Truth be told, Morris likes C’s
WALTHAM — After two solid seasons in Detroit, Marcus Morris was a bit surprised to find out he was heading to the Celtics as part of the trade that sent Avery Bradley to the Pistons.
Once the shock of the move wore off, excitement seeped in for the 6-foot-9 forward.
“I didn’t know there was a trade looming or anything, it was unexpected,” Morris said during a conference call yesterday. “I found out about it at 8 o’clock in the morning at the workouts. Once they told me who it was, how could I be upset about going to the Boston Celtics? Paul Pierce has always been my favorite player. I reached out to him to see if I could get some work in with him.”
The type of work the 27-year-old means isn’t just the kind of stuff on the hardwood, but also picking the former Celtics great’s mind about the city and dealing with its expectations.
“First thing (Pierce) said to me when we talked was I was going to love it,” Morris said. “That’s all I needed to hear. I didn’t think I wouldn’t, but from a guy like that who’s been in Boston for so long and done so many great things it kind of made it easier for me.”
Morris feels he can play anywhere from the 2-4 and said he is prepared to play wherever coach Brad Stevens puts him. He will also bring some grit that the Celts lack.
“I don’t think that’s a thing you work on,” Morris said of his toughness. “You’ve just got to have that type of attribute and I think it’s instilled in me to bring that toughness.”
During two seasons with the Pistons, Morris averaged 14.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and nearly a steal per game. After starting just 59-of-257 contests in his first four seasons between the Houston Rockets and Phoenix Suns, Morris started all 159 games he played with the Pistons.
During his six NBA seasons, however, he has only had one playoff series, when the Pistons were swept by the eventual champion Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016. In those four games, Morris led Detroit in scoring at 17.8 points per game.
Morris is embracing the opportunity to move up the Eastern Conference ladder to a Celtics team that is coming off an appearance in the conference finals.
“It’s exciting,” he said. “This is the first point in my career where I can say I have an opportunity to get to the finals and the opportunity to compete for a championship. I’m excited and I think fans in Boston are really going to enjoy what I bring to the game and I think I fit right with these guys.”
Morris’ twin, Markieff, plays for the Washington Wizards. Having the twins on opposing sides should add another dimension to a rivalry that took off last season, including in the conference semifinals.
While Morris was a former Suns teammate of C’s All-Star Isaiah Thomas, his allegiance during the series was with his brother, and he had a courtside seat for much of the series.
“I always root for Isaiah Thomas. We’ve been close, we played in Phoenix and I’ve known him through college,” Morris said. “I always root for him and want him to do well, I mean obviously I didn’t want Boston to win because my brother plays for the other team. I loved the competition. They were out there competing and talking trash and I think that made the Eastern Conference a little stronger seeing the way those guys battled it out for seven games.”
Now he has the chance to enter the rivalry and ratchet it up a couple notches.
“We’re just down to compete,” Morris said. “It’s definitely going to be tough. There’s definitely going to be trash talking, but at the end of the day I’m a Boston Celtic so I want us to win. Joining the rivalry amps it up.”