5 things to watch over the rest of the season for the Los Angeles Lakers

3. Will Markieff Morris continue to thrive?

When LeBron James went down, there was a genuine worry the Lakers would tumble down the NBA standings.

Indeed, they lost four games in a row in the wake of James’ injury. Since then, they’ve gone 7-5. It hasn’t always been pretty, but the makeshift lineup without James and Anthony Davis has held onto the fifth seed in the West.

A big part of the credit for that belongs to Markieff Morris.

Head coach Frank Vogel called Morris “the unsung hero of this stretch.”

As Kyle Goon of the LA Daily News pointed out, Morris is LA’s fifth-leading scorer and third-leading rebounder in the last 15 games. He’s averaging 37.7 percent from 3-point range. Those consistent numbers have given others a platform on which to shine.

Morris stepped up when the Lakers needed him most, but what does his future hold? Before the rash of injuries, his role was rather limited. In January, he averaged 4.1 points in 14.2 minutes per game. At the start of February, he didn’t see the court in four games.

With James and Davis back, Vogel will have to keep Morris’ impact intact while necessarily dropping his minutes.

If nothing else, Morris has proved he can once again come up big in the right moments.