Marcus Morris is trying to stay positive with the Sixers, even though he’s played a limited role since being traded from the Clippers in the James Harden blockbuster. Morris scored 16 points in 20 minutes during the team’s blowout victory over the Lakers on Monday but has played eight or fewer minutes in six of 10 games this season.
“Just naturally being a 12-year starter, something like that, trying to find my ways,” he told Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It’s a little, you know what I’m saying? I didn’t expect it to go that way. You know it’s a challenge. I’m up for the challenge. So like I said, whatever is thrown my way, I accept it and try to help in any capacity that I can.”
We have more from the Atlantic Division:
- In the same story, Pompey reports that Kelly Oubre participated in the Sixers’ practice on Sunday. Oubre, who is recovering from broken ribs suffered when he was struck by a vehicle while walking, also participated in the team’s shootaround on Monday, Pompey tweets.
- The Nets may not only need to beat Toronto on Tuesday to advance to the in-season tournament quarterfinals — they may have to run up the score to win a tiebreaker, Brian Lewis of the New York Post notes. Brooklyn is 2-1 entering the final game of its group stage. “Oh, I don’t know all the particular rules. I know we’ve got to win by a certain amount,” guard Spencer Dinwiddie said.
- Raptors forward Pascal Siakam, who will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer, is being posted up more by the new coaching staff and it’s working, Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca writes. He’s posting up nearly 17% of his possessions, compared to just 10.3% of his possessions last season. According to NBA.com, Siakam is shooting 60.9% on his post-up attempts. “It’s a natural progression of our team. We’re not forcing any post-ups, we’re not calling plays to post up. But if there’s a mismatch in transition or him recognizing that he can get it down there, we’ll take it,” coach Darko Rajakovic said.
Morris has always been a solid 2way player. And a closer in competitive gms. I don’t believe he’s done yet. He can help the Sixers.
he’s washed bruh and has been for awhile now
Kinda hard to make that judgement for a guy who hasn’t gotten much pt. He can still hit shots and grab boards. Add a little size without sacrificing spacing. If he can be what Kevin Love was for the Heat in the playoffs last season, or the Cavs the year before and early last year, that’s still valuable. Not flashy, but useful.
If you look at his splits from last yr. He shot well. His numbers are decent considering he’s not a top option on Clippers. He’s from Philly. So I’m sure he’d want to do well. 34 is not old.
Playing Siakam as a more traditional post-up big and making Barnes a wing attacker is an interesting but savvy move to get the most out of both of them by Rajakovic. Siakam isn’t at his best as a 3pt shooter so far, but playing him and his ball-handling ability in the post is smart and minimizes that weakness. It frees up Schroeder more to move around and get mismatches or open passing lanes, too, which is a plus. The Raptors don’t look great so far, but maybe they can surprise us. It’s fun to see teams with a set style mix things up.
Siakam to me is not prime time. He gets you big numbers. But he’s not about winning. He needs a #1 next to him imo. Also OG is a guy they should move. Get a real PG. And build around Siakam (PF) Barnes (SF). Play Dickey at SG. Raptors are like stalling to me.
I’d guess they’re hoping Barnes continues to develop into that #1 option. He’s drawn Kawhi Leonard comps, and if he can manage to take his game to that level? That’s a genuine superstar. I certainly was surprised by how he’s looked better this year. I’ll freely admit that I doubted him with how lackluster his sophomore season looked next to his draft peers like Mobley and Franz Wagner, but he looks *nice* now.
Siakam is always a favorite of mine, but I agree with you. He’s a very good, potentially even great #2 option, but he’s not the guy who can lead a team to a chip. Maybe not “not about winning”, but he’s not a #1. Just too inconsistent. He can give you 40/10/8 and then give you bupkis.
Schroeder has honestly done a good job for them. Not just stats-wise; he gets his teammates open and tugs defenses back and forth like a good guard should. He’s not a long-term fit, obviously, but he’s been quite solid. If they can trade OG, say, to the Knicks and get IQ back? Might be a good move for them. (Good for the Knicks too) I just think Masai’s self-sabotage there with his massive trade demands will work against them.