Markieff Morris has served as an unsung hero for the Lakers in the absences of LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Kyle Goon of the Orange County Register writes.
Morris, 31, has given Los Angeles a steady level of production in his 10th NBA season. In 49 games with the team (25 starts), the veteran has averaged 7.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 20.5 minutes per contest, shooting 44% from the floor and 35% from deep.
“I mean, (expletive), look at my production throughout my career,” Morris said. “I would think they would know I could be this consistent. Everybody’s trying to judge you off of how the season starts, but the tide always turns.”
As Goon notes, Morris has reached double-digit scoring in 10 of his last 13 games. The Kansas alum is set to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
There’s more from the Western Conference tonight:
- Another player who’s produced for the Lakers is Andre Drummond, Broderick Turner of The Los Angeles Times writes. Drummond has averaged 16.5 points, 12.6 rebounds and 27.9 minutes in six games since joining the Lakers, performing at a high level as the team’s starting center.
- Grizzlies guard Tyus Jones earned a $817K bonus after the team beat Milwaukee 128-115 on Saturday, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link). Jones had an incentive in his contract for 33 wins, but the total was prorated down to 29 due to the shortened season. Memphis currently holds the eighth-best record in the Western Conference at 29-26.
- Warriors guard Juan Toscano-Anderson has been diagnosed with a concussion, Mark Medina of USA TODAY tweets. Toscano-Anderson suffered a brutal fall in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against Boston and left the contest early. As a result, he’s now in the league’s concussion protocol.
Memphis will also be getting Jaren Jackson back soon which could help move them up to the #6 spot in the West as the Blazers and Lakers continue to struggle.
Memphis is 5 games behind LAL, chill. Keep watching rockets’ tankathon and hope to keep your pick this year
Drummond hasn’t met jojo yet.
Shouldn’t every player have a wins clause in their contract? Oh, I forgot, that would go against front office decisions to tank. Never mind.
Shouldn’t the league not allow teams to pick up buy out players because that goes against the cap purpose. NBA don’t care they just care about viewership.
Of course they care about viewership it’s a business. The only reason the NBA exists is to make money. It is not a non-profit.
Drummond hasn’t averaged that for the lakers. He’s average that for the season, much less for lakers
His 6th game was good… may be late to post… 27points in OT game.
It’s like Utah wants Gobert to help defend everyone but the center.