Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

by **Shamrock1000** Sun Feb 10, 2019 9:26 am

The Celtics let an 18-point lead evaporate in a loss to the Lakers on Thursday, then allowed the Clippers to erase a 28-point deficit en route to a 123-112 win over Boston on Saturday.

After the second straight frustrating defeat, Celtics forward Marcus Morris called out his teammates for their attitude, contrasting their down-in-the-dumps posture with the positivity he sees across the league.

“For me, it’s not really about the loss, it’s about the attitude that we’re playing with,” Morris told reporters in the locker room. “Guys are hanging their heads. It’s not fun. We’re not competing at a high level. Even though we’re winning, it’s still not fun. I don’t see the joy in the game.

“I watch all these other teams around the league and guys are up on the bench — they’re jumping on the court, they’re enjoying their teammates’ success. They’re enjoying everything, they’re playing together, and they’re playing to win. And when I look at us, I just see a bunch of individuals.”

Asked what needs to change, Morris said the team needs to start with a simple aim.

“The goal has to be to win. Bottom line,” Morris said. “We gotta play to win. That’s sacrificing playing hard, that’s sacrificing being a better teammate, that’s sacrificing whatever it is. We have to put it to the side. No one’s getting traded; trade deadline is over.

“We’re competing for a championship and that’s how we have to approach these games. Win, lose, or draw. We’re going to lose games, but we don’t have no attitude, we don’t have no toughness, we ain’t having fun. It’s gonna be a long season.”

Morris was in the starting lineup against Los Angeles and finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Looking forward, he offered that he’s willing to come off the bench if coach Brad Stevens decides the team needs a change.

“For us to be a championship team, man, this s*** has to change,” Morris said. “We have to genuinely want to win. That has to be the first goal. Whatever that takes, I’m with it. If they want to take me out of the starting lineup, get some juice in there, I’m with it. I’m trying to win.”

So, does the forward have faith that the Celtics’ attitude can change?

“Yeah, I mean, I really do. I think it can,” Morris said. “But you have to start somewhere.”

this worries me more than the losses...

by **RosalieTCeltics** Sun Feb 10, 2019 11:01 am

Finger pointing starting, this will destroy this team.

He is right, all I saw last night was a bunch of ME ball being played once Kyrie left the floor. This is so disappointing to see this happen to a team that entered the season with so much promise.

They can blame the addition of Hayward all they want, he is a TEAM player, passing up shots when he should probably take them, but trying to get others involved.

If they don't right the ship soon, the season is lost, and alot of these guys will be gone. It will make it easier to trade some players because they have not gelled the way it was expected

The worst thing to happen to this team was that run last year in the playoffs. They began to read their press clippings and believe them. Morris can say what he wants, but he may be part of this problem

Losing brings this attitude on. Let's see if they are able to turn it around

by **dboss** Sun Feb 10, 2019 11:18 am

Morris will be gone next year so he can go have some fun somewhere else.

He is the one that started issues in the first place with Jaylen Brown and those things have a way of carrying over.

Kyrie is too self-absorbed for leadership. Al too soft, Smart too volatile and Hayward too timid.

Brad Stevens is the coach of this team so the blame for what is happening falls smack on him. Veterans are not the same thing as leaders and our leadership has been weak.

On this team Brad Stevens needs to lead from the front and bury some of those analytics for common sense.

by **Pumpsie Green** Sun Feb 10, 2019 12:26 pm

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Finger pointing starting, this will destroy this team.

He is right, all I saw last night was a bunch of ME ball being played once Kyrie left the floor. This is so disappointing to see this happen to a team that entered the season with so much promise.

They can blame the addition of Hayward all they want, he is a TEAM player, passing up shots when he should probably take them, but trying to get others involved.

If they don't right the ship soon, the season is lost, and alot of these guys will be gone. It will make it easier to trade some players because they have not gelled the way it was expected

The worst thing to happen to this team was that run last year in the playoffs. They began to read their press clippings and believe them. Morris can say what he wants, but he may be part of this problem

Losing brings this attitude on. Let's see if they are able to turn it around

This team is already destroyed. The question is, can it be resurrected in the playoffs. From my point of view Morris and Smart are the only two guys who, night in and night out, give 100%. Smart clearly doesn't have the talent to be a traditional star, but his effort is there every night. Guys like Hayward, Brown, Tatum, Rozier, Horford etc.....they give an inconsistent effort out there. The talent is there to make a deep playoff run, but there is zero chemistry. And for that I hold Stevens accountable.

