Morris adjusts on fly
Wants to improve ‘D’ on James
CELTICS NOTEBOOK
CLEVELAND — Marcus Morris’ previous playoff experience ended in a fourgame first-round sweep at the hands of Cleveland in 2016, but the value he carried out of that series was the chance to repeatedly guard LeBron James.
The Celtics traded for Morris in part because of the forward’s relative success guarding the Cavaliers superstar, and as he admits now, there’s still new things to learn.
“I’ve seen a lot of new things, not just from him but from myself,” Morris said yesterday, thinking back to what he deemed a sub-standard performance against James in Game 3. “I defended him different in the first two games than (Game 3). I don’t know why, just things I did differently not for the best of the team or me. That’s what you have film for.”
Morris also has help on the video front. He sometimes gets texts at halftime of games from his twin brother — Washington’s Markieff Morris — offering on-the-fly advice. The brothers went over film late into the night after Game 3.
“Always been like that, since Day 1 in the league it’s always been that way,” said Morris. “In the Eastern Conference finals people are talking about it a little more.”
And, as Morris discovered in this series, James’ ability to adjust is now on another level.
“Definitely different. One thing he’s done well is adjusted, and that’s one reason he’s a great player,” said Morris. “He’s adjusting, getting better, and that’s something we have to be better with. Personally that’s something I have to get better at. That’s why you watch film. He’s been to the Finals eight straight times. That’s an unreal number. At the end of the day we’re fighting a challenge nobody expected us to win.”
Horford on call
The Celtics, the defenseoriented unit that they are, can still look bad offensively. One of the most alarming numbers from their Game 3 loss was the lack of involvement by Al Horford. He didn’t take a shot in the first quarter, took only four in the entire game, and finished with seven points and four assists.
But Horford’s not worried about those shot opportunities.
“I think if we play the right way, the ball will find me,” he said at yesterday’s morning shootaround. “I just want guys to go out there and play the game and understand that for most of the year, we’ve been playing really good basketball. When we’re moving the ball and making those passes, it makes the game easier for everyone, for me and the rest of the guys, so we just have to play with that type of pace. For our group, the way we’ve been successful this year is when we commit to the defensive end. Then on offense, we play with pace and move the ball.
“We’re a young group, we’re learning, we tend to forget some of the things that make us successful as a group. Last game, the credit is to Cleveland, but on our end, it kind of woke us up in understanding we need to be better offensively, we need to move the ball in order to have a chance. On offense, we have to make sure we’re getting good shots.
“Teams at home usually come out with a little extra and more energy and things like that, and we have to match that at the beginning.”
Larkin closes in
Shane Larkin continues to improve from a left-shoulder strain, though coach Brad Stevens admittedly has no idea about when the backup point guard would be available.
Larkin believes he’s close. He shot with the team prior to the shootaround, and also had an encouraging workout Sunday when he started to do more with his left arm.
“There was a little pain here and there, but that’s just something I’m going to have to get used to going forward,” he said. “But everything is pretty good. My shot is getting more fluid. Just being able to fend off people is the next step, so everything’s progressing in the right way and I’m feeling good. I’d done some dribbling and stuff, some one-handed shooting, some spot shots, but I hadn’t done any of that. No pushing off or anything. I hadn’t thrown the ball with my left hand yet, so yesterday was a big step.”
Clearance for will be up next.
“I feel like I’m pretty close,” said Larkin. “The contact biggest part is just being able to protect the shoulder from another blow like that, because another blow like that means more severe injury and surgery and all that. So I don’t want to have that happen, but obviously with the opportunity that we have, I want to be a part of that and help my team in any way I can.
“So hopefully I’ll be out there soon.”