At the beginning of the season, it was clear that Los Angeles Lakers coach Frank Vogel would have a lot of work to discover the rotation, as the squad has 11 players who deserve regular playing time.
With the team having some difficulties, however, Vogel decided to make a change in rotation that saw veterans Markieff Morris and Wesley Matthews not seeing the court for a period of games.
But with Anthony Davis and Alex Caruso losing both clashes against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Vogel turned to his veterans and they delivered, especially on Wednesday night. Matthews scored 10 points, while Morris had nine points and six rebounds, each hitting a whopping 3 points in the stretch of the Lakers’ 114-113 victory in overtime.
While Matthews joined the team in the off-season, Morris was part of last season’s championship team and played an important role in the Lakers by lifting the Larry O’Brien trophy, hurling 42% of the depths in over 18 minutes per game.
He admitted that going beyond that to fall off the Lakers’ rotation was a difficult adjustment. “It’s difficult,” Morris started.
“It is not an easy thing to hear that you are not in the squad now because they have to try to find minutes to get the other guys on the pace. But this is a difficult season for everyone. We have a big team, so Wes and I have to be ready.
“When our time comes, we have to be ready to play. As competitors, it’s hard not to be there fighting your teammates. “
The addition of Montrezl Harrell along with the emergence of Talen Horton-Tucker made finding minutes for everyone a difficult proposition for Vogel. Morris was not as effective as during the playoffs last season, shooting just 31.4% in the 3-point range.
With Vogel needing a boost from the bank, he decided to go with more minutes for Horton-Tucker and Caruso minutes. Although difficult to accept, what certainly helped Morris was how honest Vogel was and communicated openly with the veteran striker and Matthews.
They both hope to be part of the rotation, but they don’t sulk about it and instead remain ready, allowing them to contribute when the Lakers are without a few regular players.
The depth in the Lakers’ squad remains their greatest strength and when they can turn to trusted veterans like Morris and Matthews it is a big advantage. Vogel always said there were no plans to keep the veterans in the bank for the rest of the season.
Both will certainly play a role for the Lakers in the playoffs and keeping them locked up and ready will pay dividends for this team when that time comes.
The Lakers will continue to be wary of Anthony Davis’ Achilles injury
One thing that will obviously influence Morris ‘minutes is Davis’ availability. Although Davis was left out of a game here or there, this is the first time he has lost consecutive games.
“He was hoping to play,” said Vogel ahead of Wednesday’s game against Oklahoma City Thunder. “He warmed up this morning and still feels some discomfort, so again, we’re being cautious about it.
Vogel said there is no long-term concern with this injury, but coming out of a short off-season, it is undoubtedly the best move to remain cautious and make sure it doesn’t get worse.
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