The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Minnesota Timberwolves 120-106. The win saw them jump from fifth to third in the Western Conference playoff race.
Smart’s Defensive Impact
Marcus Smart reviewed Anthony Edwards’ shooting line in the box score after the game. Edwards, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ superstar, scored just 14 points. He went 2-for-15 from the floor, including 0-for-5 in the 23 possessions Smart guarded him.
Smart stifled Edwards, who averaged 26.8 points against the Lakers last spring. Smart joined the Lakers months after that first-round upset.
The win represented a glimmer of hope for this year’s Lakers squad. They have displayed too much inconsistency on both ends to be feared as a top contender in the coming playoffs so far.
Smart’s Journey and Mindset
Smart wasn’t supposed to still be locking up All-Stars at age 32. Not after his last two injury-riddled, irrelevant seasons in Basketball Siberia.
He played 20 games for a 27-win Memphis Grizzlies team in 2023-2024. He played 15 games for an 18-win Washington Wizards squad a year ago, while his former team, the Boston Celtics, soared to a title without him.
Smart has pushed the Lakers’ star trio of LeBron James, Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, and the rest of the roster, to adopt his attitude for this season. He believes that if he can change the trajectory at this stage of his career, the Lakers can change theirs for the last couple months of the season.
“We’re tired of hearing people talk s—, basically,” Smart told ESPN. “I know I am. And if you’re a competitor, if you have any type of competitor in you, you’re going to be tired of that too. So you want to try to prove ’em wrong.”
Flashback to 2018
Despite playing 56 games for the Lakers so far, and leading them with a team-best plus-minus of plus-209, the most consequential shot of Smart’s career in L.A. still came as a visitor. It was Jan. 23, 2018, and the Celtics were on the road to play the Lakers.
Former Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had gone to the line with 5.7 seconds remaining and L.A. up by one and missed both free throws. The second clanked off the rim and into Smart’s hands.
Smart, who already had 22 points in the game, took the rebound and dribbled frantically up the court until he got to the 3-point line, where he pulled up for 3 at the buzzer. His shot hit the front iron and