The Return of the Mook: Marcus Morris saves the Boston Celtics in his debut in OKC

http://celticswire.com/2017/11/04/the-return-of-the-mook-marcus-morris-saves-the-boston-celtics-in-his-debut-in-okc/




The Return of the Mook: Marcus Morris saves the Boston Celtics in his debut in OKC










By: Jared Weiss | 9 hours ago




There was some sort of Freaky Friday thing going on at Chesapeake Arena. In the first half, the Celtics looked like a stagnant amalgamation of the Thunder stereotype of the past. Then they went back to the locker room, emerged with Marcus Morris starting the second half and won it 64-39.
Boston finished the game off with a 101-94 win and Morris was the key to turning things around.

Boston Celtics 

@celtics

[ltr]Stevens: "I'm really happy. You walk into the locker room at halftime...they knew they weren't playing well enough to beat a team like this"[/ltr]




9:14 PM - Nov 3, 2017

They played with an intensity and pace that completely overhauled their execution and opportunities. Boston found more open looks from deep by increasing the pace and getting more transition plays. Boston’s transition defense was garbage in the first half and they flipped it around in the second half.

“We played with a real purpose on both ends during the second half,” Stevens told reporters after the game.

Marcus Morris was the independent variable in Stevens’ experiment, helping Boston turn it around in the third quarter with an ideal matchup on Carmelo Anthony. Morris told reporters after the game that he had studied Anthony’s game and knew how to handle his quick twitch shoulder feints and jab steps.

Morris ended up a +12 in his 7:32 of playing time in the third quarter, holding Melo to 0-for-6 from the field. He is one of the few guys in the league with a comparable physical profile to Melo that can keepup with him. More importantly, he tried to press the issue that Boston get into transition early and often.

Jared Weiss 

@JaredWeissNBA

[ltr]Brad: We are better with Marcus Morris. There’s no good game to have a first game back. In the 2nd half he felt so much more comfortable.[/ltr]




9:26 PM - Nov 3, 2017

They had 8 fast break points while holding OKC to 27.3% shooting in the third, allowing them to rapidly climb back into the game. Their 11 free throw attempts in one quarter was out of the ordinary for Boston and a credit to Jaylen Brown’s commitment to be more effective getting to the rim. He went 3-for-6 from the line, but got seven boards playing the entire quarter.

They shook off the stagnation, going from a 93.48 pace in the first half to a 98.03 in the third quarter. Those extra few possessions gave them the extra time to close the gap, making the fourth quarter less of a hail mary and more of a two-minute drill. They hit all the proverbial check downs before closing out the game with some massive plays.

Jared Weiss 

@JaredWeissNBA

[ltr]Marcus Morris: “That was a playoff atmosphere out there, so that was a big, big game out there…That was a statement game for us.”[/ltr]




9:56 PM - Nov 3, 2017

The Celtics closed this one out with a calligraphy of Irving drives, defensive execution and Horford’s sharp shooting. Stevens closed out with what resembled last season’s coma IT&D lineup, running out Irving, Smart, Brown, Morris and Horford. They talked about Morris’ return like it would be a slow and steady acclimation. But as Stevens said, there’s no good game to make your debut. Morris proved that he will be exactly what they needed him to be: a pseudo-Crowder replacement in the fourth quarter.

Boston has shown this season that their new identity is full of promise in theory and in practice. But in a game against one of the league’s juggernauts, they more importantly proved they can go back to their origin story and find a win.



bob



.

Agree that Morris made some very solid contributions in his 20 minutes of play last night. He clearly makes the Cs a tougher team to beat if he can continue to play as well or better than against the Thunder.

HI played in a couples fantasy leagues last year.  Had him on all of my rosters too.   

Seldom great numbers but usually pretty steady.

Personally I'm betting in a month or so he will be starting. Not that it matters that much. We have a great bench that can supply a spark.

beat

Morris = Versatility. Plain and simple, that is what potentially makes the Celtics positionless basketball work and the whole point of the exploration of that method.

