LOS ANGELES – During one of Marcus Smart's first media sessions as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers at the beginning of the season, he revealed a saying he has for every game. That is, 'the toughest team sets the rules.' This essentially means that the more physical team dictates which way the game will go. The Lakers haven't always done a good job of following that quote, but Rui Hachimura believes they have gotten better in recent games.
The Lakers dominated from start to finish in consecutive wins against the Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings, respectively. A big part of those wins depended on the Lakers coming out on top early and asserting their will in terms of physicality. This includes playing tough defense, diving after loose balls, hitting hard on the glass and other little things that don't always show up with statistics.
“I think when we did that in the game today [against the Kings]game [against the Warriors]I think we have created the atmosphere. That's why we were able to control the whole game," Hachimura said after the win against the Kings. "So I think things like that, we have to keep doing it. I think sometimes we do it and then we stop doing it. So we just have to keep doing it. We've got to make those plays and those little things. We have to keep building.”
Hachimura returned to the Lakers' lineup against the Kings after a brief two-game absence due to illness. His game was somewhat solid, finishing with eight points while shooting 2-4 from the 3-point line in a little over 22 minutes.
He has been coming off the bench since returning from a calf injury in mid-January. Hachimura has appeared in 48 games, including 31 starts, averaging a little over 29 minutes per game. He averaged 11.7 points and 3.4 rebounds with splits of 50.1 percent shooting from the field, 44.1 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 74.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line.
But the Lakers' overall toughness and physicality starts with smarts. He often sets the tone on the defensive end of the court, and is a big reason why head coach JJ Redick has opted to stick with Smart in the starting lineup following Hachimura's return.
After the win against the Kings, Redick made sure to single out Smart for his impact on the game.
"I told the team afterward, I thought Smart's defense ... completely blew us away at different points in the game," Redick said. "He finished with five steals, but he's diving down the floor for loose balls. He's starting the transition game for us. He switches to the five, sets him up perfectly. ... He was another igniter for us."
