Marcus Smart believes the Houston Rockets have the talent and experience to make noise in the Western Conference after joining the team during the offseason.
Smart signed a two-year, $12.4 million deal with Houston after spending last season with the Los Angeles Lakers. The veteran guard was attracted to the opportunity to play alongside returning veterans Fred VanVleet and Steven Adams while helping a young Rockets core continue to develop.
“I think it’s exactly that, knowing that we’re going to get those two guys back,” Smart said during media day Tuesday. “These two vets are coming back. Two vets that can really impact the game and know how to play, IQ-wise, is going to be good for us.”
Smart also sees an opportunity to mentor Amen Thompson, who signed a five-year, $208 million extension with the Rockets earlier this month after emerging as one of the league’s best young defenders.
Smart’s advice to Thompson is focused on efficiency rather than simply playing harder.
“Some of the tricks that I got for him, you know, some of them is basically just allowing him to be able to be as effective without using as much energy,” Smart said. “When to pick his spots, when to rest, when to be very aggressive, without wearing himself down.”
Smart believes Thompson already has the mentality necessary to become an elite defender but wants him to learn how to sustain that level throughout an entire season.
“He’s already got it, that mentality, and he’s going to be really good,” Smart said. “I have a lot to learn from him as well.”
The veteran guard also explained why returning to Houston was an appealing fit. Smart previously played under Rockets head coach Ime Udoka in Boston, where he won the 2022 Defensive Player of the Year award.
“I know what Ime brings mentality-wise, I know what he expects,” Smart said. “We have meshed together in the past. So for me that was a big key factor.”
Smart praised Udoka’s direct coaching style, saying his experience as a former player allows him to understand what players are going through.
“He understands what he went through, what we go through as players, but he also understands both sides,” Smart said. “He gets the best of both worlds for us.”
Smart is also expected to bring postseason experience to a Rockets team that went 52-30 last season but lost to the Lakers in six games in the first round.
“A lot of these young guys, they never been there,” Smart said. “They haven’t been that long to understand what it takes to keep pushing when things start to get a little tiring.”
The former Celtic believes that experience could directly address what Houston lacked against Los Angeles.
“I think when it came down to it in the clutch especially, the experience was something that kind of overshadowed,” Smart said. “I think me coming in bringing that experience kind of changes the outcome on some of those games.”
Smart was already impressed by Houston from the opposing side. After joining the Rockets, that assessment has not changed.
“My perception definitely on the outside looking in was, ‘Damn, this team is scary. It’s gonna give some problems,’” Smart said. “Now playing with them, my perspective is still the same. Damn, this team is really scary and damn, we’re going to give some teams some problems.”
For Smart, his role will ultimately be defined by whatever Houston needs.
“My role is whatever it needs to be,” he said. “My role is to come in, do what I can to help everybody be in the right spots to help this team win.”
