Evaluating Markieff Morris and players the Suns passed on

[slinslin]

Josh Selby who I badly wanted us to draft with 5 points 5 assists in the first half off the bench for Memphis and wow he is quick and explosive!

 

[Mainstreet]

Josh Selby who I badly wanted us to draft with 5 points 5 assists in the first half off the bench for Memphis and wow he is quick and explosive!

The Suns definitely need a college scout. However, you would have to work cheap.

 

[slinslin]

MarShon Brooks looks legit too.

21 points today.

 

[slinslin]

Ricky Rubio and Derrick Williams putting away the Heat in crunch time?

Rubio working on a double double.

 

[sunsfan88]

I was a big Marshon Brooks fan and I wanted us to get him soo badly...

Ahhh... and Gentry plays Morris a whooping 2 minutes today...and we allow 24 offensive rebounds because of that.

 

[slinslin]

Imagine we had a young stud like Ricky Rubio on the team. I am watching a Twolves game for crying out loud and Rubio is a stud and i will probably watch them again this season.

 

[SactownSunsFan]

Markieff looked great yesterday against the Dubs.

 

[Griffin]

Marcus Morris has been sent down to the D-League.

Of the players drafted after Markieff Morris, Brooks (25th pick) is leading all rookies with 13.7 ppg. Morris is averaging 9.4 ppg (7th among rookies) and 5.4 rpg (tied-2nd). He's 10th among rookies in minutes per game.

 

[sunsfan88]

How does Morris rank among all the rookie PFs?

 

[sunsfan88]

Markeiff is 31st in the league in Hollingers PER. He's ahead of Kobe, Rondo, Pau Gasol and DeJuan Blair. Only two rookies ranked above him: Jon Leuer and Marshon Brooks.

 

[Superbone]

Speaking of nicknames. I liked Scott Williams':

The Great Barrier, as in The Great Barrier Kieff.

 

[jlove]

How does Morris rank among all the rookie PFs?

IAW NBA.com, Markieff ranks #1 for Rookie F's (not just PF).

Markeiff is 31st in the league in Hollingers PER. He's ahead of Kobe, Rondo, Pau Gasol and DeJuan Blair. Only two rookies ranked above him: Jon Leuer and Marshon Brooks.

As of 9 Jan 2012, Markieff ranks 10th in the NBA PF's (Amare is 17th) in Hollinger's PER now. He's dropped to 41st overall and #3 among rookies (behind Vucevic and Brooks)

 

[Lights]

Markieff Morris = Malik Allen

Looks like you were a little off here. In just 8 games Morris has hit more 3 points shots than Allen did in his entire 10 year career. Allen as a rookie recorded his first and only double double the last game of season. Morris in his 8th game has already accomplished that. Actually I don't know how Malik Allen lasted 10 years in the NBA.

I could go on but I think you understand.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Looks like you were a little off here. In just 8 games Morris has hit more 3 points shots than Allen did in his entire 10 year career. Allen as a rookie recorded his first and only double double the last game of season. Morris in his 8th game has already accomplished that. Actually I don't know how Malik Allen lasted 10 years in the NBA.

I could go on but I think you understand.

You were on a roll till this part.

I really had no idea what to expect from Morris. A lot of posters (not just slinslin) ripped the pick and said we made a big mistake. I'm not sure what they were watching but IMO this is a real solid player. In addition to the obvious things he does well I really like the way he positions himself as a secondary defender. He gets to his spot quickly, establishes position and unlike so many young players, he's always outside the protected circle.

Steve

 

[Superbone]

You were on a roll till this part.

I really had no idea what to expect from Morris. A lot of posters (not just slinslin) ripped the pick and said we made a big mistake. I'm not sure what they were watching but IMO this is a real solid player. In addition to the obvious things he does well I really like the way he positions himself as a secondary defender. He gets to his spot quickly, establishes position and unlike so many young players, he's always outside the protected circle.

Steve

I loved all the posts about how once AGAIN we got the inferior brother.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I loved all the posts about how once AGAIN we got the inferior brother.

Actually, watching him play makes me wish we could get his brother also. I know Marcus usually played outside more at the college level so there'd definitely be a spot for him on our team. So far, Markieff seems to be a cross between AC Green and Rodney Rogers and I can certainly live with that.

