Morris cleared to play against his brother on Christmas Day

Share

BOSTON – Marcus Morris will get exactly what he was hoping for on Christmas – a chance to play against his brother Markieff Morris and the Washington Wizards tonight.

The 6-foot-9 forward has missed the last eight games and 17 for the season, with a sore left knee that kept him sidelined for the first eight games of the season.

Celtics coach Brad Stevens anticipated having Morris available off the bench, but added that his minutes will be restricted tonight.

Morris' minutes being restricted beyond tonight is likely, but it's unclear to what extent right now. 

“It’ll be assessed day-to-day and I haven’t gotten too far into what the minutes restrictions will be,” said Stevens who added that it would be less than 20 minutes.

Because his time on the floor will be limited, it’s unclear how much of an impact will having him return to the lineup have on tonight’s game.

“Obviously, it adds to our second unit’s ability to score which is something that we’ve struggled with at times over the last couple of weeks,” Stevens said. “And we’re going to be a better team with Marcus Morris, there’s no question about it. We just have to make sure he’s fully healthy and to the point where we can play increased minutes as we move forward.”

This season, Morris has averaged 12.1 points and 5.5 rebounds in 24.2 minutes per game while shooting 41.2 percent from the field and 32.8 percent on 3’s.

Boston will also welcome the return of Shane Larkin who will be available after missing the last two games with left knee soreness.

The news isn’t so good for Boston’s Semi Ojeleye, who took a hard spill in Boston’s 117-92 win over Chicago on Saturday.

Stevens said Ojeleye’s back injury will keep him out for tonight’s game, but it’s possible that he will travel with the team when they hit the road for Wednesday’s game at Charlotte.

NBC SPORTS BOSTON SCHEDULE

Contact Us