Marcus Smart and the Los Angeles Lakers are coming off a 119-110 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Monday night. The Lakers hosted the defending champs at Crypto.com Arena but came up short. This is despite reigning NBA MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sitting out the game due to an abdominal strain.
Smart played 29 minutes against the Thunder. The 6-foot-3 combo guard finished with 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting, to go along with three rebounds, three assists, two steals and four triples. It was a strong performance from Smart, but it was not enough to help the Lakers secure their fourth straight win.
Los Angeles Lakers guard Marcus Smart (36)Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images
Smart joined the Lakers in the offseason as a free agent. The former Defensive Player of the Year was bought out by the Washington Wizards, allowing Smart to sign with L.A. He put pen to paper on a two-year, $11 million deal.
Smart has been integral to the Lakers’ rotation this season. In 43 games played (36 starts), the 31-year-old is averaging 9.9 points on 40.7% shooting, 3.0 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals in 28.5 minutes per contest. Smart is also knocking down 1.6 triples per game on a 33.8% clip.
Smart, however, is now headed to another game on the sidelines. The Lakers announced via the official injury report that the three-time All-Defensive guard will not be available for Tuesday’s game against the San Antonio Spurs. Smart was ruled out due to right ankle soreness.
The silver lining is that Smart’s injury does not sound serious. The fact that the Lakers are playing on the tail end of a back-to-back set likely factored in on Smart getting the night off.
The Lakers will be significantly shorthanded against Victor Wembanyama and Co. L.A. will also be withoutLeBron James and Austin Reaves. Luka Doncic also remains out with a hamstring strain, while starting center Deandre Ayton is questionable to play.
The Lakers dropped to 32-20 after Monday’s loss to the Thunder. They will be eager to make it back to the win column heading into the All-Star break. The Lakers have one more game — Thursday against the Dallas Mavericks — before the break.