by **bobheckler** Sun Feb 10, 2019 12:55 pm

Rozier's production, on a per minute basis, is about the same as it has been his career. In other words, he hasn't improved. We all know he plays better when he starts than off the bench. That is 100% mental. He is averaging 23.1mpg this year and 25.9mpg last year. When you consider he started logging heavy minutes the last month or so of last year after Kyrie went down, he started 16 games last year and 9 this year so far, he's playing about the same minutes off the bench with about the same production. He needs to start to get the most out of him and he isn't starting on this team because he isn't big enough to start opposite Kyrie, ergo, he must go if Kyrie re-signs. He can say whatever he wants, it is clear he isn't the same player when he's not starting.

Jaylen is in his 3rd year and his numbers are about the same, per minute, as they are for his career. In other words, just like with Rozier, he hasn't improved much either. Jaylen likes to use his off-season to attend conferences on entrepreneurship and go to Africa on NBA World exhibitions and do other fun stuff. He needs to stop doing that and focus 100% on basketball in his off-season because, in the NBA now, there is no off-season and he is almost through his 3rd year as a pro. 3 years is 3 years, I don't care how old you are. There are Euros coming over, who started playing professionally when they were 15/16 years old and are pretty close to being ready on Day 1 when they are drafted into the NBA at 19. Age isn't their limiter, so it shouldn't be for Jaylen Brown. 3 years is 3 years. If I'm Danny and I'm seeing Jaylen doing this summer like previous summers, I'm picking up the phone.

Tatum learned nothing from his time with Kobe last summer, that I can see. I don't blame Kobe for this, but I am not seeing Tatum doing anything this year that is better than last year except perhaps running the floor, and I doubt that's what Kobe preached to him.

Hayward doesn't have athletic explosiveness as we all know but he is keeping his head up and looking for his teammates. He is averaging the 2nd most number of assists/minute of play in his career. His eFG%, which takes into account the extra points that come from hitting 3s (and is hurt if you are shooting poorly from 3, like Hayward is this season) is 49%. His career eFG% is 49.9%, so he's not that far off his career average despite shooting only 31.7% from 3. If selfishness is the problem with this team Gordon Hayward is not the one we should be pointing fingers at. Poor 3pt fg%, not shooting enough sure, I'm not saying he's playing great and is worth every penny, but not selfishness.

I've been fired/laid off from a lot of jobs in my life. I've also been promoted a lot of times, perhaps more than many and I can tell you with absolute 100% surety, I learned a helluva lot more from the firings/layoffs than I ever did from the promotions. Sometimes the best gut check is a punch in the gut.

We all wanted to know why Kyrie suddenly went from "I'm re-signing, if you'll have me" to "I'm going to do whatever is best for my career". Remember Kyrie said that Danny needs to sign a "15 year vet"? Maybe it's because he knew/knows that Marcus Morris is right, nobody was just saying it. They, including Kyrie, aren't having fun. Our youth are not just young and athletic, they are also immature and self-centered. My question is "why doesn't/didn't Danny and Brad know this? Has Captain Aingehab been in such a monomaniacal pursuit of his Great White (figuratively speaking) Brow that he is blind to the dangerous waters he is steering his ship into?

Captain Aingehab and his Great White Brow. I just re-read that. Sometimes I crack myself up when I use metaphors. Oh, wait, that's self-centered. Oops. Never mind.

bob

.

by **RosalieTCeltics** Sun Feb 10, 2019 1:11 pm

I will agree with most of what you are saying. Why is it then, that Morris was having the best game of his career at the start of this season and has taken a nose dive downward? Sure, it is easy to blame these guys, and as I said, they deserve most of what you say.

It looks to me like they are making it easier for Ainge to let go of some of these guys. I look at Donovan Mitchell, and look how he has progressed. Why can't Tatum get it thru his head that he needs to work on his game? He just can't read his press clippings, get on the court, and think he is a super star. I personally do not believe he belonged on the all star list, but that is my opinion. He has talent, he needs to coral it and grow up and play like an NBA star.

Jaylen does spend time in the summer working out, he worked with McGrady this year, but he is also too interested in posting video's of his workouts. Forget this garbage and work out steadily. Let KG get ahold of him for a few weeks, the kid wouldn't know what hit him!!!

