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Markieff Morris can make the Los Angeles Lakers’ decision much easier with the future of Kyle Kuzma.
As of this writing, the Los Angeles Lakers are up from a game to nil in the Western Conference Finals against a Denver Nuggets team that just seems to be outmatched against the No. 1 seed in the West.
LeBron James and Anthony Davis have proven to be as lethal as we all promoted all season and are the best two players left in the playoffs, something that portends. Really good for the Lakers.
The role players have also stepped up. Rajon Rondo came back from injury and returned in true Rondo Playoff form. Alex Caruso has been great defensively, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has made a great shot in basketball and even Dwight Howard added Really value the minutes in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals after not playing in the entire previous round.
One of the role players who has taken the most step forward is Markieff Morris. Morris was tasked with being the team’s starting small-ball center in Games 4 and 5 against Houston and has added valuable bench minutes throughout the remainder of the playoffs.
Morris is averaging 6.5 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 18.7 minutes per game in the playoffs. That may not sound so special, but he’s played pretty solid defense and is shooting a staggering 44.1 percent from beyond the arc.
Morris is a free agent after the season, but he has become a priority to re-sign. Win or lose this year, not keeping Morris after the kind of showing he’s had in the playoffs is silly.
Keeping Morris next season also makes it easier for the Lakers to explore trades for Kyle Kuzma in the offseason. Kuzma has been in the rumor mill for quite some time and if the front office can trade his youth for more value, then you can bet Rob Pelinka will do it in no time.
How Markieff Morris facilitates the Kyle Kuzma trade for the Los Angeles Lakers:
Kyle Kuzma and Markieff Morris are power forwards. Morris has had more time in all five in the playoffs simply out of necessity, but both men are four at the end of the day. They take the minutes of the others, they collide directly.
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Kuzma has shown great flashes of efficient play off the bench for the Lakers in the playoffs. However, at the end of the day, you are not someone who consistently thrives on this system. He’s not a fantastic 3-point shooter and while he’s improved, he’s still not a great defender.
Morris is a much better defender than Kuzma and has also proven to be the most consistent shooter. Even outside of this hot streak in the playoffs, Morris is a good shot. He shot more than 38 percent from beyond the arc this season.
The Lakers already have a bit of a stalemate in the fourth and Morris is more than capable of eating those minutes. He can play a stretch of four, he can line up as a small five, and he could even be the three with LeBron and AD on the court if need be.
He’s more versatile and his skill set is better suited to the Lakers. We’ve seen it on full display in the playoffs.
This does not mean that changing Kyle Kuzma is now a sure thing. However, the odds of it happening are probably higher than before the playoffs started.
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