Whether the Los Angeles Lakers have meaningful and productive depth is debatable. Their bench core is going to likely be the reason they win a championship or not.
And with the NBA’s restart about a week away, the Lakers will have their bench flesh out more with the arrival of a fairly new reserve.
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Markieff Morris will join the team Tuesday in Orlando. Morris had not been with the team because of an excused absence. However, Morris will have to quarantine for at least 24-36 hours upon arrival at Disney World so he will not be able to join the Lakers at practice until he clears his quarantine. Morris’ twin brother, Marcus, has also yet to join the Los Angeles Clippers.
Morris signed with the Lakers in February after clearing waivers; he and the Detroit Pistons agreed to a buyout. Since he signed shortly before the shutdown, Morris has only played in eight games with Los Angeles, scoring 4.8 points per game, grabbing 3.3 rebounds a game and shooting 38.9% from the field.
Lakers‘ Markieff Morris is en route shortly to Orlando to join the team for NBA restart, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 21, 2020
Those eight games are a small sample size, but the drop off in performance is evident. Morris has not shot nearly as well with the Lakers compared to his time with Detroit. In 44 games with the Pistons this season, Morris shot 45.0% from the field and 39.7% from the 3-point line.
Morris and Kyle Kuzma will be the leading forwards off the bench, and both will need to increase their productivity for the Lakers to prosper.
Both players are similar in their scoring ability, with their ability to create separation and make shots being their hallmarks. Morris has a career 44.8% field goal percentage; Kuzma has a career 44.9% field goal percentage.
Kuzma has had to grow more accustomed to a reserve role in his third season. He’s started in a career-low seven games and has played a career-low 24.6 minutes a game. He has scored 12.5 points per game and shot a career-low 43.2% from the field.
The Lakers will play their first seeding game July 30 against the Los Angeles Clippers.
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