You start Baynes against a strong, physical center like Adams - but then quickly recognize that they are crowding the paint (in fact the Thunder PLAYED ZONE most of the 1st half), so you need to space the floor. You also see that Carmelo is feasting on the thinner, finesse player like Tatum so you insert Morris, who immediately starts pushing Anthony around - getting under his skin and forcing him to (from that point forward) have a terrible shooting night.

Other nights, you are playing against teams that Semi or Tatum can play the 4 and space the floor and Morris wont get as many minutes. But in the end, Morris is taller, strong and more physical than any other big off the bench. He is part Jae Crowder, part Draymond Green, and you need people like that to suceed in the NBA.

Too early to call this, but lets be clear. Morris is 28 years old - if you like him and his salary (which you should), there is no reason he is not part of their long term plans.

His defense was better than I thought, we have him on a very cheap contract for this year. Hes gonna be looking for big money next year and if he helps us keep winning, he'll get that big contract somewhere. He can play and defend either forward position very physically.

cowens/oldschool wrote:His defense was better than I thought, we have him on a very cheap contract for this year. Hes gonna be looking for big money next year and if he helps us keep winning, he'll get that big contract somewhere. He can play and defend either forward position very physically.

Cow,

Marcus Morris is under contract next year for $5.4M. In 2019-2020 he is a UFA.


bob


.

Thanks bob, well at those numbers he's a bargain

Morris will start more games than Baynes this year barring injury.

The luxurious truth is not who starts but who matches up best.

The truthtruth about Brad is not about how he makes players better but how he puts them in positions where they can make themselves better by playing to their strengths.

Give Mercurial Morris a game ball. He went out and made a difference that allowed the Celtics to come back and win. He did that on his own. All Brad did was put him in the lineup.

In this day and age of perpetual hype it is important to remember that the Celtics brand has always been about unselfish team play. That starts at the top with Danny doing all that he can to supply Brad with the players he needs. Brad then figures out how they will play best and putting them in position to do so. But the most important part will always be the players who get the opportunity to go out on the court and execute to their potential.

Rust and all, that is exactly what Morris did. No training camp, no practice time, just bball to the best he could provide. It made the difference in the game in what should be Morris' worst game as a Celtic.

All of the pieces are coming together. Danny did his job.

All of the pieces are coming together. Brad is doing his job.

All of the pieces are coming together. The players are doing their job.

All of the pieces are being analysed. The fans are doing our job.

Once again, as always, this is a great time to be a Celtics fan.

17goingon18

mulcogiseng wrote:The luxurious truth is not who starts but who matches up best.

The truthtruth about Brad is not about how he makes players better but how he puts them in positions where they can make themselves better by playing to their strengths.

Give Mercurial Morris a game ball. He went out and made a difference that allowed the Celtics to come back and win. He did that on his own. All Brad did was put him in the lineup.

In this day and age of perpetual hype it is important to remember that the Celtics brand has always been about unselfish team play. That starts at the top with Danny doing all that he can to supply Brad with the players he needs. Brad then figures out how they will play best and putting them in position to do so. But the most important part will always be the players who get the opportunity to go out on the court and execute to their potential.

Rust and all, that is exactly what Morris did. No training camp, no practice time, just bball to the best he could provide. It made the difference in the game in what should be Morris' worst game as a Celtic.

All of the pieces are coming together. Danny did his job.

All of the pieces are coming together. Brad is doing his job.

All of the pieces are coming together. The players are doing their job.

All of the pieces are being analysed. The fans are doing our job.

Once again, as always, this is a great time to be a Celtics fan.

17goingon18

+1

Sandpd wrote:

mulcogiseng wrote:The luxurious truth is not who starts but who matches up best.

The truthtruth about Brad is not about how he makes players better but how he puts them in positions where they can make themselves better by playing to their strengths.

Give Mercurial Morris a game ball. He went out and made a difference that allowed the Celtics to come back and win. He did that on his own. All Brad did was put him in the lineup.

