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Boston Celtics: Do Not Expect Marcus Morris to Change

By Joshua Bateman

OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 27: Marcus Morris #13 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on January 27, 2018 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images)
OAKLAND, CA - JANUARY 27: Marcus Morris #13 of the Boston Celtics handles the ball against the Golden State Warriors on January 27, 2018 at ORACLE Arena in Oakland, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Noah Graham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Marcus Morris is going to keep playing the same way for the Boston Celtics

There seems to be a lot of people that are split on the job Marcus Morris is doing for the Boston Celtics this season. He has clearly saved some games with his ability to go out and get buckets, but a lot of people hate the idea that anyone on this team does not look to pass, and Morris never looks to pass.

Morris, even more so than Kyrie Irving, is the one player where no matter what situation he is in, he is always going to look for the best way for him to score, and then go for it. When you take into account how many bad shooters there are on the second unit, he bails them out more than anyone else on the team.

There is no doubt the Celtics need that kind of boost off the bench. Terry Rozier and Marcus Smart may instigate more offense at times, but they cannot manufacture points like Morris, and Morris knows that. The bigger problems come when he is playing with the starters, and plays with the same mentality.

It is easy to see that the most important part of Boston’s overall offense is their ball movement. There is no individual that needs to be going out there and generating the opportunities through assists. The Celtics want sustained and balanced ball movement, in order to get as many players as many easy looks as possible.

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Morris is probably the lone player on this team that does not play like that, and it understandably upsets people. You see the contrast in how he plays every single game, and it can be frustrating when the Celtics are not generating the ball movement they need to have a great offense.

When you take a look at Morris’ numbers this season, it becomes a bit more concerning. His overall shooting percentages has gone down to 41.5 percent and his three point percentage has dipped to 33. Brad Stevens is supposed to be the coach that gets more efficiency out of his players, and seeing Morris’ numbers drop while not playing with Stevens’ mentality looks like a major problem.

That being said, even if it looks like Morris is going against everything the team is trying to do, he is still filling the role that is asked of him. Morris would not still be getting these minutes, and this many shots, if he was not playing the way Stevens wants him to.

This is clearly a role the Celtics want from Morris, and part of the appeal is that it is completely unique. The Celtics are not a team that will play like Morris, but with the bench they have it can make a huge difference having that player that just looks to score every single time.

Morris is easily the mos trusted scorer on the second unit, and when you take into account what is being asked of him, it makes sense that his percentages have dipped. Morris is the player on the team who benefits the least from the ball movement, and only Irving is asked to create more of his own offense.

The Celtics do not have many trusted shooters on the second unit, so they need to have that guy that can create points in difficult situations. The Celtics want that different kind of boost from Morris, and that is exactly what he is giving them. It is difficult to quantify, but Morris also has great timing to his scoring. He continually goes out and finds points when the Celtics need a boost.

Then, for those times where he does play in rhythm, and is a part of the great ball movement, he is a much more trusted shooter than his percentages would suggest. Morris is far from a perfect player for the Celtics, and if they had more trusted shooters on that second unit, they would not need his role.

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For this second unit, however, that can easily go completely cold no matter what the ball movement is generating, they will continually need to be bailed out by someone looking for and creating offense the way Morris is. If the Celtics wanted Morris to change the way he played, it would have happened by now.

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