Rozier is just a hero in his own mind. He is gone, he will not be here next year for sure. I have never been a big follower of his, he drives me nuts. The one thing I do love about his game is his rebounding. His offense is sporadic, if he gets on a roll, all of a sudden he becomes Kyrie's replacement. HAHA

I don't know the answer to this problem. Brad needs to change the way he handles these guys, and I believe you are going to see a change in the lineup soon

by **Ktronic1** Sun Feb 10, 2019 1:48 pm

dboss wrote:Morris will be gone next year so he can go have some fun somewhere else.

He is the one that started issues in the first place with Jaylen Brown and those things have a way of carrying over.

Kyrie is too self-absorbed for leadership. Al too soft, Smart too volatile and Hayward too timid.

Brad Stevens is the coach of this team so the blame for what is happening falls smack on him. Veterans are not the same thing as leaders and our leadership has been weak.

On this team Brad Stevens needs to lead from the front and bury some of those analytics for common sense.

I agree with most of what you’re saying but the incident between Morris and Brown was not the start of the issues. The issues were there and apparent before their little dust up. He may very well be gone next year but what he was saying is true. Not the best setting to say it in but nonetheless true. I think for the most part Smart leads by example and true there are times that he is volatile but sometimes that’s not always a bad thing. No, there is no ‘True’ leader on this team. There are no KG’s or Russell’s living in the neighborhood.
Let’s hope and pray that Danny finds at least one this off season.

by **Ktronic1** Sun Feb 10, 2019 1:53 pm

bobheckler wrote:Rozier's production, on a per minute basis, is about the same as it has been his career. In other words, he hasn't improved. We all know he plays better when he starts than off the bench. That is 100% mental. He is averaging 23.1mpg this year and 25.9mpg last year. When you consider he started logging heavy minutes the last month or so of last year after Kyrie went down, he started 16 games last year and 9 this year so far, he's playing about the same minutes off the bench with about the same production. He needs to start to get the most out of him and he isn't starting on this team because he isn't big enough to start opposite Kyrie, ergo, he must go if Kyrie re-signs. He can say whatever he wants, it is clear he isn't the same player when he's not starting.

Jaylen is in his 3rd year and his numbers are about the same, per minute, as they are for his career. In other words, just like with Rozier, he hasn't improved much either. Jaylen likes to use his off-season to attend conferences on entrepreneurship and go to Africa on NBA World exhibitions and do other fun stuff. He needs to stop doing that and focus 100% on basketball in his off-season because, in the NBA now, there is no off-season and he is almost through his 3rd year as a pro. 3 years is 3 years, I don't care how old you are. There are Euros coming over, who started playing professionally when they were 15/16 years old and are pretty close to being ready on Day 1 when they are drafted into the NBA at 19. Age isn't their limiter, so it shouldn't be for Jaylen Brown. 3 years is 3 years. If I'm Danny and I'm seeing Jaylen doing this summer like previous summers, I'm picking up the phone.

Tatum learned nothing from his time with Kobe last summer, that I can see. I don't blame Kobe for this, but I am not seeing Tatum doing anything this year that is better than last year except perhaps running the floor, and I doubt that's what Kobe preached to him.

Hayward doesn't have athletic explosiveness as we all know but he is keeping his head up and looking for his teammates. He is averaging the 2nd most number of assists/minute of play in his career. His eFG%, which takes into account the extra points that come from hitting 3s (and is hurt if you are shooting poorly from 3, like Hayward is this season) is 49%. His career eFG% is 49.9%, so he's not that far off his career average despite shooting only 31.7% from 3. If selfishness is the problem with this team Gordon Hayward is not the one we should be pointing fingers at. Poor 3pt fg%, not shooting enough sure, I'm not saying he's playing great and is worth every penny, but not selfishness.

I've been fired/laid off from a lot of jobs in my life. I've also been promoted a lot of times, perhaps more than many and I can tell you with absolute 100% surety, I learned a helluva lot more from the firings/layoffs than I ever did from the promotions. Sometimes the best gut check is a punch in the gut.

We all wanted to know why Kyrie suddenly went from "I'm re-signing, if you'll have me" to "I'm going to do whatever is best for my career". Remember Kyrie said that Danny needs to sign a "15 year vet"? Maybe it's because he knew/knows that Marcus Morris is right, nobody was just saying it. They, including Kyrie, aren't having fun. Our youth are not just young and athletic, they are also immature and self-centered. My question is "why doesn't/didn't Danny and Brad know this? Has Captain Aingehab been in such a monomaniacal pursuit of his Great White (figuratively speaking) Brow that he is blind to the dangerous waters he is steering his ship into?

Captain Aingehab and his Great White Brow. I just re-read that. Sometimes I crack myself up when I use metaphors. Oh, wait, that's self-centered. Oops. Never mind.

bob
^^^^^100^^^^!

.

by **Shamrock1000** Sun Feb 10, 2019 7:07 pm

Don't necessarily agree it's the young guys fault. Other than last night, the young guys have played really well when they are running the show, both this year and last. Furthermore, they were/are fun to watch and look like they really enjoy playing together. They play with pace and the ball moves. Similar to the IT teams, they were/are highly likable. The current version of the team is just not fun to watch. They don't look like they enjoy playing with each other. Reading between the lines of Rozier's "we all stand around and watch Kyrie" comments, I don't think they do enjoy it. Actually, no need to read between any lines, it is right there on the lines. Kyrie is no doubt a magnificent talent, yet somehow he doesn't really make the team much better. Not sure why this is true, but both the numbers and my eyes say it is. I'm just going to say it - I don't think Kyrie has it in him to be the leader of a championship team. MVP?? Definitely. But not leader. He is distant and aloof, and guys just aren't inspired by him. His behavior so far - throwing young guys under the bus, the ridiculous contrived phone call to Lebron, publically hedging on his commitment to the team - are text book examples of how not to lead. This is a big problem because although Kyrie can't lead, he will not be led by another player at this point in his career. Maybe he would defer to AD, but I am not sure. As things stand, the Celtics are a good team, but are not close to realistic contenders.

by **RosalieTCeltics** Sun Feb 10, 2019 8:25 pm

I don’t agree, but I have made my thoughts well known here so there is no need to go thru it again.

by **bobheckler** Mon Feb 11, 2019 3:22 pm

by **RosalieTCeltics** Mon Feb 11, 2019 3:36 pm

He is right, Morris didn't hide, he came right out and said it. But I still have an issue with doing this in the press and public. Stand up in the locker room, door shut, and say your peace. But, losing does this to teams. Brad is not shying away from his role in this so it will be interesting to see how they are going forward.

not looking forward to tomorrow's game, Kyrie is not travelling with the team

by **cowens/oldschool** Mon Feb 11, 2019 7:19 pm

Good leave all the women and children behind, and Kyrie....

by **RosalieTCeltics** Mon Feb 11, 2019 8:08 pm

Excuse me????????? Women????????????kyrie????????????

Boy when you guys turn you really turn.

by **cowens/oldschool** Tue Feb 12, 2019 12:55 am

RosalieTCeltics wrote:Excuse me????????? Women????????????kyrie????????????

Boy when you guys turn you really turn.

Just a bad joke, it happens....

by **tardust** Tue Feb 12, 2019 2:50 am

Like I said earlier in the year we have 3 young players that are going to be coming into their 2nd contract soon.
Jalyen Brown I can't imagine him being happy with his name on the block. Not getting enough minutes for either I would guess. Rozier same boat. I am sure he was planning on more minutes this year. Tatum while getting his share of the minutes I would like to see them up to 37 or so. He can handle it, and so can the others. Trouble with Tatum playing with Kyrie there is just not enough ball movment. Usually very efective with Horford and Kyrie so we have 3 player picking their noses because 97% of the time no one will touch the ball but them. Both are effective but we have get these kids developed. Kyrie is injured a LOT it seems like all the way back to Cleveland.

by **tardust** Tue Feb 12, 2019 2:51 am

Like I said earlier in the year we have 3 young players that are going to be coming into their 2nd contract soon.
Jalyen Brown I can't imagine him being happy with his name on the block. Not getting enough minutes for either I would guess. Rozier same boat. I am sure he was planning on more minutes this year. Tatum while getting his share of the minutes I would like to see them up to 37 or so. He can handle it, and so can the others. Trouble with Tatum playing with Kyrie there is just not enough ball movment. Usually very efective with Horford and Kyrie so we have 3 player picking their noses because 97% of the time no one will touch the ball but them. Both are effective but we have get these kids developed. Kyrie is injured a LOT it seems like all the way back to Cleveland.

by Sponsored content

Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’

Re: Marcus Morris on the Celtics: ‘It hasn’t been fun for a long time’