The Los Angeles Lakers missed a great opportunity to close out their first-round series against the Houston Rockets in Game 5, falling 99-93 in a performance defined by one glaring problem: turnovers, and Marcus Smart was responsible.
Despite holding Houston to under 100 points, the Lakers shot themselves in the foot again and again by handling the ball carelessly, finishing with 15 turnovers that fueled the Rockets’ transition offense.
No player felt more weight than Smart, who turned the ball over six times in one night and didn’t shy away from shouldering his responsibility.
“Taking care of basketball,” Smart said after the loss. “We’ve been through this. We understand this team and how they play and they’re aggressive and we have to take care of the basketball. Personally, I had six turnovers and that’s not acceptable for me. Especially with only two assists, especially when we’re facing this team. We definitely have to take care of the ball, we have to do a better job, and that together, we’ll help.”‘
Houston’s defensive identity has been built all season around pressure and physicality, and it showed up again when it mattered most.
The Rockets have been disrupting passing lanes and forcing quick decisions, something Smart admitted the Lakers were fully prepared for, but failed to do against.
“We know what it is. We have to shoot,” Smart added. “We’ve got guys that are doing things and we’re not giving ourselves a chance by turning the ball over that we can’t capitalize on that. And that hurts anybody no matter how good you are offensively, if you can’t get the ball that’s always going to hurt. But yeah, we know what it takes. We’ve got good plays, the coaching staff is setting us up. The coaching staff is doing us well. We’ve got to go out there and use the plays that we have and make the best of it.”
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