Suns.com On Morris's first game

[ASUCHRIS]

I think he has a pretty smooth offensive game. I really like my Rasheed Wallace analogy as body type and stroke are sikmilar. Granted I wached all of 12 Suns games last year being they were never on nationally, but every time I watched him he was playing well inside, had a sweet jumper, and banging around the interior. He is a fouling machine but even though he is not the post guy I thought we were getting, I am very impressed with his offensive arsenal. I think he is aplus prosepct in terms of refined offensive game for his age and size.

Maybe im wrong but I bet hes going to dominate Summer league and become first big off bench (over Frye) this whole year.

I guess I like him for what he is. A solid guy off the bench in 2012 that Year 3 is starting PF and (potentially) averaging 18 a game with 7-8 boards. Maybe I am myopic but I think he is the best rookie we have drafted in awhile, Marshall nonwithstanding. I think he has that ability. He passes the eye test, although granted I think saw his 3 best games last year.

Guess well see!

You must be registered for see images

You been hitting that hippie lettuce AZ?

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I guess this is what happens when you get a small sample size and its skewed to their best games. I remember texting TJ like 3 times last year saying how much i liked his game. He looked like the best player on the floor again yesterday, albiet un Summer league. Maybe you guys are too critical?

 

[carey]

I've been saying since Morris was drafted that he is basically Kurt Thomas. It's not meant as an insult, KT is going into his 17th season. Morris needs to work on his defense as KT was an excellent post defender.

 

[JCSunsfan]

I've been saying since Morris was drafted that he is basically Kurt Thomas. It's not meant as an insult, KT is going into his 17th season. Morris needs to work on his defense as KT was an excellent post defender.

He was the most fundamentally sound interior defender I have seen. He got absolutely the most out of his physical abilities. If Morris could do that, I would be thrilled.

On the bright side, mgmt was right about which brother to get (it seems).

 

[mojorizen7]

man, I really don't see the comparison. Morris is 6'9, while Sheed was a legit 6'11, not to mention an athletic freak who had springs in his legs, had extremely long arms and a nasty streak that I just don't see in Morris. Sheed also had a post-up game that I haven't seen from Morris.




man, I would die of shock if he ever becomes an 18/8 guy.

Maybe if you combined Morris and Frye into one guy and then fed him toughness pills with a side of crybaby you'd get a Rasheed Wallace.

 

[desertdawg]

I still like this cat, sets the tone when he goes all Chuck Morris (WuHa!) in the paint. I hope they don't get on him too much about the solid contact he brings because most of the times he doesn't wussy foul...aka...the rest of the Phx Suns. Homie gets hot, second year should show a lot, I just hope he gets a gang of playing time.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

I still like this cat, sets the tone when he goes all Chuck Morris (WuHa!) in the paint. I hope they don't get on him too much about the solid contact he brings because most of the times he doesn't wussy foul...aka...the rest of the Phx Suns. Homie gets hot, second year should show a lot, I just hope he gets a gang of playing time.

Hey pass that back when you are done

 

[mojorizen7]

Hey pass that back when you are done

Hey save some for me....i'm jacked over the next few seasons post-Nashball 2.1

 

[Joe Mama]

Agree with all of this...it's not that Morris has shorter arms than your average human, but in a league full of athletic and physical freaks, he's deficient.

Also agree with your take on Faried and expand that to Leonard. I like both better than Morris because both had at least one superior skill, which is what keeps guys in the NBA, not just being ok at a bunch of different things.

Joe - I was talking about his D generally, although I agree his effort was piss poor yesterday. As an overall defender, I don't see anything to get excited about. His foot speed isn't good, he's not particularly stout, and he's rarely going to affect shots with his length. Combine that with poor effort and instincts, and you'll get a defender that gets destroyed by starter quality talent, as he was last year.

I hope his instincts and effort improve on the defensive end, because physically, I just don't see much room for growth.

Generally what you want in a frontcourt player is standing reach and athleticism. Morris's standing reach is average for an NBA power forward. He's not lead footed, but he definitely isn't very athletic either. I have to admit I never really focused on Morris on defense during the regular-season, but I know he never stood out to me. I never envisioned him as a starter, so I go into this with my ceiling of expectations at good bench player. He was the 13th pick in probably the worst draft in the last 20 years.

But what I saw in the game yesterday was absolutely zero effort on defense. Perhaps he was a little lost, but it really looked like a lack of effort. I would never expect him to be an elite defender because of his size/athleticism, but if I was trying to make an impact off the bench that's the best place imo. So much of defense and especially rebounding is just fundamentals and effort. It's frustrating to see him not even look like he's trying.

Joe

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Generally what you want in a frontcourt player is standing reach and athleticism. Morris's standing reach is average for an NBA power forward. He's not lead footed, but he definitely isn't very athletic either. I have to admit I never really focused on Morris on defense during the regular-season, but I know he never stood out to me. I never envisioned him as a starter, so I go into this with my ceiling of expectations at good bench player. He was the 13th pick in probably the worst draft in the last 20 years.

But what I saw in the game yesterday was absolutely zero effort on defense. Perhaps he was a little lost, but it really looked like a lack of effort. I would never expect him to be an elite defender because of his size/athleticism, but if I was trying to make an impact off the bench that's the best place imo. So much of defense and especially rebounding is just fundamentals and effort. It's frustrating to see him not even look like he's trying.

Joe

Agree with all of this. He has a lot of work to go just to be a good bench player.

The only excuse you can make for him defensively is that he was expected to carry the offensive load, so maybe that explains why his effort was so poor.

Scary considering the justification in drafting him was his defense and rebounding. Hopefully he's been playing possum.

 

[Arizona's Finest]

Yup. I'm watching this performance too. 20-20 with 8 left in 4th. 2nd time he has been far and away bet player. It's Summer league but much better than the alternative?

 

[ASUCHRIS]

Yup. I'm watching this performance too. 20-20 with 8 left in 4th. 2nd time he has been far and away bet player. It's Summer league but much better than the alternative?

Two words...Bo Outlaw, summer league legend.

Yes, it's better than the alternative, but the alternative I'd prefer is the NBA regular season.

 

[Joe Mama]

Yup. I'm watching this performance too. 20-20 with 8 left in 4th. 2nd time he has been far and away bet player. It's Summer league but much better than the alternative?

I just finished watching the second game. He looked much better, especially on defense/boards. Marshall in his first game looked just like I feared when we drafted him. He did a nice job passing in the open court... that's about it. I will elaborate in the other summer league thread.

Joe