Boston Celtics: Life without Marcus Morris
Marcus Morris recently missed Sunday’s game against the Detroit Pistons because of a knee injury and will be out for awhile. Here is a look at life without him.
Marcus Morris has been both in and out of the starting lineup all season long. When a list of inactives was reported for Sunday night’s game, it was told that he was out due to a knee injury.
Of course any initial reaction when seeing a player is out because of a knee injury is always a “oh no” moment, but it’s been reported it’s only “nagging” discomfort, per The Vertical‘s Shams Charania — hopefully nothing serious.
It’s yet to be determined how long the “extended time” is really interpreted as, but it’s assumed it will be a while. What does this mean for the Boston Celtics? Well, two things.
Depth:
The game against the Chicago Bulls this past Monday night (Dec. 11), truly showed how things are going to go. While it helped that Kyrie Irving was unable to play due to injury, the Celtics were not the same team we have seen throughout the season. There is no reason Boston should ever lose to a team that is currently tied for the worst record in the league.
Ignoring the fact that Irving was out, and the idea that the Celtics had to run one more guy off the bench into the starting lineup, the Celtics wound up running an eight-man bench. To put that in context, teams like the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Houston Rockets run a bench using 3-4 players.
Just because they used a bunch of players does not necessarily mean they are able to get good production out of them. The game against the Bulls, the Celtics used two players who have only played three games or less. Not only that, they have little to no experience on their bench. The only two players who have played more then one season are Terry Rozier and Shane Larkin. That means six players on their bench are considered rookies.
This is their current bench depth cart:
- Guard: Terry Rozier, Marcus Smart, Kadeem Allen, Jabari Bird, Shane Larkin
- Forward: Guerschon Yabusele, Daniel Theis, Semi Ojeleye, Abdel Nader
- Center: N/A
Boston has lacked depth that you would wish to have on a team with the best record in the Eastern Conference. Boston has things locked down at the guard positions with Smart and Rozier. Between those two, the Celtics have two of the best backup guards in the game. Both are defensive-minded players who can shut down opposing guards. However, they aren’t the best offensive players.
Allen and Bird are no-namers that have not seen many minutes, appearing in a combined four games. Larkin, a hard worker, could be remembered best for his days at the University of Miami, or as a first round pick. All three players have struggled to find playing time.
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Next you have the forward positions, and things are a little cloudy in that area. You have players in Yabusele, Theis, Nader and Ojeleye. These four players make up the forward position off the bench. Any fan of the game could look at that list and question who these players are. For most, it could be assumed that they have not heard of their names. Theis is the only exception of that group of players.
The common household name is not the most important thing, but it’s how they play. However, for the Celtics, that does not mean much. None of these players averages more than three points and three rebounds per game with the exception of Theis, who averages 4.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
The center position lacks utter depth. The only player registered on Celtics team roster for the center position is Aron Baynes, Al Horford, and Daniel Theis. Of course, now that Morris is out, Baynes starts. Horford is and always will be the starter for this team this season. As for Theis, he is listed as a forward-center, but he is better suited as a forward with his build at 6’8″ and 245 pounds.
The Celtics are running out of options off their bench, and although Morris has actually started nine of his 16 games this season, pulling another player from the bench to the starting lineup further limits to the team’s depth and it could end up hurting them in the long run.
Offensive output:
If there is one weakness to the Celtics beyond their depth, then it’s easily their scoring output. According to NBA.com, their bench currently ranks 23rd in the NBA in terms of points per game. They are currently averaging 30.8 points per game.
Furthermore, without Morris coming off the bench, where he currently averages 12.1 points per game, the Celtics could run into some trouble. Without Morris’ 12 points a night, the Celtics’ bench production is sure to decrease fairly quickly.
Not one player averages over 10 points per game, though Smart and Rozier both average nine points a game. Beyond them, the scoring is a major disappointment.
Without the help of Morris, Smart and Rozier will have to step up their games tremendously, as they are easily the two best players on the bench. One issue with that is their inability to shoot the ball. Both Smart and Rozier are defensive-minded players who have yet to round out their games on the offensive side of the ball.
Poor defense, or an understanding of who is shooting the ball? It could be viewed as both, but it is true, Smart has not been a good 3-point shooter throughout his career.
Here is a look at both players’ offensive stats throughout their careers:
| Player | From | To | G | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | 2P | 2PA | 2P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Rozier | 2016 | 2018 | 141 | 1.9 | 5.3 | .357 | 0.8 | 2.3 | .323 | 1.1 | 3.0 | .383 | .428 | 0.7 | 0.8 | .788 | 5.2 |
| Marcus Smart | 2015 | 2018 | 233 | 3.0 | 8.6 | .353 | 1.2 | 4.1 | .290 | 1.8 | 4.5 | .412 | .423 | 2.0 | 2.6 | .758 | 9.3 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 12/12/2017.
Neither one of these players have been able to find their rhythm on the offensive side of things as you can see. Smart averages a 29.0 percent shooting from beyond the arc throughout his career, whereas Rozier is shooting 32.3 percent, though he’s at a more respectable 35.6 percent this season.
Not only are they unable to shoot the ball from beyond the arc, but their field goal percentage is not that good either. Usually you’d like to see your guard shoot at least 40 percent or higher. They only have been able to shoot it close to 35 percent from the field, which again is below average.
Nothing about their offensive stats are anywhere near where you’d like them too be. Everything is below average, or even worse. That is going to be an issue for the Celtics when you consider that these are their best players on the bench.
Conclusion
Boston will certainly have a problem on its hands if Morris is going to be out for awhile. They have already struggled to score points off the bench, and without a key player, the bench output is sure to decrease.
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Boston may want to look into the possibility of a trade if Morris is going to be out for a long time. Between the bench scoring and depth, the Celtics have a problem on hand, and it could end up hurting their team in the long run. We saw the issue against the Bulls, and it might be something to watch going forward.