MWP and Darius Morris

[mrtrey1992]

Is it just me am i the only one who thinks MWP and Darius Morris tend to do to much when they get the ball MWP needs to be a spot up shooter not trying to put the ball on the floor............

Morris is horrible in fast break situations and needs to improve...........

But i need everyones thoughts on this

[GailGoodrich]

Metta and Morris are instinctive ball players. They rely mostly on reading and reacting, and when they react they tend to do things that have worked in the past. The problem with this approach -- and it's an approach that even great ballplayers have -- is that it ignores the context of the moment. If you're Kobe or MJ you can probably get away with it a lot of the time, but that still doesn't make it right when what's really needed is the right play at the right time.

What's frustrating about reactive players is that they themselves don't seem to be able to grasp the importance of individual possessions. We can all remember Metta jacking up a three in the finals in which the entire consciousness of the universe screamed "NO!!!!!" as the ball was flying to the net -- only thankfully the shot went down.

I think Metta has two strengths. Outside set-shot shooting, and inside bull-rush basketball. It's an interesting mix, but as you point out his weakness is ball handling and decision-making out of the low post.

Morris is young, and still thinks what worked in college will work in the pros. If he would slow down a half-gear and concentrate on finishing and playing off the ball his offense would rise to the level of his defense, which isn't bad. I hope the Lakers keep him, but I also hope they teach him, because he's not getting it on his own.

[srekal]

I like Morris on D but he can not finish at the rim... brutal. He needs to give it up on the break.

[mrtrey1992]

Metta and Morris are instinctive ball players. They rely mostly on reading and reacting, and when they react they tend to do things that have worked in the past. The problem with this approach -- and it's an approach that even great ballplayers have -- is that it ignores the context of the moment. If you're Kobe or MJ you can probably get away with it a lot of the time, but that still doesn't make it right when what's really needed is the right play at the right time.

What's frustrating about reactive players is that they themselves don't seem to be able to grasp the importance of individual possessions. We can all remember Metta jacking up a three in the finals in which the entire consciousness of the universe screamed "NO!!!!!" as the ball was flying to the net -- only thankfully the shot went down.

I think Metta has two strengths. Outside set-shot shooting, and inside bull-rush basketball. It's an interesting mix, but as you point out his weakness is ball handling and decision-making out of the low post.

Morris is young, and still thinks what worked in college will work in the pros. If he would slow down a half-gear and concentrate on finishing and playing off the ball his offense would rise to the level of his defense, which isn't bad. I hope the Lakers keep him, but I also hope they teach him, because he's not getting it on his own.

i agree with the Morris part but MWP its like everytime he touches the ball he thinks i have to score barely makes good decisions

[GailGoodrich]

i agree with the Morris part but MWP its like everytime he touches the ball he thinks i have to score barely makes good decisions

Check out the numbers I posted in this MWP appreciation thread:

http://forums.prosportsdaily.com/sho...419-MWP-So-Far

I agree that watching Metta is like watching chaos in shorts, but the hell of it is that he's pretty damn effective. It looks crazy, but overall it gets the job done, and fairly consistently.

Metta's biggest problem, by far, is that he's just mentally locked in to one way of playing and that's never going to change. That's awesome on defense, but it comes with some risks on offense. Phil never figured out how to change him, so I'm going to assume it can't be done. Still, if I was D'Antoni, I'd have a special signal or something that I'd give to Metta which would tell him when to give the ball to Nash, because he doesn't recognize those moments himself.

[laker2dodger]

I have a love hate relationship with Darius Morris.