The Los Angeles Lakers brought in veteran guard Marcus Smart to give the team a good perimeter defender who brings a level of toughness and intensity the team needs. Smart makes his biggest impact when he is creating havoc on defense and diving on the floor amongst other things that really give a team a spark.
That hustle and energy can be contagious and rub off on the rest of the team and when everyone is playing that hard all the time, the Lakers are tough to beat. In recent years, the Lakers have had very few players who can provide that type of impact, but it is apparent that Smart has been an important part of the Lakers’ early-season success.
While there are plenty of players who may dive on the ground from time to time, Smart doesn’t count those plays as real hustle that impacts the team. He believes many players fake hustle so they don’t get called out, but when you are really hustling you can feel it in your body, via Thuc Ngi Nguyen of the L.A. Times:
That’s what we call ‘fake hustle,’” guard Marcus Smart said. “It’s all for the cameras. It’s all just to look good so you don’t get in trouble in the film room. But when you’re playing hard, you can feel it. You can feel the way you’re playing, you can feel the way the energy. Your body can feel it. Your mind can feel it. And you’d be surprised how the game turns out because of that.
Smart was then asked how he feels the Lakers have graded out in terms of their hustle so far this year and he gave them a positive grade overall:
After the Lakers beat the Grizzlies, Smart gave the team a B+ in how hard it’s playing. But after Monday’s win in Portland in which Smith scored 25 points off the bench, Smart upgraded the rating to a B++.
There is always room to improve and the Lakers can certainly get better in some areas. But with Smart, Jarred Vanderbilt and Jake LaRavia, the Lakers have a group of players who bring that toughness and energy every time they’re on the court and the difference in the team is evident.
Lakers’ guard Marcus Smart believes Luka Doncic can average 40 points this season
While Marcus Smart sets the tone in terms of hustle, Luka Doncic does so offensively for this Lakers team and Smart believes the superstar guard is capable of maintaining his 40 points per game average all season long.
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