Former Los Angeles Lakers forward, and current Houston Rockets player, Dorian Finney-Smith was finally spotted in the first-round matchup between those two sides during Game 3! Unfortunately for him, the sight was not a pretty one. DFS struggled to leave an impact during the thrilling 112-108 overtime victory for the Lakers in Game 3 on Friday.
Finney-Smith did lead the Rockets in minutes off the bench with 11. However, DFS put up a goose egg during that time on the court. The veteran forward delivered zero points, shooting 0-of-5 from the field and 0-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Meanwhile, one domino of the Lakers’ decision to let Finney-Smith walk did shine very bright in this matchup. That would be Marcus Smart.
On one hand, the Lakers did have to also part ways with Jordan Goodwin to land Smart. That was a mistake. However, the ability to pursue the former Defensive Player of the Year started with the choice to not bring back Finney-Smith. That looked like the right call on Friday night.
Marcus Smart and Dorian Finney-Smith were not even comparable in Game 3
The struggles for Finney-Smith in Game 3 were well established. Smart, on the other hand, was absolutely pivotal to the Lakers’ efforts of stealing a win on the road.
The box score alone will tell a convincing tale. Smart finished the game with 21 points, 10 assists, five steals, four rebounds, and two blocks. However, only looking at the statistics fails to truly celebrate the crucial moments in which Smart swung the basketball game.
Los Angeles was down six to Houston with the seconds ticking away on them in the fourth quarter. That lead, at that stage, should have been insurmountable. It was not.
Smart stole the basketball, drew contact on a 3-point attempt, and went to the line to cash in three points. That paved the way to the comeback for the Lakers that followed.
Smart also secured key moments for the Lakers in overtime. That included a big-time 3-point make, and an offensive rebound attempt off LeBron James’ miss that led to free throws.
Without Smart, the Lakers do not win the ball game. It really is as simple as that. Without Finney-Smith departing to the Rockets, Rob Pelinka does not get to add Smart to his team.
The Lakers now hold a commanding 3-0 series lead. Without Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves, someone for Los Angeles needed to step up in support of LeBron. One of those key figureheads has undoubtedly been Smart.
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