One of the standouts for the Lakers off the bench this season has been Marcus Smart. Brought in after a couple of disappointing seasons since being traded from the Celtics, Smart has been rejuvenated in LA and has made a positive impact on a nightly basis.
The only thing that has slowed that impact, unfortunately, has been a recent back injury. Smart has not played in the team’s last three games with back spasms and is listed out for Thursday’s game against the Raptors.
Prior to the most recent contest against the Suns, head coach JJ Redick gave an update on Smart’s status that was both encouraging but did not paint the picture of an immediate return.
“He was feeling a little tightness – I guess it was three games ago now – before the game,” Redick said, “played through it, tightened up after and it was really tight the next day, the day before Thanksgiving. So, we got imaging. Imaging was unremarkable. Looked like a normal 11-year NBA veteran, We’ve all gotten that MRI.
“We’re not concerned long term. It’s a day-to-day thing. I had a number of those like week-to-two-week episodes during a stretch of my career when I played for the Clippers. It would just pop up and you would feel like you’re progressing and then it would kind of plateau. So we expect him to be back soon. It’s not a long-term thing.”
The hopeful way of looking at things would be that Smart is ready for a return, but not in a back-to-back, which the Lakers have on Thursday and Friday. Even if that’s not the case, it sounds like Smart is near a return.
Without him, the Lakers’ lack of defense otherwise has been noticeable. The team struggles in that department even with Smart healthy, so having him out means the team has effectively no defensive presence.
It’s a testament to his play and impact this season that it’s not a controversial opinion or hot take to say the Lakers need Smart back. He provides lots of things to the game, tangible and not, that the Lakers need.