The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a 111-89 loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday night, leading them to fall to 34-22 on the season. Although the team was heavily criticized for this performance, Lakers guard Marcus Smart remains confident.
During practice on Monday, Marcus Smart spoke with the media to reiterate that the Purple and Gold had the necessary roster depth to compete, supplementing this by highlighting the challenges the team had faced this season.
“We’re good. The talent is there, we’ve got the pieces. It’s just making them mesh,” Smart commented. “We haven’t been healthy, which is a big part. When you’re trying out new pieces, you’ve eventually got to be healthy. There’s different lineups at play, but I think that’s going to help us in the long run because we got to see different lineups with guys in different spots and roles that they’re not used to.”
“We definitely have some work to do, everybody knows that, but we’re hanging in there. The objective is that everybody in this league is coming around at the right time and getting ready to play the best basketball they can play at the right time.”
There is some merit to Marcus Smart’s statement. Due to the Lakers’ injury issues this season, L.A. has been forced to experiment with different lineups, leading to an overall lack of consistency in the rotation.
Health has most certainly been a problem for the Purple and Gold, and the additional chemistry issues this has caused cannot be understated. Regardless, even with a healthy roster, there is reason to believe that the team does not have enough.
The Lakers Do Not Inspire Confidence As Contenders
Marcus Smart’s faith in the roster depth may be considered noteworthy, but it is far from being reassuring. With the game against the Celtics being a clear depiction of the Lakers’ present shortcomings, there’s very little that can justify such a showcase.
The Celtics act as an antithesis to the Lakers in this scenario. Despite losing several key players in free agency last year, Boston displayed tremendous resilience by rallying around Jaylen Brown and asserting itself as a competitive unit even without one of their superstars.
In comparison, the Lakers have all of their stars healthy, but the lack of chemistry between the three has been acknowledged. When additionally factoring in issues with execution and tactical breakdowns, the Purple and Gold set themselves up to fail.
The harsh reality of the current situation is that the Lakers do not inspire much faith as title contenders. Although they are tied for fifth in the West and could very well secure a playoff berth, their chances of actually competing for the title, especially in a deep Western Conference, are quite slim.
