Encouraging update from Marcus Smart amid back injury

LOS ANGELES – Just like Los Angeles Lakers they put LeBron James back in the lineup, they lost Marcus Smart who was dealing with a back injury. Smart was slated to miss his third straight game as the Lakers host the Phoenix Suns on Monday, but Lakers head coach JJ Reddick was optimistic the veteran guard won’t be sidelined for long.

Ahead of the Lakers’ game against the Suns, JJ Redick gave an update on Marcus Smart’s injury, including a potential timeline for his return to the lineup.

“He felt a little bit of tightness, I guess it was three games ago. . .it got tight after, it was really tight the next day, the day before Thanksgiving, so we got a scan. The scan was unremarkable, he looked like a normal 11-year veteran. We all got an MRI, so he’s there,” Redick said. “We’re not worried about the long term. It’s a day-to-day thing. I had a few episodes week in and week out during part of my career when I was playing for the Clippers, and it would just pop out.”

“You would feel like you were making progress and then it would plateau,” Redick continued. “So we expect it to come back soon. It’s not a long-term thing.”

Smart last played during the Lakers’ win against the LA Clippers last week, finishing with seven points, three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block in 20 minutes of action. He is in his first season with the Lakers after signing with the team in the offseason after buying out his contract with the Washington Wizards.

Redick named Smart the team’s defensive quarterback at the start of this season By Smart’s own admission, the Lakers’ defense has a lot of room for improvement. As far as players in the regular rotation go, Smart is top five in the team in defensive rating with 115.1, according to StatMuse

Smart has appeared in 14 games so far, including nine starts, logging just over 26 minutes per game. He averaged 9.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals while shooting 40.8 percent from the field, 25.4 percent from the 3-point line and 93.8 percent from the free throw line.

While Smart’s percentages have been low, aside from his free throw percentage, his value to the Lakers far exceeds his efficiency. Now in his 12th NBA season, Smart is the only guard since Gary Payton in 1996 to win the league’s Defensive Player of the Year award.

The Lakers will have two days off after the Suns game, and with Redick saying Smart is essentially day-to-day, his next update will likely be Thursday when the Lakers face the Toronto Raptors.