Marcus Smart gives an early assessment of the Lakers’ defense

LOS ANGELES – In the middle Los Angeles Lakers‘ 12-4 to start the season, they are among the middle of the pack when it comes to the defensive end. The The Lakers defense could be betterbut the team had several strong individual defenders this year, including Marcus Smart.

The Lakers coach has called Marcus Smart the team’s defensive quarterback so far, which Redick often used to describe LeBron James’ defensive efforts last season. As such, Smart generally has a good pulse on where the team’s defense needs to start the season and where it can improve.

After the Lakers’ practice on Saturday afternoon, Smart gave his assessment of the Lakers’ defense during the first month of the regular season.

“For us, I think we’ve got a long way to go, but we like where we’re going and the direction we’re going. I’d probably say we’re B- right now. We kind of let some things slip away,” Smart said. “We have a lot of things to clean up, but I like the direction we’re going. I like the attention to detail that we try to go into every game with and try to come out with the result of being a great defensive team.”

When it comes to defensive rating, Smart is among the top five on the team in terms of regular player rotation with a rating of 113.5, according to StatMuse. He is the only running back in the last 30 years to win the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award since Gary Payton did it in 1996.

Smart has brought a level of defensive toughness that the Lakers lacked last season. A purveyor of inspirational sayings, Smart has one quote in particular that he likes to use when talking about what it takes to be a great defensive team, and that is, ‘the toughest team makes the rules.’

“I live by that quote and I think we see it every day,” Smart said. “When one team comes out and is more aggressive, everything goes their way. The way they get calls the way the ball drops, the way they get loose balls and shots that probably wouldn’t fall and things of that nature.”

Smart signed with the Lakers in the offseason after agreeing to a buyout from the Washington Wizards. He appeared in 13 games, including nine starts, with just over 27 minutes per game. He is averaging 9.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals.