For Lakers guard Marcus Smart, the best is yet to come for his team, as he offered an optimistic outlook in practice on Monday. While coach JJ Redick took responsibility for the Lakers' offensive shortcomings, Smart identified the bigger picture for Los Angeles.
Smart believes in the Lakers have enough talent According to Khobi Price of the California Post, he said, he is looking to reach his full potential, and he is confident he will find his stride between now and the end of the regular season.
"We're good. The talent is there, we have the pieces. It's just netting them. We're not healthy, which is a big part when you're trying to get the pieces to the net. You have to stay healthy. Different lineups in the game, but I think it's going to help us in the long run because we've got to see different lineups — guys in different spots and different roles that they're not used to. We definitely have some work to do.
"Everyone knows that. But we're hanging in there. The goal is to have everyone in this league coming in at the right time, and getting ready to play the best basketball you can play."
Marcus Smart explained how good the Lakers are and how close the group is to its best version: "We're good. The talent is there, we have the pieces. It's just netting them. We haven't been healthy, which is a big part when you're trying to net the pieces." pic.twitter.com/2xlR7CE262
- Khobi Price (@khobi_price) 23 February 2026
Marcus Smart and the Lakers scored a season-low 89 points in their blowout loss to the Boston Celtics (111-89) on Sunday.
JJ Redick takes responsibility for Lakers' offensive shortcomings
Blamed head coach JJ Redick for the Lakers' inability to find their offensive rhythm in a 22-point loss to the Celtics. After Lakers forward Rui Hachimura discussed his failed offense, Redick took responsibility.
As for the Lakers head coach, he has to prepare his team to be ready to take on an elite defense like the Celtics, as Redick said, he failed to do soAs noted by Khobi Price of the California Post.
“When teams play deep drops, we have our counters, and we just got there [execute],'' Reddick said. “I took ownership of it. We have our counters for deep decline. We have to do a better job...we noticed that today. Our lowest potential assist games are against deep downs, so I have to do a better job.
JJ Redick's response when asked about the Lakers' ball movement, and whether the lack of it makes them more predictable on defense:
"When teams play deep drops, we have our counters and we just get [execute]...I took ownership of it. We have our counters for depth... pic.twitter.com/wwfRZ1OAXl
- Khobi Price (@khobi_price) 23 February 2026
The Lakers will host the Magic on Tuesday.
