This is the Marcus Morris that the Celtics hoped they were getting when they traded Avery Bradley to the Pistons for him. The kind of Marcus Morris that shoots three-pointers really well. The kind of Marcus Morris that has the speed and power to take the ball inside when the situation calls for it. The kind of Marcus Morris that doesn’t curbstomp unsuspecting randos on the street.
It could have so easily been the other Marcus Morris. The Pistons version of Marcus Morris. The version of Marcus Morris that only takes long midrange jumpers and can’t consistently hit the three, but doesn’t want to put in the effort necessary to take people off the dribble. If that was the Marcus Morris that the Celtics were getting right now, they’d have grabbed their pitchforks, raided whatever secret compound it is where Gordon Hayward is being kept in a cocoon of bubble wrap, and demanded that Hayward return from his injury as soon as possible (preferably before the playoffs) so that minutes could get redistributed and Morris would get none of them. Because nobody wants that other version of Morris.