Los Angeles Lakers: 3 Ways Markieff Morris can help the team

Toughness

A Morris family trait shared with his brother, Clippers forward Marcus Morris, no one is going to punk Markieff Morris.

With a workmanlike a mentality, Markieff Morris isn’t afraid to mix it up with any player on the floor regardless of size.  Standing at 6″8″ and weighing roughly 245lbs, Morris is an imposing figure himself. Capable of backing down power forwards and centers, Morris makes sure that when in the paint, he lets his defender know that he is there using his strength and light footwork to make his way to the basket.

With Markieff Morris now joining the Lakers roster, the Lakers will now have the ability to play small-ball lineups with Morris at the 5 if they wish.

With Anthony Davis the nailed in starter at power forward, Morris can expect most of his minutes as a backup power forward and center. This could potentially force Kyle Kuzma to get some minutes at small forward, an interesting scenario as Kuzma’s shoot first game might be more beneficial at the small forward position than at power forward.

If the Lakers are to make a deep playoff run, they will run into a significant amount of forwards such as Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Giannis Antetokounmpo. Having tough players like Morris capable of getting in each of these players face and making life difficult for them will be an important aspect for the purple and gold to triumph and make a run at the Larry O’Brien trophy.