Subscribe
Follow Us
The Boston Celtics played well in their 108-97 win over the Joel Embiid-less Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday night.
Marcus Morris's play in the third quarter helped the Celtics get back in the driver's seat after letting the 76ers come back from a big deficit. He finished the game with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting in 28 minutes off the bench.
The only problem is Morris didn't seem too keen about coming off the bench. When asked by reporters about it, his two-word answer spoke volumes, per Jared Weiss of Celtics Wire.
Hey Marcus Morris, how did it feel coming off the bench?
“Next question.”
https://t.co/3Twgrlpf8X— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) December 1, 2017
Morris, to his credit, has been better as a starter than a bench player. In nine starts this season, Morris has averaged 13.4 points and 5.8 rebounds while shooting 42.9 percent from the 3-point line, per NBA.com.
In four games off the bench, he's averaging slightly less points and rebounds, but he's shooting a paltry 18.2 percent from 3.
All NBA players — professional athletes for that matter — want more playing time. A smaller percentage actually voice their frustrations with it, but it does happen.
People have made the argument that Morris should move to the bench indefinitely, but it seemed like Morris coming off the bench against Philadelphia may have been for matchup purposes only, according to CBS Sports.
Morris contributed in a way that led to Thursday's win, even if it was off the bench. But the numbers don't like, and Morris may have a legitimate gripe with the Boston coaching stuff on his topic.
