The Los Angeles Lakers made three additions to their roster in the offseason: Deandre Ayton, Marcus Smart, and Jake LaRavia. All three came with various degrees of questions surrounding them. Ayton's inconsistent effort, LaRavia's short track record of proven rotation-level play, and Smart's extensive recent injury history. Unfortunately, the last one among those is already proving to be a very valid fear for Lakers fans.
Marcus Smart Already Dealing with a Concerning Injury to Start Training Camp
On Tuesday, Lakers insider Mike Trudell reported that Smart, along with LeBron James, Gabe Vincent, and rookie Adou Thierro, were dealing with injuries and kept out of training camp practice. He added that Smart was dealing with Achilles tendinopathy and that the team was hopeful that he would be a full participant by next week.
If this were any other player, an injury this early in training camp wouldn't be that big of a concern. When it's a player who has missed 110 games in the last two seasons, like Smart, it becomes a big issue.
Due to his physical and intense style of play, Smart absorbs a ton of contact. Throughout his career, he has suffered a slew of ankle injuries and a long list of upper-body ailments. A look at his injury history also reveals calf, thigh, and abdomen problems.
In his heyday with the Boston Celtics, Smart was known to be a player constantly playing through injuries. Putting his body on the line for his team is what made him a fan favorite in Boston and turned him into a Defensive Player of the Year.
Yet, even in those days, Smart rarely played over 70 games in a season. In his nine-year Celtics career, he has missed at least 10 games in all but two of his seasons. Long playoff runs, extended minutes, and having to guard the opposing team's best (and usually bigger than Smart) player night in and night out obviously takes a toll on one's body. Tendinopathy is generally caused by overuse and repetitive stress on the tendon, which could explain why Smart is dealing with it right now.
Lakers fans are hoping that Smart will be able to bounce back and still contribute in a smaller role next season. His defensive assignments aren't going to get any easier playing next to players like Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves. So, Smart starting the season banged up, and not being able to jell with his teammates ahead of the season is certainly concerning. Let's hope that we hear good news on this front next week when the Lakers' preseason is in full swing.