Markieff Morris deserves more playing time for the Los Angeles Lakers.
Coming into this series versus the Houston Rockets, a lot of the focus was on whether or not the Los Angeles Lakers should go small.
Key points were made on why the Lakers should stay big; because James Harden would be deterred from attacking the rim if a center like McGee or Dwight were to be there. In the second quarters of the previous round and this series’ Game 1, the Lakers have featured Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Kyle Kuzma, Rajon Rondo and Caruso.
In Game 2, Vogel adjusted to how Houston was targeting Dwight on isolations and was able to create open shots all over the court. With Markieff Morris instead of Dwight in the lineup, it allowed LeBron space to attack the rim against the Rockets — which is their weakness.
Rondo helped with finding Morris early and often, continuing to feed him when he was open to get going, which then allowed the Lakers to play small.
Morris isn’t known for being a premier defender, but he at least provides footspeed on the perimeter that allows the Lakers to fly around as they did in Game 2. Having size matters in the playoffs, but in this series against the Rockets, going with Morris at the five and James at four gives the Lakers versatility on both sides of the ball.
Morris also gives the Lakers the toughness they need with PJ Tucker on the other side and has shown the confidence to take shots with no hesitation, which is crucial to making the defense respect you.
During a championship run, teams have to go from series to series, where some players play more than they have before, and others have to sit more due to matchups, but it does not necessarily mean they have fallen out of the rotation,
Vogel can continue starting McGee to start off with an initial big lineup, but after a few minutes into the game, having a big on the floor that is not AD does not make much sense this series.
Far too often the Rockets exploited the slow-footed big men in McGee and Dwight, so Vogel has to stick with Morris in a small lineup to allow the Los Angeles Lakers to fly around. In 8 minutes (very small sample size) the lineup including LeBron, Rondo, Caruso, Kuzma and Morris were a combined 14/16 and rotated extremely well while playing a 3-2 zone.
Every possession matters in the playoffs and making the right choices can decide a series, so with that in mind hopefully Vogel finds a way to give Morris more time on the court.