The Los Angeles Lakers grabbed an impressive, 123-115 win on the road against the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday, despite being extremely short-handed. The Lakers were without both Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves who sat out on the second night of a back-to-back, but it was Nick Smith Jr. who rose to the occasion, dropping in multiple three-pointers as a mirror image to his coach, JJ Redick.
During the Lakers’ win against the Blazers, Nick Smith finished with 25 points while knocking down 5-of-6 three-pointers. He also added one rebound, six assists and two steals in a little over 26 minutes while shooting 10-of-15 overall.
Following the game, Redick spoke about how crucial Smith was in his first major opportunity of the season, as per Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the LA Times.
“Nick Smith in the second half, he just took the game over,” Redick said. “We needed his handle and we needed his wiggle tonight. Truthfully it was a perfect game for him.”
The Lakers acquired Smith when he was signed to a two-way contract right at the beginning of training camp. Smith was cut by the Charlotte Hornets and cleared waivers paving the way for him to join the Lakers. On a two-way contract, it’s likely he doesn’t get many more opportunities such as this considering he is limited to only 50 NBA games in a season.
But the Lakers did well in taking a flyer on a former first-round pick who has shown the ability to put up points going back to his college days at Arkansas. The No. 27 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, Smith played two seasons for the Hornets.
He had his best season to date last year when he appeared in 60 games, including 27 starts, while averaging 9.9 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists. Coming into Monday’s game, Smith had appeared in two games for the Lakers amid injuries to the team’s backcourt.
The South Bay Lakers begin their season this weekend, and it’s likely that Smith will see plenty of opportunity to continue his development in the G League.
