Marcus Smart Discusses Recent 3-Point Shooting Surge

The Los Angeles Lakers offense was electric on Thursday night against the Utah Jazz. They scored 143 points — their highest point total of the season — behind a 45-point triple-double from Luka Doncic and 28 points, 10 assists and seven rebounds from LeBron James. Marcus Smart was also a surprise contributor to the offense.

He finished the night with 17 points — third-most behind Doncic and James — on 6-of-11 shooting and 5-for-9 from deep. It’s the second-most 3-pointers he’s made in a game this season with the other coming just last week when he made eight against the San Antonio Spurs.

And while nobody’s defense was particularly great in a game that the Jazz scored 135 points, Smart was among the closest to a two-way game on either side.

Smart’s recent 3-point barrage doesn’t happen, though, without the elite court vision of Doncic and James, who combined for 25 assists on the night. Smart gave them credit, praising how they’ve gotten him involved on that end of the floor, via Spectrum SportsNet:

“They played me how every other team’s been playing me and how they’ve played me the last two games we played them. I haven’t been shooting the ball well to start the year, so they figured let’s make them make shots. And tonight, I found a rhythm, shoutout to Luka and those guys, LeBron, finding me and then just being ready to knock down the shot.”

Part of the benefit of playing on the Lakers is the amount of open shots role players are going to get. The gravity of Luka, LeBron and now Austin Reaves completely opens the floor for players like Smart. And the Lakers are at their best when those types of players can convert on those opportunities.

Nobody is expecting Smart to hit five 3-pointers a game and convert at a rate above 50%. However, if he can keep defenders honest — or make them pay for leaving him open — he becomes that much more essential for the Lakers to have success.

Lakers still hoping for Herb Jones

If there is one area that is in need of improvement on the Lakers roster, it is the team’s perimeter defense. The Lakers have a couple of players who specialize on that side of the floor such as Marcus Smart and Jarred Vanderbilt, but the team has struggled to contain quick, athletic guards for multiple years now and that has continued to be the case this year despite their strong overall start.

That is not lost on the Lakers front office, who have spoken about the desire to make the moves necessary to upgrade the perimeter defense and the team is exploring the trade market looking for answers. One of the best 3-and-D wings in the league is Herb Jones of the New Orleans Pelicans, a First Team All-Defense selection in 2024 who also shoots above 36% from deep in his career.

A player such as Jones would be the perfect addition to the Lakers alongside Luka Doncic, Austin Reaves and LeBron James, so it should come as no surprise that he is someone the franchise is eyeing in the trade market.