Morris making the most of his expanded role

BOSTON – Before Marcus Morris had played a game for the Celtics, he seemed confident that he would be a starter.

While his own experience and talent certainly gave him such an optimistic view of his role, it turns out he wasn’t the only one who saw him as a starter from the jump.

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So did coach Brad Stevens.

“We went into this year that there’s a likelihood he’ll start at the 4 [power forward],” Stevens said.

Of course, Morris had left knee soreness that kept him out for the first eight games. And upon his return, he was playing limited minutes, so it’s understandable why few outside the organization saw Morris having a prominent role with the Celtics.

Whatever role they envisioned for him at the start of the season has clearly been expanded in the playoffs against Milwaukee. Morris is now at his peak health-wise while the Celtics contend with playing without Gordon Hayward (dislocated left ankle), Kyrie Irving (left knee) and Daniel Theis (torn meniscus, left knee) while Marcus Smart (right thumb) could return if there’s a Game 7 against the Bucks or early in the second round.

So, the absences have in many ways afforded Morris greater opportunities to showcase his two-way talent.

It certainly was on display in the Celtics' 113-107 Game 1 win.

Morris came off the bench to score 21 points, just two points less than Milwaukee’s second unit totaled.

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“He’s an aggressive, confident player which I think is really important,” Stevens said. “He’s been in the league a long time. He knows what he does best and he constantly works to get better. He’s very committed, an excellent pro and has made a big difference for us.”

Stevens added, “We need him to continue to be really good for us. He’s an important part of our team.”

Here are five other under-the-radar storylines that are likely to come into play tonight in Game 2 at TD Garden:

MILKING THE SHOT CLOCK

Boston is conditioned to try and probe for the best shot, even if that means draining the shot clock down to just a few ticks remaining. That’s exactly what we saw in Game 1. Boston took 19 percent of its shots with four seconds or less on the shot clock and 41 percent came with 4-7 seconds remaining. The Bucks were a little quicker – a lot quicker actually – when it came to shooting. Only seven of their 83 shots, or 8.4 percent, came with four seconds or less.  

DEFENSIVE STARTING FIVE

TATUM FACTOR

Jayson Tatum was one of three Celtics to log more than 44 minutes in Game 1, a testament to how important he is when he’s on the floor. Tatum was off the floor for just 8 minutes, 59 seconds in Game 1. In that time, Boston scored just 11 points on 4-for-19 (21.1 percent) shooting from the field.  

TURNING OVER THE BUCKS

COMEBACK CELTICS

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