Picture this: It is the fourth quarter of a tight ball game and Marcus Smart is diving at the ground trying to secure the steal that would put the nail in the coffin for the win. The Los Angeles Lakers guard misses, but all of a sudden, the rest of the team is just not going to leave their hard-working vet high and dry. They immediately pick up the slack behind him.
That is just one of the several ways that Smart has fired up the Lakers on the actual court by leading through example. The improvements on the back end have been spearheaded by the former Defensive Player of the Year. Not only is Smart playing a hard-nosed game, but he's talking it too.
The Lakers were trading wins and losses with regularity before their recent hot streak. To no one's surprise, Smart knew all the right things to say for Los Angeles to get their act together.
"We're tired of hearing people talk s***, basically," Smart told ESPN's Dave McMenamin. "I know I am. And if you're a competitor, if you have any type of competitor in you, you're going to be tired of that too. So you want to try to prove 'em wrong."
Marcus Smart's toughness is leaving its fingerprints all over the Lakers
Smart told everyone before the season even started that the toughest team sets the rules. The Lakers veteran plays every single game like he truly believes in that motto. The rest of the roster is catching up to his mentality.
There is a lot to be said about his impact on others. Look at Deandre Ayton for a recent example of that.
Smart sincerely defended his starting center earlier this month, telling the media that Ayton does hear the criticism and is trying his best to respond. While the overall experience with the former first overall pick can still be a rollercoaster, there should be some credit owed to recent glimmers of hope.
The box scores are not going to jump off the page, but they have never needed to. Ayton has shown some encouraging moments of being a willing rebounder and defender even when the ball is not being fed to him.
Is it really hard to put two and two together when Smart is his locker room neighbor?
March has easily been the best month in purple and gold for the 32-year-old. Smart's production has been stellar while his voice remains a constant presence. Is it a coincidence the Lakers are having their best stretch of the season? Not at all.