Marcus Morris could be in a tough spot coming off the bench for the Boston Celtics
After bringing Marcus Smart back, the Boston Celtics have one of the most special second units in the NBA, and they should be able to get an advantage on anyone. They have great options and a lot of versatility.
Right now, the only concern is how many minutes they have to go around, because there is no way everyone is going to get the role they desire. Whether or not he deserves it, one of the players most in question now is Marcus Morris.
After the way he stepped up last year, and the impact he was able to have manufacturing points off the bench, Morris has more than earned a role. After the way he played last year, it would not be too crazy to think Morris could go on a sixth man of the year run if he gets one of the top roles off this bench.
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The problem, however, is that the Celtics do not need Morris’ scoring nearly as much, and he may not do enough else to still hold onto a role. When Morris stepped up last year, it was because he had to. The Celtics were hurt, and could not get enough scoring from their starters.
The Celtics need Morris to go out there and break the team out of slumps. His scoring was always timely, and he came through in some of the most important minutes.
Keep in mind, this was at a time when Terry Rozier was being asked to be a primary offensive instigator, and a 20 year old rookie was the most trusted shooter on the team. The Celtics need the stable offensive presence of Morris off the bench, and he had one of the most effective seasons of his career.
When you add Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward to this roster, the Celtics will want something different off the bench. The Celtics have more than enough scoring, and Brad Stevens will be great at staggering minutes, making sure they always have strong scoring options on the court at all times.
The Celtics have a lot of intriguing defenisve options coming off the bench, and better play makers than Morris. He is not a liability on defense, but they have options that will be able to offer a lot more than him.
The Celtics will need to explore a lot more of their defenisve options off the bench, and that could threaten a lot of Morris’ minutes. The most frustrating part is there may not be anything he can do on offense to change things.
Anything short of a career year could mean Morris starts to lose his role entirely, and he does not deserve that after the season he just had.
The fact of the matter is that this is the case for almost the entire bench. There is so much depth and so many options. Stevens will be sure to explore as many options as possible, but there is no way all of them will be able to hold onto a role.
Morris was a special player last year, and was embraced by this franchise in a special way. Everyone will want to see him out there with a solid role, making a difference on offense with solid switching ability on defense.
If, however, there is any kind of drop off and Morris begins to struggle, there will be no reason to keep giving him minutes, and a more dynamic or versatile option will eat up those minutes off the bench.
Next: Marcus Smart and Brad Stevens a perfect duo
Defense has always been a priory over offense for Stevens and the state of the team makes that even more the case. There is more than enough offense on the starting unit, so Morris will need to bring more than just that to have a top role off the bench.