Marcus Smart Issues Blunt Message To Lakers Before First-Round Clash vs. Rockets

The Los Angeles Lakers are facing overwhelming odds in their first-round playoff series against the Houston Rockets. Sans Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, it all falls on LeBron James, Deandre Ayton, and Marcus Smart to carry the bulk of the load.

This week, in a recent chat with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin, Smart opened up on what his team can expect and how they should respond to being seen as easy pickings right now. Unsurprisingly, his message was centered around aggression and passion, and involved calling on teammates to avoid being punked.

“They’re going to try to come in and punk us,” said Smart. “And if you will allow that, you will be punked. And I don’t think we have any guys that are going to be punked on this team. So, we might not be the most athletic and strongest, but we have to have the most heart.”

Marcus just recently returned to the Lakers’ lineup after missing nine games with an ankle contusion. He was sidelined for nearly three weeks before making his comeback against the Suns on Friday, but he’s clearly still warming up after scoring a combined 11 points over the last two games. Fortunately, he’ll have the next week to ramp up into playoff action, and his play will be a major factor in the upcoming series with averages of 9.3 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.4 blocks per game on 30.5% shooting and 33.1% shooting from three.

Without Doncic and Reaves (who have been their best players all year), Smart is holding down the locker room, and he knows the odds are stacked against his Lakers team. More importantly, the 32-year-old knows that the Rockets will be playing with nothing held back as they seek to exploit a weakened Lakers roster. How the Lakers respond will likely determine the series, and it will only push the Rockets to play harder.

At fifth in the West (52-30), Houston isn’t an enemy to be taken lightly. Between Kevin Durant, Alperen Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Reed Sheppard, they have a core that can compete with any lineup, along with a supporting cast (Tari Eason, Clint Capela, Dorian Finney-Smith) that can more than hold their own. This is a team that’s had title aspirations from the jump, and they have a golden opportunity after drawing the Lakers in round one.

That’s why it’s so important for the Lakers to come into this series ready for abuse. The Rockets will sense weakness, and they’ll be looking to demoralize Los Angeles with a series of decisive victories. For Smart, coach Redick, and the rest of the Lakers’ crew, the key to success is to match their intensity and minimize mistakes on the court. Specifically, Redick wants the Lakers to hone their rebounding and ball-handling to keep up with Houston.

In the end, while the Lakers cannot win with talent or depth alone, they can still succeed by outworking the enemy. Consistent effort, total focus, and attention to detail are what will make the biggest difference for the Lakers, and only with those aspects can they hope to make a run. In many ways, these next few weeks will be a major test of spirit for the Lakers, as they fight to save their season and keep their championship hopes alive.