It didn't even take a full game for the Los Angeles Lakers to quickly discover the drawbacks of bringing in Marcus Smart. There were encouraging moments of effort and energy that Smart should be credited for. There was also a brutal stretch of adjustment that was hard to ignore.
In just the first half alone, Smart racked up four fouls and three turnovers. The counting stats being ugly would be a problem all on their own. However, it is a deeper assessment of what those figures represent that should be more concerning.
Smart looked like a player who had only played 54 games over the past two NBA seasons. The pace of the game was something the Lakers guard was noticeably struggling to keep up with, leading to the foul trouble due to his poor positioning. It certainly did not help playing against an active team like the Golden State Warriors during his debut in Los Angeles.
This is only the first matchup. These kind of growing pains were always to be expected. For the Lakers, it will still be a tough blow trying to navigate through them while dealing with the bigger picture of the start to the new campaign.
Smart's struggles showcase the path back to old form in LA will be long
It would have been a lovely experience for Los Angeles to simply have Smart walk through the doors of the building and immediately look like the Boston Celtics version of himself. Expecting that from the get-go is a foolish hope.
Quite frankly, the Lakers may never really see that player in purple and gold. However, they would be more than happy to at least get a reasonable fraction of who that guy was.
Smart will need on-court reps to really ramp up and get back to being a steady contributor once more. The Lakers will need to afford him that luxury. However, that does not come without its difficulties.
Los Angeles is already missing LeBron James due to his sciatica injury. The extra ball handling, scoring, and defensive presence from Smart, in ample substance, would have been a great lift for the Lakers. It does not appear as though they can count on that just yet.
The Lakers will need to provide Rob Pelinka with enough encouragement during their start to the new season to instill a belief that this is a team worth investing in. The quicker Smart gets back to form, the easier of a sell that becomes.