The New York Knicks have gotten off to a disappointing 4-10 start to the season, but that hasn't stopped veteran forward Marcus Morris from being a presence of leadership in the locker room. Head coach David Fizdale praised the last of the four power forwards signed in free agency, claiming Morris is doing the right things to not only fit in but be the one young players listen to and follow.
“I've been around some great basketball leaders and he is an excellent leader. One of the best I've been around,” said Fizdale on Tuesday, according to SNY's Ian Begley. “All these guys respect him. His way of going about it is very selfless. He always owns his own stuff first before he tells someone else what to do.”
Morris has asserted himself as a voice of reason in the Knicks' locker room, so much so that Fizdale already expects him to be his reflection on the hardwood.
“I almost expect to get a text from Marcus at night. ‘Coach, what do you need for the next day. What do you need for shootaround. What do you need for practice. Is there anything else I can be doing to help?'” Fizdale said of Morris' message.
The Knicks were expected to be somewhat competitive in the East, but are right back in the cellar of the conference 14 games in. Morris is still optimistic, noting there is plenty of the 2019-20 campaign left to turn things around.
“We're 14 games in, we've got a hundred more,” he said Monday. “…. We're going to continue to get better and I think we're going to keep taking steps in the right direction.”
New York won't have quite that many games left as Morris suggests, especially if they fall shy of making the playoffs — but the message is that the Knicks are looking to build for the future and every game counts as one more bit of experience they can use to improve.
Morris has been a stud since taking part in Fizdale's starting lineup, averaging 21.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game since the start of November and leading by example, despite the disappointing results.
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