Marcus Smart reveals why every team is trying to ‘kill’ Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have squared off against the Phoenix Suns three times in the past three weeks, with the latest resulting in a 132-108 loss on Tuesday night. The Lakers have gone 1-2 in those three games, with the Suns throwing everything they have at the purple and gold. Following the Lakers’ recent loss to the Suns, veteran guard Marcus Smart spoke about the mentality that opposing teams, including Phoenix, have brought to the table against them, as per Lakers Lead.

“It doesn’t matter what the percentages say, it doesn’t matter what the numbers say. You can’t go by that,” Smart said. “We got to go by understanding that we wear the ‘Lakers’ across our jersey, and everybody is coming to try to kill us.”

While some of what Marcus Smart is saying might be true, at the forefront of the Lakers’ recent struggles has been the defense. The 132 points the Lakers gave up to the Suns tied the second-highest point total they’ve allowed this season, a mark that was set during the team’s NBA Cup quarterfinal loss to the San Antonio Spurs. The most amount of points the Lakers have given up this season was the 135 they surrendered against the Utah Jazz last Thursday.

Amid the Lakers’ struggles defensively, Smart has been an overall positive on that end. Long known as one of the best perimeter defenders in the league, Smart has brought his brand of toughness and intensity to the Lakers this season.

Coming into Tuesday’s game, Smart had appeared in 18 games, including 12 starts, at a little over 27 minutes per game. He had been averaging 10.3 points, 2.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals with splits of 40.3 percent shooting from the field, 30 percent shooting from the 3-point line and 92.3 percent shooting from the free-throw line.

The Lakers will return home for a Christmas Day showdown against the Houston Rockets, before ending 2025 with games against the Sacramento Kings and Detroit Pistons.

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