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New York Knicks: Marcus Morris wants to hold down MSG

By Rob Wolkenbrod

TARRYTOWN, NY - SEPTEMBER 30: Marcus Morris #13 of the New York Knicks poses for a portrait during media day on September 30, 2019 at the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Tarrytown, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images)
TARRYTOWN, NY - SEPTEMBER 30: Marcus Morris #13 of the New York Knicks poses for a portrait during media day on September 30, 2019 at the Madison Square Garden Training Center in Tarrytown, New York. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Michelle Farsi/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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Marcus Morris is all for protecting Madison Square Garden with the New York Knicks.

San Antonio Spurs saga aside, Marcus Morris brings a fresh face to the New York Knicks, with a reputation as a hard-nosed player at both ends of the floor. He brings that from two years with the Boston Celtics and a career that started in 2011.

At Media Day, Morris said “there’s a lot of dogs,” or his definition of how he plays. “Guys who are not going to back down, guys are going to go out there and compete every night,” he added, per the New York Post.

Taking that one step further, Morris is ready to hold down the Knicks’ home, Madison Square Garden. There are 41 chances for that, not counting the preseason games, during the 2019-20 campaign. He plans to take a throwback approach to it like the old orange and blue teams, per SNY’s Ian Begley:

"“Old school Knicks. Protect the Garden. My biggest thing is no one’s coming in there and disrespecting us,” Morris said Thursday. “If anything, if you come in here you’re going to get a hard-fought game. The better team going to win but we’re not tolerating no disrespect and no one coming in here thinking it’s going to be easy. That’s the first and foremost.”"

That old approach goes back to the 1990s Knicks, when Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason were playing on some of this franchise’s best seasons ever; this might not replicate over the next months, but Morris has always been a no non-sense player, so there is every reason to think his words will hold up from Game No. 1 and on.

This mindset can potentially represent a change in culture for New York, which lacked these tough players through the past few, bottom-of-the-standings seasons. With Morris, Bobby Portis, Taj Gibson and other veterans now around, this is a new-look group to mesh with the young players. The results are to be determined, but something had to change after trying the franchise low in wins.

Morris projects to play either forward position for the Knicks, offering versatility to mix with Mitchell Robinson, Kevin Knox, Julius Randle and the aforementioned big men. Head coach David Fizdale can mix and match the veteran’s spot through the lineup and find more than just one group with him that works, after struggling to determine one strong starting five last season.

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The different outlook Morris brings is refreshing for the New York Knicks, and his impact could be felt beyond the box score. Few players have done that in recent seasons, so this should be a welcoming look for a team needing a switch. The first test run is Monday night, Oct. 7.

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