Having veterans is an integral piece to becoming a championship team in the NBA and the Los Angeles Lakers added one in Marcus Smart this past offseason to bring energy and effort.
Those early dividends paid off to begin this season, but Los Angeles’ success came screeching to a halt these past couple of weeks. An interesting stat is that all 11 of their losses have been by double digits, so they have not managed to overcome deficits well.
However, if L.A. can keep it close in crunch time, they are undefeated. On Friday night against the Memphis Grizzlies, it was another clutch game for the Lakers and they came out with another win.
Smart believes having veterans like himself, Luka Doncic and LeBron James certainly plays a role in not losing the final five minutes.
“I definitely think it has something to do with it,” he said. “It’s not the full story, but it definitely helps when guys like LeBron, Luka and myself have been in [those situations]. That’s part of the game. We gotta obviously figure out how to win games that’s not in crunch time and that matters. But it’s good to have those moments because a lot of times, especially down the line, games come down to crunch time. So to win those games is big.”
Defense has been a flaw for the Lakers, especially during this recent stretch, but the former Boston Celtic believes their effort goes up when the game is on the line.
“Just go out there and do it,” Smart said. “Everybody is trying to do it in this league and just understand that we’re not perfect, things are gonna happen. But do everything you can to the best of your ability and that’s all we can ask for. Usually when you do that, you get a good result, usually, especially when the effort is there. And that’s all we’re asking for, just constant bringing urgency on not just the offensive end, but defensive end as well.”
Obviously, it is a great sign for L.A. to be undefeated in clutch games during the first half of the regular season. Yet, they need to find other ways to win as well to keep up their current pace.
The perception of the Lakers is that if they are trailing at halftime, they will fold. Time will tell if those trends sustain or if a middle ground is eventually found.
LeBron James happy to have Marcus Smart on Lakers,
Before arriving in Los Angeles, Smart dealt with plenty of hurdles, but he returned to a winning situation for the first time in a few years. His defensive leadership has been impactful to begin this year and James is happy to have Smart on the team.
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