Marcus Smart has proven to be a pivotal piece for the Los Angeles Lakers in their playoff series against the Houston Rockets, though the veteran has to find a way to rally the group after dropping two consecutive games.
While the Lakers own a 3-2 series lead, the Rockets have to be feeling good about where they’re at as they’re heading back home for Game 6. Los Angeles seemed prime to close the series out in Game 5 as they had home court and Austin Reaves returned, but ended up losing in dispiriting fashion.
Going into Game 6, Smart set the mental expectation for himself and the group.
“We gotta play like our back’s against the wall,” Smart said. “We knew this was going to be a tough series. I think everybody knew that and it’s turning out to be exactly what we expected and now the fun begins.”
Smart has been in the position the Rockets are in before as the 2023 Celtics came back from down 3-0 in the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat before losing Game 7.
Given his unique perspective, Smart knows the Lakers need to play with desperation to close out the Rockets.
“Desperation. We gotta play desperate,” he said. “Every possession matters for us. You really gotta literally go out there and be ready to die. When I was on the other end that was our motto. Be willing to run through a wall and sacrifice your body for the betterment of the team. That’s what we’re gonna have to do now. We have to be the desperate team. We know they’re gonna come in to their place and be very desperate, very confident but we gotta be able to respond in a good way.”
A young and hungry team like Houston can overcome their collective lack of playoff experience by playing harder on both ends of the floor, so Smart and Los Angeles have to be able to match that.
Winning on the road in the playoffs is a tall enough task, but to close out a team is an entirely different story. It will be interesting to see how Smart and company handle a raucous Rockets crowd on Friday night.
Marcus Smart accountable for turnovers
Turnovers have killed the Lakers in this series so far and Smart was the primary culprit in Game 5 with six of his own. He was accountable after the loss, knowing he and the team need to be better to end this series.
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