Getting to know Marcus Morris - Your new Franchise player

I watch all the Kansas games, my sister and my mom both went to KU. Iv seen Marcus play just about every game he's ever played at Kansas. First thing I wanna say is he is most certainly a sf and I think anyone with a brain can see this only if u just go by moreys draft history. It's no secrete that DM loves mello and honestly the comparisons are not as far off as some might think. I deffenently think we picked him to be our future sf for a very long time and I think DM thinks so too. If anyone really watched mello in college you would know that there game and athleticism are actually very similar while not on the lebron dwade level he most certainly is no Shane battier either he constantly would catch ally oops and put back dunks almost every game an if he pulls a board down would almost always jump quicker than the pfs guarding him and dunk it back in with no step. He also has a very good handle for any sf in the league there was a handful of games were he would catch the ball at halfcourt get in the triple threat and then take his man off the dribble with a variety of moves getting to the rack for an easy bucket. Honestly and some might call me crazy bit I really don't see much a difference in Morris and Williams who was drafted 2 and I was really high on him too. Iv been high on Morris all yr since to me he really separated himself in his junior yr from tweener to sf at the nxt level do I think he is a sure bet for franchise player? That I'm not sure but I do think he can be just as good as carmello if he focuses and improves his game. Also one more thing I want to point out is Kansas plays a very team orientated pass first look for the open shot and cutters so the fact that he still scored 17 a game shows the guy has the complete package from the offensive side of the ball had he been on a team like let's say uconn were they let there best players dictate your offense I think he would have avg 25 a game and been player of the ur and prob a top 5 pick this yr we should all be thanking the great bill self for hurting his draft stock a little bit lol. I think this was a wonderful pick and really had him as top 5 best players in this draft so I'm very excited about this pick ad think we might have just drafted a future all star type sf who at the very least should cure our sf spot for the nxt 10 yrs and a valuable 3rd option with his ceiling be mello like remember guys mello needed help to. Hope I cleared a little bit of speculation on his athleticism and ball handling.

 

So he is subpar athletically as a PF...yet we expect him to get time at the 3 spot. Anyone else see a huge error in logic here?

 

Yes, I see a huge error in logic here...

 

Shane Battier was subpar athletically as a pf, JVG thought he'd be ok at the PF spot when we traded for him since he's 6'8 and give Yao that stretch 4, but he got eaten up at the boards and everybody dunked on his face. As a small forward though Shane Battier has been one of the best defenders and all around role players in the L.

So basically being an effective SF you can go two routes: skill or athleticism. If you're athletic you'll be an Andre Iguadala, Shawn Marion or AK47 type of player, but if you have that low post game, a working jumpshot and strength you can be more like Melo, Battier, Artest or Paul Pierce. The important part here is even if you're not that athletic you should be able to hit open jumpers and have some ball handling ability so you can drive to the hoop, and MM seems to have both of those in spades.

I'm really excited to get him, I think he'll be Melo except not a thug and lazy on D.

 

Shane Battier is definitely not subpar athletically as a PF. Size-wise, yes.

 

Draft preview from the Rockets own site:

http://www.nba.com/rockets/news/nba_drft_preview_tking__lo_2011_06_20.html
Marcus Morris, Kansas: 21 years old, 6-9, 230

I’ve seen a lot of these kids play before they were in college and Marcus Morris, there’s just isn’t anything that really stands out about his game. I think his draft status, where’s he’s being mentioned to be selected in the 9-17 range, is more an indication of why this is a weak draft.

I envision him becoming at best a 9 or 10 point per game player who collects 4-5 rebounds as well, someone who can fit in and be a solid role player, but I don’t know if the people drafting him realize that his upside is capped. By NBA standards, he’s at best a 50th percentile athlete for a forward. Some people think he is stuck between being a 3 and a 4; we list him as a 4 because, like Derrick Williams, we don’t see him having the physical disposition to succeed as a 3. I don’t think Marcus Morris has that, which is why instead of calling him a power 3, I’d call him a versatile 4.

He’s a potential solid role player, but expecting him to be significantly more than that could be setting him up for failure.

 

That's because the Rockets took a look at him and told him he was a small forward. Whereas other teams passed on him because they feel he's an undersized 4. It's always nice when a team knows what your "potential" is rather than just seeing your past record.

Honestly, I think Kansas screwed him out of at least 5 draft positions by making him play PF in college. If he had played the 3 there, or just regular "forward", he'd probably be a top 5-8 pick IMO. But the tweener business messed him up badly.

 

I think we got a bit tougher and meaner with this guy. .570 FG % also seems really solid. Not sure about lateral speed and hops; also don't like the FT %:

 

From what I can see, most of the detractors here haven't even seen the kid play. They probably just looked at draft express, saw the "PF" label and concluded he's an undersized PF.

LOL and since when did Melo become this athletic beast? Did he win the dunk contest when I wasn't looking? Was he dunking from the ft line? Catching oops with his right and finishing with his left? Melo isn't that athletic by NBA standards, compare him to the real athletic freaks like Wade, Lebron and Iggy and he'll look slow and flatfooted. He does have a quick first step, but compare it to authentic "lightning-quick" first steps like Tony Parker or Rose and he looks like Adam Morrison. As far as 3 pt range goes, I would wager MM actually has a better 3 pt shot than Melo.

I'm MM will be better than Melo right off the bat, obviously Melo's skill levels are among the best in the NBA, probably in NBA history as well. However skills unlike talent can be learned, and I just think MM has much better intangibles than Melo, and if we could get a lesser Melo who actually plays D and doesn't take plays off then I think he'll end up better than Melo.

 

LOL what are you talking about? Battier can barely get off the floor, and unlike Hayes he doesn't have the heft to hold his position in the post. Putting a hand in the shooter face works well when you're guarding Kobe Bryant, but if you're facing Amare or Duncan they'll just dunk all over you.

 

Actually I'm curious why did he play the 4 in college? Wasn't his twin a PF as well? Couldn't the twin play the four while he played the 3? Or did they go to different colleges (which would be weird IMHO)?

 

Why do I feel me post be getting deleted

 

You hatin' cos I'm telling the truth.

 

OP -- I have no idea if you're right but I loved your post. Thanks for the energy and the optimism.

 

How is Odom a undersized PF? He's taller than some C's in this league.

And also, Odom has much more talent than Morris. Odom is an all-star on any other team, and I'd be surprised if Morris turned out to be better than 7th man in this league.

 

I'm having DD V-Span flashbacks.

 

I think there is no question that he can be good on the offensive side of the ball and on the boards as a 3. The real question is: can he at least be an average defender against guys like Durant, Igudala and Lebron. I haven`t seen him play, so I can`t answer that - but if he can be an average or even a good defender at the 3, we just might have ourselves a steal here.

If he turns out to be another undersized 4, then we just stockpiled another assett - and we really should stop adding assetts and start using those assetts to get our team stronger.

 

A guy that came to my mind when watching him is Danny Granger. I think he doesn't quite have the explosion of Granger, but if he can develop the consistent 3 point range that Granger did, he can be a very, very good player.