Boston Celtics forward Marcus Morris has developed into a reliable stretch-four option, one that has gone from keeping the team afloat in the playoffs to being one of the pillars of this veteran squad, which was forced to stay resilient after a slow start to the season.

The 29-year-old has put together his best effort yet, posting career-highs in every offensive category but assists, with 15.5 points on 50 percent shooting from the floor, 44.1 percent from deep and an outstanding 88.6 percent from the foul line to go with 6.1 rebounds.

Coming into a contract year, it stands to reason this will bode well for the veteran, as his transformation into this stretch-four extraordinaire could set him up for big bucks come July.

“A motivator?” asked Morris, according to Jay King of The Athletic. “Nah, I wouldn’t say that. Obviously, who wouldn’t want to play well in their contract year, but it wasn’t a motivator. The feeling that I had last year being so close to being in the Finals, that was more of a motivator for me if anything.”

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Pressed further to see if his looming free agency was part of his booming season? Morris put his team goals before his personal ones, hoping to make even more of a difference.

“Is it in the back of my mind? Nah, man. I mean, I don’t really approach the season and the games like that, to be honest with you. Every year I’ve tried to get better. Even when it wasn’t my contract year, I always tried to improve and bring something else to the game. I’m just getting the opportunity doing it on such a high level with the Boston Celtics, I think it’s just getting noticed more. … So, I don’t think it’s the contract year. I just think I’m in a great system, playing with great players, and I’m being able to feed for myself. It’s not like I can’t get it done.”

The Kansas standout has been a welcome sight for coach Brad Stevens, who has been able to start him when the team has dealt with injuries or bring him off the bench, without any major drop off in performance through one way or another. Morris' reliable 3-point shot and his willingness to fire has resulted in making a career-best 2.3 treys per game — an invaluable asset for a team that ranks third in the league in 3-pointers made per game.