Jake LaRavia reveals Marcus Smart ‘ripple effect’ on Lakers

LOS ANGELES – Back during the offseason, the Los Angeles Lakers’ signing of Marcus Smart may not have been the biggest move of free agency, but with the final stretch of the regular season approaching, it’s definitely been one of the most impactful. Just ask Lakers teammate Jake LaRavia. LaRavia first played with Smart back with the Memphis Grizzlies, and as a rookie, he could tell right away Smart’s value to a team.

On a team with Luka Doncic, LeBron James and Austin Reaves, there is a case to be made that Marcus Smart has been the Lakers’ fourth best player. The way Smart approaches playing basketball tends to trickle down to the rest of the team, as per Jake LaRavia.

“I’ve talked a good amount of Smart’s impact on me and my journey with defense. He was just a very vocal leader when I was in Memphis, to help allow me to jump into that defensive role,” LaRavia said during a recent Lakers practice. “When I first got into the league, that wasn’t really what I was good at. He helped me a lot with just getting better on defense and being very vocal with it.

“And then obviously, he brings that here, and every team he’s on. Just how vocal he is, the energy he brings and then it’s kind of a ripple effect. It leads down to all the other players. We all want to play hard when he does.”

Smart has made an impact in a couple of recent big wins for the Lakers. Back on March 8 in a win against the New York Knicks, Smart shot only 1-of-10 from the field. But postgame, he was singled out by head coach JJ Redick due to his defensive disruption and intensity throughout the game. He ended up being a plus-27 despite making only one shot.

Immediately after that, in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Smart held Anthony Edwards to 0-of-5 shooting from the field in the possessions that he guarded Edwards. Edwards shot 2-of-15 overall. Smart was only 1-of-4 from 3-point range that game, but you’d be hard pressed to find anyone to believe he didn’t have an effect on the game.

One area that Smart has had a major impact in is drawing offensive fouls. He’s currently leading the Lakers in drawing offensive fouls with 36, as per Basketball Reference. That has had a ripple effect, as LaRavia puts it, with players such as Austin Reaves (34) and Luka Doncic (18) getting in on the act as well.

Smart brings something the Lakers lacked last season; that is a true point of attack defender who can impact the game without scoring a single point. While nobody quite thought that the Lakers were getting the player who won the 2021-22 Defensive Player of the Year Award, he’s had a similar impact. With the NBA playoffs approaching, it will be interesting to see how much of a factor Smart plays.