The buzz around the Boston Celtics has been amplified over the last handful of weeks as stories and reports have been flying left and right about the status of a team that currently sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference standings as of Monday. One of the most vocal players of late has been forward Marcus Morris, who wanted to clarify his prior comments about the team not enjoying playing with one another.

While many discuss the impending free agency of Morris' All-Star teammate, Kyrie Irving, it's easy to forget that Morris himself is headed to free agency later this summer. The eighth-year forward has shifted into primarily a bench role over the past two seasons with Boston, although he is on pace to set a new career high with 14.6 points per game this season. Morris is also shooting a career-best 47.6 percent from the field, all of which comes before he is set to cash in on a sizable payday.

Article Continues Below

Before that though, the Celtics are looking to land themselves in the NBA Finals. Whether or not they truly enjoy playing with each other, the team's collaboration of talent is undeniable, as is evidenced by the fact that they were sans Irving and Gordon Hayward (who are averaging a combined 34.4 points per game this year) during last year's postseason and still came within a win of a Finals appearance.

Boston will match up Tuesday against the Philadelphia 76ers and Wednesday versus the Detroit Pistons prior to the All-Star break. From there, it's all eyes toward the playoffs.