If you haven’t heard the news, Marcus Morris has recently been found not guilty on his assault charges. This is great news for Celtics fans everywhere because Morris is now set to join the team as soon as possible.
While this is encouraging news, it still raises a handful of questions — none bigger than who should be starting on opening day.
There seemed to be a strong feeling throughout the offseason we would be seeing Morris slotted next to Al Horford in the starting lineup. In Detroit, he was a starter who brought both scoring and defending to their lineup.
Many Celtics fans pegged him as the next potential “LeBron-stopper” for the C’s. It seemed clear that unless the team planned on playing small-ball, Morris would be featured in the starting lineup. Now, it doesn’t seem so certain.
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I’m not sure if you heard, but Aron Baynes played exceptionally well in his first preseason game. In just 18 minutes of action Baynes shot 5-8 from the field for 10 points. What was most impressive about his scoring was that a large portion came from midrange. Baynes’ ability to stretch out the defense from 10-15 feet out helped the C’s open up passing lanes.
Baynes was also active on the glass. He battled elite-rebounder, Dwight Howard, for nearly every ball and was solid when boxing him out. In total, the big man was able to snag 5 rebounds on the night.
What I liked most from Baynes’ performance was the way he battled throughout the night. He was not afraid to get chippy with Howard and played like a true, old-school center. This is something the Celtics have sorely missed for years.
However, Baynes was not the only Celtics big man to impress last night. Daniel Theis was arguably the most impressive player in green and white. In a mere 14 minutes Theis did a bit of everything leading the Celtics in scoring (12) and rebounds (7), while also racking up 3 assists.
On offense, Theis was aggressive attacking the rim several times and throwing down alley-oops. He even flashed his range nailing his only 3-point shot of the game. He ended with an offensive rating of 163.2, which was a team-high.
Defensively, Theis was just as impressive. He played solid on and off-ball defense which translated into a block and a steal. Theis with a solid 88.8 offensive rating.
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While I think Theis is more likely to be used as a spark-plug off the bench, he needs to be considered following his last game.
Morris may have a more decorated career than Theis and Baynes, but the jury is out following the Celtics first preseason game.
So, who do you think should start for the Celtics? Comment below to give your take.