Steve

 

[Errntknght]

Actually, watching him play makes me wish we could get his brother also. I know Marcus usually played outside more at the college level so there'd definitely be a spot for him on our team. So far, Markieff seems to be a cross between AC Green and Rodney Rogers and I can certainly live with that.

Steve

Me, too, especially since he seems like AC from the neck up, thus far.

 

[BC867]

Me, too, especially since he seems like AC from the neck up, thus far.

Absolutely, but he doesn't really have to be like AC from the belt down, does he?

 

[sunsfan88]

Best thing about Markieff Morris is that he doesn't have the confidence issue. He doesn't give a damn if he misses a shot, he'll just take it. He doesn't think about things, he just follows his instincts.

IMO that's been the issue with most of our rookies in recent years. Dragic, Lopez, Clark, Tucker etc all lacked the confidence and Gentry had to keep pushing them. With Morris, there's no worry about that.

Only thing I'm concerned with is that Morris actually has a nice inside game too (which he showed at Kansas) but we're not using that to our advantage at all. We need to run more plays just for him, just so we can see what his ceiling his.

 

[Dr. Jones]

What more could you ask for from a rookie PF drafted in the middle of the first round?

Especially in that draft..... Bunch of junk all over the place.

 

[PhxGametime]

I posted I didn't like how he acted at Kansas but shortly before the Season started, I watched gamefilm and noticed it was actually Marcus with the issues I mentioned (elbow throwing, flipping off, etc.) so what do you call it, eat crow??


I will add that there wasn't too much hate on him other than my posts though - I can't dispute he's 6'9 with short arms but I really believe he's going to be ROY. The Suns also have looked much better last few games...


My pick would've been Iman Shumpert (Draft time) but the Suns mentioned they were interested in PF, from what I remember. So Markieff has played much better than what would've been my PF/SF selection in Chris Singleton. lol


The Suns didn't need a Center (in Draft) but I really liked Nikola Vucevic from USC, too... big man that can pass and shot out to Collegiate 3PT land, and I'm guessing his rebounding is translating to the NBA game.

 

[slinslin]

What more could you ask for from a rookie PF drafted in the middle of the first round?

Especially in that draft..... Bunch of junk all over the place.

Hmm??

Looks like a rather decent draft to me considering people were talking about how it would be the weakest ever yet there are a few rookies already making an impact.

 

[Covert Rain]

Hmm??

Looks like a rather decent draft to me considering people were talking about how it would be the weakest ever yet there are a few rookies already making an impact.

What is your definition of decent? I remember people thinking this class was weak because there were not a bunch of potential franchise or future all-stars in this class and after the top 3 or 4 guys there was a sharp drop off in talent.

Outside of the top 3 or 4 rookies there is a sharp drop off which is what the analysts were saying. I think they nailed it.

The last strong draft was 2008-2009 IMO. 2009-2010 was decent. This years draft will be much like last years. Outside the top 3 or 4 guys is completely forgettable IMO.

 

[AzStevenCal]

What is your definition of decent? I remember people thinking this class was weak because there were not a bunch of potential franchise or future all-stars in this class and after the top 3 or 4 guys there was a sharp drop off in talent.

Outside of the top 3 or 4 rookies there is a sharp drop off which is what the analysts were saying. I think they nailed it.

The last strong draft was 2008-2009 IMO. 2009-2010 was decent. This years draft will be much like last years. Outside the top 3 or 4 guys is completely forgettable IMO.

And I remember us arguing about whether it would be a weak draft. Personally, I don't understand the label. People tossed it around as if it had bearing for most teams and I just don't think it does. Every draft has a small group at the top that look to be possible future superstars but once you get past that group, there are a lot of very valuable players. But you don't typically find a lot of stars in the teens and twenties.

Last year was no different. IMO, it was only weak at the superstar level. There were plenty of NBA starter quality players to be found throughout the teens and even in the 20's. It will take a few years before we know whether that statement is true but so far, it looks to be.

If it's not clear, I'm saying I think the "weak" label is only relevant to the top few teams. Beyond that, we were all looking at pretty much the same talent level as is available every year. It might have been slightly depressed from recent years but not appreciably, IMO.

Steve

 

[Dr. Jones]

Hmm??

Looks like a rather decent draft to me considering people were talking about how it would be the weakest ever yet there are a few rookies already making an impact.

DarrenG summed up my thoughts perfectly.