younger versions of themselves could have legitimately been unstoppable together. James recognized that, and spoke about what he loves about playing with Smart and how the veteran guard has helped the team through losing their two top scorers ahead of the postseason.
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