Marcus Smart's arrival in Hollywood has been met with a lot of excitement regarding the type of defensive savant the former Defensive Player of the Year can be for the Los Angeles Lakers. JJ Redick and his staff will need to ensure Smart's health to meet anywhere close to those expectations.
Realistically, it would be unwise to put all weight and pressure of carrying the defensive load on the three-time All-Defensive Team member to begin with. However, if the Lakers are going to make Smart the focal point of their gameplan there, they cannot push him to the breaking point.
Fred Katz of The Athletic brought up an excellent strategy that is worth implementing in 2025-26 on their NBA Daily podcast. The reporter let everyone knew this was him 'riffing' and not based on any conversations with the Lakers. His message remained a potent one all the same.
"I'd be pretty shocked if the Lakers did not go into next year with a plan to keep Marcus Smart healthy throughout the season," Katz stated. "I would imagine they are going to monitor his minutes closely. They are going to monitor his regular-season intensity closely."
Smart's health needs to hold up for the Lakers
Katz brought up another key point that discussed how Smart is simply not one of those players who a coach would tell to shy away from his energy and tenacity. That would be asking the two-way guard to forget about the best parts of himself.
The Lakers can certainly allow Smart to play to his strengths. However, keeping a close eye on not letting the burden get too heavy in the minutes played, as suggested by Katz, would be an effective way to established a sustainable route to having a lasting impact for the high-level defender.
It has been pointed out over and over, but it bears strong relevance here once more, that Smart has only managed to stay on the court for 54 games in the last two NBA seasons. Marc Stein brought excitement with his recent report about the type of offseason work that has been done to combat that shortcoming.
Even so, remaining cautious and calculated in the approach would still serve the Lakers' best interests here. What is the point of a shiny new toy if it breaks early into the process?
Smart reviving his career in Los Angeles is something that is well within the realm of possibility. His personality is built for a stage like this one. However, properly supporting him will be a very important aspect of letting Smart have the proper opportunity to meet the tall expectations that are already falling on his shoulders.