標籤: Laravia

洛杉矶——休赛期期间，洛杉矶湖人队签下马库斯·斯玛特可能不是自由球员市场上最大的举动，但随着常规赛最后阶段的临近，这绝对是最具影响力的举动之一。只要问问湖人队队友杰克·拉拉维亚就知道了。拉拉维亚第一次与斯玛特一起回归孟菲斯灰熊队，作为新秀，他可以立即看出斯玛特对球队的价值。

在拥有卢卡·东契奇、勒布朗·詹姆斯和奥斯汀·里维斯的球队中，马库斯·斯马特有理由成为湖人队第四好的球员。根据杰克·拉拉维亚的说法，斯玛特打篮球的方式往往会渗透到球队的其他成员身上。

“我已经谈了很多斯玛特对我和我的防守之旅的影响。当我在孟菲斯时，他是一个非常直言不讳的领导者，帮助我跳入防守角色，”拉拉维亚在最近的湖人训练中说道。 “当我第一次进入联盟时，这并不是我真正擅长的。他帮助了我很多，让我在防守上变得更好，并且非常直言不讳。

“很明显，他把这一点带到了这里，以及他所在的每支球队。他的声音、他带来的能量，然后这是一种连锁反应。这会影响到所有其他球员。当他这样做时，我们都想努力打球。”

斯玛特在湖人队最近的几场重大胜利中发挥了重要作用。 3月8日，在战胜纽约尼克斯队的比赛中，斯马特的投篮命中率仅为10投1中。但赛后，由于他整场比赛的防守破坏和强度，他被主教练 JJ Redick 点名批评。尽管只投中一球，他最终还是打出了+27的成绩。

紧接着，在对阵明尼苏达森林狼队的比赛中，斯马特在防守安东尼·爱德华兹的回合中，让安东尼·爱德华兹的投篮命中率为5投0中。爱德华兹全场15投2中。那场比赛斯玛特的三分球只有 4 投 1 中，但你很难找到任何人相信他对比赛没有产生影响。

斯玛特产生重大影响的一个领域是进攻犯规。据《Basketball Reference》报道，他目前以 36 次进攻犯规领先湖人队。正如拉拉维亚所说，这产生了连锁反应，奥斯汀·里夫斯（34 岁）和卢卡·东契奇（18 岁）等球员也加入了这一行列。

斯玛特带来了湖人队上赛季所缺乏的东西；这是真正的进攻点防守者，可以在不得分的情况下影响比赛。虽然没有人认为湖人队会得到这位赢得 2021-22 年度最佳防守球员奖的球员，但他也产生了类似的影响。随着NBA季后赛的临近，看看斯玛特扮演的角色有多大将会很有趣。

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers’ signing of Marcus Smart may not have been the biggest move in free agency during the offseason, but with the final stretch of the regular season approaching, it has certainly been one of the most impressive. Just ask Lakers teammate Jake Laravia. Laravia first played with Smart at running back with the Memphis Grizzlies, and as a rookie, he could immediately tell Smart’s value to a team.

On a team with Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, it can be claimed that Marcus Smart has been the Lakers’ fourth-best player. According to Jake Laravia, the way Smart goes about playing basketball rubs off on the rest of the team.

“I’ve talked a lot about Smart’s impact on me and my journey with defense. He was a very vocal leader when I was at Memphis, so that helped me jump into that defensive role,” Laravia said during a recent Lakers practice. “When I first came into the league, I wasn’t really good at it. He helped me a lot in getting better at defense and being very vocal with it.

“And then obviously, he brings it here, and whatever team he’s on. How vocal he is, how much energy he brings and then it’s kind of an impact. It rubs off on all the other players. When he does that we all want to play harder.”

Smart has made an impact in some big recent wins for the Lakers. In a win against the New York Knicks on March 8, Smart shot only 1 of 10 from the field. But after the game, head coach JJ Redick benched him due to defensive interference and intensity throughout the game. He was plus-27 despite making only one shot.

Shortly thereafter, in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Smart held Anthony Edwards to 0-of-5 shooting from the field where he had guarded Edwards. Edwards made 2 of 15 shots overall. Smart was only 1 of 4 from 3-point range in that game, but you’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who believes he had no impact on the game.

One area where Smart has had a big impact is drawing offensive fouls. According to Basketball Reference, he currently leads the Lakers in offensive fouls with 36. As Laravia says, this has had a widespread impact, with players like Austin Reeves (34) and Luka Doncic (18) also getting in on the action.

Smart brings something that the Lakers lacked last season; This is a true point of attack defender who can impact the game without scoring a single point. While no one thought the Lakers were getting the player who won the 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year award, he has had the same impact. With the NBA playoffs approaching, it will be interesting to see how important a role Smart plays.