The Los Angeles Lakers got off to a strong start against the San Antonio Spurs. But a 23-4 run between the first and second quarters saw the Lakers go from a 2-point lead to a 17-point deficit and they were never able to catch back up from that point.
The Lakers’ defense has been an issue for much of the season as the roster just doesn’t have many players who are excellent perimeter defenders. One of those who does make his name on that end is Marcus Smart, who suited up for the first time in two weeks against the Spurs and he feels the Lakers need to recalibrate after their East Coast road trip.
“I think right now, obviously we haven’t been where we wanted to be,” Smart said of the Lakers defense. “Coming back from the East Coast and a long trip, we just gotta refocus, recalibrate. Right now, we’re kind of groggy and we’re seeing it out there. We feel it as players, the coaching staff, I’m sure fans feel it too. But yeah, we just gotta recalibrate and that’s really it. We’re gonna get it together, but right now we’re trying to find it and trying to find where we need to go.”
In terms of the primary issues the Lakers must fix, Smart pointed to communication and transition defense as areas of emphasis.
“For one, our lack of communication,” Smart said. “[The Spurs] does a really good job when it comes to in the open court in transition, they got one of the fastest players in the league in Fox, so we just didn’t do a good job of getting back and communicating with one another. We gotta fix that. That’s gonna be key for us. When we can get people in the halfcourt and set our defense, it makes it easier on us. We gotta get out and run and chasing from behind makes it a lot harder.”
But most important in the eyes of Smart, is the Lakers looking inward and really deciding whether they want to be a good defensive team, or just lay down and allow opponents to punk them.
“We’re gonna have to look at ourselves. We’re gonna have to really sit down with ourselves and figure that out,” Smart said. “Whatever it takes. This is a league where unfortunately, those things can happen. Everybody is good and everybody is working on their game and everybody wants to win, especially playing against us.
“Every time you come here and you play against the Lakers, we’re gonna get everybody’s best shot. So we really have to look ourselves in the mirror and figure out what we want to do. Lay down and get punked, or we’re gonna fight back. I’m not one to lay day and get punked, so hopefully we can find a way to fight back.”
If the Lakers don’t find a way to fight back it is only a matter of time before things start to fall apart and this great start to the season will be forgotten. If the Lakers plan on making a playoff run the defense has to improve and there is no way around that.
Lakers’ Marcus Smart hoping to build off strong shooting performance
One thing Marcus Smart did extremely well in his return to the court was shoot the ball as he knocked down eight 3-pointers and finished with 26 points. And he hopes to build on that performance and be a more consistent shooter going forward.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? It’s the best way to watch player interviews, exclusive coverage from events, participate in live shows, and more!
