{"id":171001,"date":"2025-12-29T14:56:28","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T19:56:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=171001"},"modified":"2025-12-29T14:56:28","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T19:56:28","slug":"lakers-two-way-guard-nick-smith-jr-increased-role","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/12\/29\/lakers-two-way-guard-nick-smith-jr-increased-role\/","title":{"rendered":"Lakers Two-Way Guard Proving Worthy of Increased Role"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As the Los Angeles Lakers battle yet another injury crisis toward the end of the year, the available players are carrying the \u201cnext man up\u201d mentality. Two-way signee <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/smithni01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nick Smith Jr.<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> has quietly made a name for himself this season, and his latest performance suggests he\u2019s ready to exceed coach JJ Redick\u2019s expectations going forward.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Lakers Two-Way Guard Proving Worthy of Increased Role<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Nick Smith Jr. Lights the Beam vs. Sacramento<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ahead of Sunday night\u2019s clash with the Sacramento Kings, Redick said Smith Jr. would jump into LA\u2019s rotation with the team\u2019s guard depth depleted by injuries. After a string of inconsistent opportunities, Smith broke out with 21 points, three rebounds and an assist while shooting 8\/14 from the field and 5\/10 from three. It was his second-highest scoring game of the season, one month removed from a 25-point outburst in LA\u2019s win over the Portland Trail Blazers. The third-year guard also reached a personal milestone in last night\u2019s victory: surpassing <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Lakers\/status\/2005496707052949931\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1,000 career points<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sunday\u2019s showing brought Smith\u2019s averages up to 8.6 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists on 45.7% shooting from the field, 42.9% from three and 62.5% from the free-throw line. He torched Sacramento\u2019s defense with aggressive drives to the rim while also making them pay from the perimeter, <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/smithni01\/gamelog\/2026\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">tying a season-high in made three-pointers<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Nick Smith Jr. Scored 21 PTS In Lakers&#039; Win Over Kings!\" width=\"540\" height=\"960\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mXObXIVYBEQ?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h4><b>Postgame Reaction From Redick, Smith Jr.<\/b><\/h4>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When asked about maintaining Smith Jr.\u2019s confidence, <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/LawMurrayTheNU\/status\/2005524887159623977\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Redick replied<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cHe\u2019s helped us win two games, he helped us win tonight.\u00a0 He\u2019s been in a lot of NBA games for someone his age, so this is not new. It\u2019s why we wanted him\u2014we couldn\u2019t sign him to a 15th spot because of the apron, but it\u2019s why we wanted him on the Lakers and part of our program: because we know he can score.\u201d<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He added that when the 21-year-old plays his game within LA\u2019s structure, \u201cA lot of times, good things happen.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Reflecting on his own performance, <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/SpectrumSN\/status\/2005533642127540366\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Smith Jr. told reporters<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">&#8220;I&#8217;m in a space where I&#8217;m just locked in right now, just [trying to] do what I can to help this team win. \u2026 I just try to prepare everyday like it&#8217;s game day and it showed tonight. [The] coaching staff got a lot of trust in me [to] go out there, do what I do. I haven\u2019t had that in a long time.&#8221;<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<h3><b>How Smith Jr. Can Help Lakers Bench in Short Term<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Assuming the Lakers keep the same starting five from last night\u2014which saw <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/s\/smartma01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Marcus Smart<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> replace an injured <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/r\/reaveau01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Austin Reaves<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (<\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.espn.com\/nba\/story\/_\/id\/47422711\/lakers-austin-reaves-sidelined-least-4-weeks-due-left-calf-strain\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Grade 2 calf strain<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">)\u2014Smith Jr. could easily make an impact in roughly 20 minutes off the bench.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His three-point marksmanship is exactly what the Lakers need next to <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/d\/doncilu01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Luka Doncic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.basketball-reference.com\/players\/j\/jamesle01.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">LeBron James<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and his scoring is vital for a second unit that remains <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/stats\/teams\/traditional?StarterBench=Bench&amp;dir=A&amp;sort=PTS\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">dead last in points per game<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (25.5) and equally atrocious in threes made (3.4 per game). After two years of playing for a lottery pick in Charlotte, Smith Jr. has proven he can aid a title pursuit in Tinseltown.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If he plays well enough in Reaves\u2019 absence, the Lakers will have a choice to make by mid-January, when they can <\/span><a  href=\"https:\/\/www.silverscreenandroll.com\/lakers-analysis\/97309\/lakers-roster-cap-room-buyout-lebron-james-free-agent\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sign a 15th player to a guaranteed contract<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. In some ways, this stretch is another audition period for Nick Smith Jr., who is becoming another G League success story for the purple and gold. For now, he\u2019ll keep turning heads as the Lakers trend back in the right direction. They wrap up 2025 against the Detroit Pistons tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. PT.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Los Angeles Lakers battle yet another injury crisis toward the end of the year, the available players are carrying the \u201cnext man up\u201d mentality. Two-way signee Nick Smith Jr. has quietly made a name for himself this season, and his latest performance suggests he\u2019s ready to exceed coach JJ Redick\u2019s expectations going forward. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4265,"featured_media":171004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,26,62],"tags":[4556,2279,38,1133,428,4757],"class_list":["post-171001","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-lakers","category-nba","tag-austin-reaves","tag-jj-redick","tag-lebron-james","tag-luka-doncic","tag-marcus-smart","tag-nick-smith-jr"],"modified_by":"Jordan Pagkalinawan","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171001","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4265"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=171001"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171001\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":171007,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/171001\/revisions\/171007"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/171004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=171001"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=171001"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=171001"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}