Marcus Smart: I had 'glass in my hand' for six years
Lakers guard Marcus Smart has overcome a lot to become an integral part of the team this season.
When the Los Angeles Lakers signed Marcus Smart to a two-year, $11 million contract this past summer, plenty of people were skeptical that the veteran guard would help the team. He was 31 years of age at the time and was coming off two dismal, injury-riddled seasons, and he was presumed to be a shadow of the player who had won the 2022 NBA Defensive Player of the Year award. But Smart has been integral to the Lakers' success this season, especially in recent days as they have rolled off six wins in a row and risen to third place in the Western Conference.
His defense, both on and off the ball, has been invaluable, and he has even been big offensively at times. A recent ESPN article revealed a big problem Smart admitted he had been dealing with for years, and it is one he only recently overcame. It all started one night after he suffered a tough loss to the Lakers as a member of the Boston Celtics.
"It was Jan. 23, 2018, and the Celtics, then the No. 1 team in the East, were on the road to play the Lakers, then the No.
11 team in the West," Dave McMenamin. "Former Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope had gone to the line with 5. 7 seconds remaining and L.
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