Boston Celtics veteran forward Marcus Morris knew his name would be called on for this pivotal Eastern Conference Semifinals series against the Milwaukee Bucks before it even started
“I knew I was starting when we won. Once we swept (Indiana),” said Morris, according to John Karalis of MassLive. “I was in practice with the first team the entire time.”
Morris brings more than one aspect to this roster, and his well-versed repertoire would be just the tools head coach Brad Stevens needed to deal with Giannis Antetokounmpo — a gambit that worked well in an impressive 112-90 win in Game 1.
“Brad just wanted me to space the floor, get Giannis away from the rim and those guys away from the rim. So I think we did that really well,” said Morris. “Guys understood the game plan. Obviously Giannis is a great player, possibly MVP. And we just swarmed him. Whenever he came in there, three or four guys were around him. And we just tried to wall up against him.”
Stevens confirmed so during the post-game presser.
“I thought Marcus’ size and yet the skill and ability to play in a smaller fashion made the most sense,” he said after the game, when Stevens could finally discuss his lineups. “Also wanted to keep Gordon coming off (the bench) and so we could play through some of his actions when those other guys went to the bench. So we’ll see how it looks when we go back and look at it on film. Obviously I thought it was good.”
Morris' mobility would be much better suited than Hayward guarding a 6-foot-11 gazelle in transition, as well as giving the Celtics some long-range shooting, toughness and veteran know-how to stay on top of the MVP candidate.
Needless to say, his adjustments worked like a miracle, as the Celtics boast an impressive 1-0 series lead.
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