Despite recent struggles, Smart thinks the Lakers possess the talent and pieces to contend.
The Los Angeles Lakers took a rough loss on Sunday night, falling to the Boston Celtics 111-89 in a game that wasn't close from start to finish.
The defeat dropped the Lakers to 34-22 on the season, and it left a lot of fans questioning just how far this team can really go.
But veteran guard Marcus Smart isn't worried, and he made that clear when he spoke with the media during Monday's practice.
"We're good. The talent is there, we've got the pieces," Smart said. "It's just making them mesh. We haven't been healthy, which is a big part when you're trying to get pieces to mesh."
Health Has Been the Biggest Hurdle
Smart's comments carry a lot of weight because he has watched this team go through it all season long.
The Lakers have dealt with a constant wave of injuries that has kept their best players off the court at different times, and that has made it hard for the group to build real chemistry.
Luka Doncic has missed stretches with a hamstring issue, LeBron James dealt with sciatica early in the year and knee soreness more recently, and Austin Reaves has been in and out with a calf strain.
That kind of roster shuffling has forced head coach JJ Redick to mix and match lineups all season, which has hurt the team's ability to find a groove.
When the Lakers have been healthy, though, they have looked like a team that belongs in the Western Conference conversation.
Their 125-122 win over the Los Angeles Clippers on Feb. 20 showed just how dangerous they can be when all the pieces are in place, with Doncic going for 38 points and 11 assists while Redick praised LeBron James for gutting through knee trouble and a pregame migraine to contribute 13 points and 11 assists of his own.
Smart's Role Can't Be Overlooked
While Doncic is putting up 32.8 points, 7.7 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game this season, the Lakers need more than just star power to win in a loaded Western Conference.
That's where Smart comes in.
The former Defensive Player of the Year and three-time All-Defensive selection brings a level of toughness and energy that the rest of the roster feeds off of, and his willingness to guard the other team's best player takes pressure off Doncic and Reaves on that end of the floor.
Smart is averaging 9.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists in 46 games this season, and his numbers don't always jump off the page.
But his impact goes beyond the stat sheet.
He has been a steady presence in the rotation even as injuries have forced him into different roles, and when he was recently inserted into the starting lineup alongside Doncic, Reaves, James and Deandre Ayton, the team looked like its best version on both sides of the ball.
The Western Conference Won't Wait
Sitting at 34-22 and fifth in the Western Conference, the Lakers are in solid position heading into the final stretch of the regular season.
But the margin for error is thin when you're competing against teams like the Oklahoma City Thunder, Denver Nuggets, and Houston Rockets, all of which have been among the best teams in the league this year.
The Lakers still have matchups against those teams on the schedule, and how they perform in those games could go a long way in determining their playoff seeding.
Smart believes the talent is there, and based on what the Lakers have shown when healthy, it's hard to argue with him.
The question now is whether they can stay on the court together long enough to build the kind of chemistry they need before the playoffs arrive.