What is Marcus Smart's Timeline to Return to Lakers? NBA Veteran Gives Injury Update
Marcus Smart rejoined Los Angeles Lakers practice Tuesday after missing six straight games with a back injury, per ESPN's Dave McMenamin.
Smart's return opens the possibility he could rejoin the lineup when the Lakers take on the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday night.
"Back's feeling good," Smart said, per McMenamin. "Felt good in practice today. So we did some tests, passed the tests. We're going to give it a shot tomorrow. See how it feels."
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Smart identified his injury as "back spasms" due to "wear and tear over the years," per Daniel Starkand of Lakers Nation.
"I haven't played in two years extensively and heavy the way that they wanted me to play here," Smart said, per Starkand. "So just kind of getting back into the groove of things, it's common.
"The staff here has been doing a great job of managing it to the best of our ability but also making sure we're not sitting out too long or not doing nothing to where it's longer and it gets tighter. But everything has been feeling great."
Smart averaged 20 minutes per game last season while mostly coming off the bench for the Memphis Grizzlies and Washington Wizards.
Since signing in Los Angeles, the 31-year-old has seen his playing time jump to 26.8 minutes per night through 14 appearances and nine starts with the Lakers.
He's averaging 9.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists and 1.8 steals per game, and the Lakers have a net rating of plus-10.9 when he's on the court, per NBA Stats.
The Lakers will need to find a way to help him stay healthy while succeeding in his newly expanded role.
When the Lakers and Spurs last matched up on Nov. 5, Smart was largely tasked with defending Stephon Castle. He could be set for a similar defensive assignment now that Castle has returned from his own injury absence.
The Lakers will now wait to see if the Spurs are able to get back Victor Wembanyama, who has been sidelined with a calf injury, ahead of Wednesday's 10 p.m. ET tip-off.
