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Marcus Smart’s assignment in Game 2 of the Lakers’ first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets was as challenging as it gets.
Guard Kevin Durant, the greatest scorer of all-time.
What was going through his mind?
“Oh s–t,” Smart told the California Post, chuckling. “Literally, oh s–t.”
Smart responded by transforming into a gnat that Durant couldn’t swat. He pestered him. He swarmed him. He made his life miserable.
He held Durant to 23 points, including just three points on 1-for-5 shooting in the second half of the Lakers’ 101-94 win over the Rockets. Durant, who was returning from a right knee injury, committed nine turnovers.
“Oh s–t worked out,” Smart told the California Post. “…He just makes me better as a defender. He tests me as a defender.”
Smart didn’t just get an “A” on that assignment. He was the best version of himself. He was a ball of energy. He was a sharpshooter. He was a paint attacker. He was a leader.
He had the second-most points of anyone on the court behind LeBron James (28), finishing with 25 points on 8-for-13 shooting from the field, including going 5-for-7 from beyond the arc. He also had seven assists, five steals and one blocked shot.
“Smart, he just had a killer game today,” Lakers coach JJ Redick said.
Funny enough, when the Lakers’ season was swirling the drain after Luka Doncic (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique) suffered injuries that could sideline them 4-6 weeks, Redick turned to Smart.
“We had a conversation in San Francisco,” Redick said. “I’m not going to share with you the details, but the biggest thing was just, because he has the voice he has, he can help create the belief and the confidence in our group.”
Redick tasked Smart with the impossible: Convince a disheartened team that they had a shot in the playoffs without their top two scorers.
Smart took that responsibility seriously.
Ever since the Lakers acquired him in July on a two-year, $11 million deal following a contract buyout with the Washington Wizards, he was hellbent on resuscitating his career.
The former Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 had atrophied into irrelevance amid two injury-riddled seasons with the Grizzlies and Wizards.
This was his chance to turn things around.
“Coming into this season, with all the doubts that everybody had about me, then our two best players go down and everyone’s looking around, like, ‘What are we going to do?” Smart told the California Post. “For JJ to say, ‘We have a guy over here that can make plays for us, that can take up some of that slack and we’re going to use him,’ that speaks volumes about the work that I’ve been putting in, the trust that they have in me and the trust that this team built.”
Smart convinced his teammates they could win. And on Tuesday, he demonstrated what unbridled effort looks like on both ends of the court.
He boxed up Durant. And he unleashed himself.
Smart’s journey to this moment was winding.
Back in January 2018, he nearly lost use of his right hand after punching a picture frame following missing a 3-pointer at the buzzer for the Celtics in a 108-107 loss to the Lakers.
Then, after carrying the Celtics to the playoffs in all nine of his seasons with the team, including the 2022 Finals, he was dealt to Memphis in 2023 as part of a three-team deal for Kristaps Porzingis.
That sent his career into a tailspin, alongside floundering franchises.
When he was at his nadir, the Lakers came calling. Doncic wanted to team up with him. Redick was also intrigued by the 32-year-old after playing against him in the playoffs and then closely studying his impact during the 2022 Finals when he served as a television analyst.
“It’s easy to write somebody off as being older or not being as good,” Redick said. “But all of the analytics defensively, the analytics as a secondary playmaker, they were all really favorable. So, we felt really comfortable bringing him on board.”
It was a smart gamble.
He has thrived in Los Angeles. He’s the cornerstone of the team’s defense. He was a finalist for the Teammate of the Year Award.
And with the Lakers’ backs seemingly against the wall in the first round of the playoffs, he has shined.
“I mean, he’s battle-tested,” James said. “The guy’s been to the Finals, been in multiple playoff games, big games in his career. So, obviously, he’s not afraid of the moment. He’s always been assigned some of the best players that ever played this game in his career. So, to have someone like that, you know, it just brings a lot [of] composure to our team as well.”
Things have turned around for Smart.
He’s showing what he can do. He’s reminding everyone he’s an elite defender. And he’s savoring every moment of it.
When asked what this opportunity means to him, he didn’t hesitate.
“Everything,” he told the California Post. “I thank God everyday for it. This is a dream. This is my dream. This is how I take care of my family. This is something that I love to do. It’s my safe space when things are going haywire for me in my regular life.
“And to be able to say, I have another chance to go out here and redeem myself is the best feeling you can have.”
English (US)