The Los Angeles Lakers pounced on the chance to sign Marcus Smart in free agency, hoping the veteran would provide a boost on the defensive end.
So far, Smart has been as advertised as he plays with a certain edge that the Lakers need in their lineups. However, Smart’s efforts haven’t completely solved Los Angeles’ defensive woes as they rate as one of the worst teams on that end of the floor.
For example, the Lakers gave up 135 points in their loss to the Charlotte Hornets largely because they couldn’t contain their bigger guards and wings.
Smart acknowledged teams seem to have their best offensive nights against L.A. but also implored the roster to play with more urgency defensively.
“It doesn’t matter who it is. The team or the player doesn’t matter, when they play [against] us, everything goes through the roof. If they were shooting 20%, they shoot 50%. It’s unfortunate, but that’s part of the game. It’s tough. We have to figure it out. We must play [with] a little bit more urgency on that end, especially, and kind of impose our will,” Smart said.
“Teams are doing a really good job of picking straight matchups and picking certain plays that they want to help them. They’re doing a really good job of running on it. We have to figure it out. It’s not easy, especially when you play for the Lakers; you always are the hunted, no matter what. We’re always going to get everybody’s best game. We just have to figure out how to keep that under control.”
The Lakers have a road-heavy schedule coming up, but Smart sees it as an opportunity to regain their form.
“It’s big for us. Our schedule is a little chaotic right now. But everybody’s going through it at some point in the season. We got to figure it out. Nobody’s going to come save us. And we don’t need anybody to come save us. … We just got to dig down and find what we had against Atlanta.”
The level of desperation Los Angeles played with against the Atlanta Hawks offered a glimpse as to what they look like when they’re firing on all cylinders. Hopefully they can find that magic again, starting on Saturday against the Portland Trail Blazers.
Marcus Smart comfortable with direction Lakers are heading in
Smart has remained positive throughout the season, even when the Lakers are struggling. Despite the uneven performances recently, Smart is still comfortable with the direction the team’s heading in.
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