Markieff Morris gives Lakers a Marcus Morris foil and boosts L.A. rivalry

Markieff Morris brings toughness and two-way play to the Los Angeles Lakers, but his biggest asset may be providing a foil for Marcus Morris in the Battle for L.A.

There are as many as five contenders in the NBA’s Western Conference this year, but at the heart of that power struggle is the Battle for L.A. between the Los Angeles Lakers and LA Clippers.

Between LeBron James, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis and Paul George, that rivalry features some of the league’s premier talents, not to mention recognizable names filling out the rest of the rosters like Dwight Howard, Lou Williams, Danny Green, Patrick Beverley, JaVale McGee, Montrezl Harrell and many more.

When the Clippers added Marcus Morris from the New York Knicks at the trade deadline, it felt like the scales had tipped ever so slightly in favor of the Lakers’ little brother franchise. The Lakers had and still have a sizable lead in the standings, but in a head-to-head showdown, LAC’s depth and wing versatility felt like a definitive advantage — even against the league’s most formidable 1-2 punch in the King and the Brow.

To that end, Markieff Morris‘ greatest asset to the Lakers may simply be serving as a foil to his twin brother in the other Staples Center locker room.

As first reported by The Athletic‘s Shams Charania, Keef will be joining the Lakers once his buyout with the Detroit Pistons is complete. While his recent performance (and production) has left a lot to be desired these past two years, there are a few reasons this midseason addition could pan out well for L.A.

Morris is obviously a few seasons removed from his peak with the Phoenix Suns and Washington Wizards. He was traded from the Wizards to the New Orleans Pelicans at last year’s trade deadline (along with a second-round draft pick) for Wesley Johnson, and was unceremoniously dumped by the Pels a day later.

The Oklahoma City Thunder picked him up for their playoff run in the hopes he’d be an X-factor for a team still sporting Russell Westbrook and Paul George, but he struggled to recover from the neck and back stiffness he suffered from for more than a month with the Wizards, averaging just 6.5 points and 3.8 rebounds in 16.1 minutes per game over his 24 appearances with OKC. Even worse, his .391/.339/.737 shooting splits made him unplayable.

After signing with the Pistons last summer, Morris bounced back to some degree, putting up 11.0 points and 3.9 rebounds in just 22.5 minutes per game, mostly as a bench piece. He also shot 45.7 percent from the floor and 39.7 percent from 3 on 4.3 attempts per game, and in all honesty, his numbers are better than what Kyle Kuzma is producing this year.

The Lakers still don’t have their bonafide third star to go with LeBron and AD, but that’s okay; they’re still four games ahead of the Denver Nuggets for the No. 1 seed in the West, and every piece that pushes head coach Frank Vogel closer to embracing the small-ball lineups they’ll need to thrive in the playoffs (especially against the smaller, versatile Clippers) is a boon.

The Clippers adding a near 20 points per game scorer to their ranks felt like the tipping point in this L.A. power struggle, but by adding the one guy who knows his game well enough to rise to the occasion and check him — no matter what Keef has struggled through the last two seasons — is a smart riposte for the Clippers’ initial lunge.

Morris doesn’t necessarily swing the scales back in the Lakers’ favor; the Clippers still have the superior Morris twin, and it remains to be seen if Vogel can commit to the right wing-heavy lineups while resisting giving Rajon Rondo minutes in a playoff setting. With that being said, the best way to match the addition of a two-way brute like Marcus Morris is by getting the one guy who can possibly get inside his twin brother’s head and think exactly like him.

There’s a reason rivalry games are tough at any level, even when one team is superior to the other; both sides are going to bring their A-games and get inside each other’s heads. In a playoff setting, the smallest X-factor can make a huge difference. So even if Markieff Morris’ 3-point shooting, toughness and positional versatility don’t translate, at the very least, the Lakers’ direct countermove to the Clippers acquiring Mook makes this imminent showdown even more mouthwatering.