In this day and age of perpetual hype it is important to remember that the Celtics brand has always been about unselfish team play. That starts at the top with Danny doing all that he can to supply Brad with the players he needs. Brad then figures out how they will play best and putting them in position to do so. But the most important part will always be the players who get the opportunity to go out on the court and execute to their potential.

Rust and all, that is exactly what Morris did. No training camp, no practice time, just bball to the best he could provide. It made the difference in the game in what should be Morris' worst game as a Celtic.

All of the pieces are coming together. Danny did his job.

All of the pieces are coming together. Brad is doing his job.

All of the pieces are coming together. The players are doing their job.

All of the pieces are being analysed. The fans are doing our job.

Once again, as always, this is a great time to be a Celtics fan.

17goingon18

+1

+2

Plus Sand I remember you from the first get together at the Sports Depot. Nice to have you here too. And your avatar is my ALL time favorite too. Nothing compares to having been able to watch Hondo play.

beat

Hi Beat,

Yes, I remember you and Marcus at the Sports Depot and Marcus finding and returning a memory card for my camera that I had dropped on the floor. I see where Marcus is doing great with his basketball aspirations, via video. Please let him know that I wish him the best. I've been to a few games at BC over the last couple of years - it's a great place to watch games.

Yes, Hondo was/is my #1 all time sports hero.

It looks like it'll be an exiting and fun season watching the C's, despite Hayward's unfortunate injury. Danny's overhaul of the team was pure genius in my eyes. He saw that last year's team had reached it's ceiling, overachieving with limited talent, size, and length.

The current roster has yet to know and realize what their potential is, which will be even higher when everyone becomes more acquainted with each other and when Hayward returns for the next season. They have some players who are not only more athletic, but also are also more physical at every replaced position with legitimate size. They'll own the paint against most teams, which is a far cry from last year. Plus, they have an edgy toughness to not let anyone push them around, or as Cowens would appreciate, "Manly Men".  

Although they'd be better w/Hayward, anything can happen where I haven't yet put a limit on how high they might go this season. GS is at a level of their own, but even they look to be vulnerable and may have slipped a notch.

I'm looking forward to your future posts.

Sandpd

beat wrote:

Sandpd wrote:

mulcogiseng wrote:The luxurious truth is not who starts but who matches up best.

The truthtruth about Brad is not about how he makes players better but how he puts them in positions where they can make themselves better by playing to their strengths.

Give Mercurial Morris a game ball. He went out and made a difference that allowed the Celtics to come back and win. He did that on his own. All Brad did was put him in the lineup.

In this day and age of perpetual hype it is important to remember that the Celtics brand has always been about unselfish team play. That starts at the top with Danny doing all that he can to supply Brad with the players he needs. Brad then figures out how they will play best and putting them in position to do so. But the most important part will always be the players who get the opportunity to go out on the court and execute to their potential.

Rust and all, that is exactly what Morris did. No training camp, no practice time, just bball to the best he could provide. It made the difference in the game in what should be Morris' worst game as a Celtic.

All of the pieces are coming together. Danny did his job.

All of the pieces are coming together. Brad is doing his job.

All of the pieces are coming together. The players are doing their job.

All of the pieces are being analysed. The fans are doing our job.

Once again, as always, this is a great time to be a Celtics fan.

17goingon18

+1

+2

Plus Sand I remember you from the first get together at the Sports Depot. Nice to have you here too. And your avatar is my ALL time favorite too.  Nothing compares to having been able to watch Hondo play.

beat

Mulcogi,

Let's make it a trifecta.

+3


bob


.

Morris fits the timeline and he also fits what we need.  All of our wings can defend and get up and down the court.

Morris is quick enough to defend the three and strong enough to bang at the four.

I can only imagine how good this team will be when Gordon comes back.  Throw in the potential for another high lottery pick and it is very realistic to expect a championship run over and extended period of time.

Once Boston plays Toronto and Washington and gets  redo with the Cavs we will know if that championship run arrives a year early.

Dboss