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The more the Pistons see of Marcus Morris, the more they like what he brings at both ends

The Pistons liked many things about Marcus Morris, starting with the asking price to pluck him from Phoenix’s roster, but probably most of all the size to defend in a division with the likes of LeBron James, Jimmy Butler and Paul George lining up against him.

But they think there’s a lot of untapped offense within his 6-foot-9, 235-pound frame, as well. He gave some pretty compelling evidence they could be right in Saturday’s dominant 29-point win at Milwaukee, too.

Morris hit 8 of 10 shots, only one of them a layup. Four were mid-range jump shots, including three 14-footers and a 15-footer. One was a deep two from 20 feet. He also drained 2 of 3 from the 3-point line, including a 26-footer at the halftime buzzer. Morris finished with 21 points and five rebounds in 27 minutes, and for everything Stanley Johnson has done to impress Stan Van Gundy – and that’s a lot – it sure seems likely for any number of reasons that Morris will be in the starting lineup come Oct. 27 at Atlanta.

“Marcus was great,” Van Gundy said. “He’s a good player. We’ve just got to figure out more and more ways to incorporate him. I really think he’s a guy that’s just waiting to get that kind of opportunity and blossom.”

Morris makes perfect sense as the starter for the Pistons because of the size he’d bring against the small forwards lining up in the Eastern Conference, including James, Butler and Carmelo Anthony. It would also allow Van Gundy to maximize Johnson’s versatility off the bench, where his ballhandling and ability to generate offense might better complement that unit.

The focal point of the first-unit offense, of course, will be the Reggie Jackson-Andre Drummond pick and roll. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is showing strong signs he’ll be an improved 3-point shooter off of their action this season and Ersan Ilyasova, the near-certain starter at power forward, has a long NBA track record as a perimeter shooter. Morris’ ability to hit from outside and the post-up game Van Gundy wants to further explore would seem an ideal complement to the unit.

And there’s another aspect to Morris’ game, too, that he put on display at Milwaukee – the ability to put the ball on the floor and create shots. On a night typified by terrific Pistons ball movement – they drew assists on 25 of 38 baskets – four of Morris’ eight baskets were unassisted.

“Everybody knows he’s been a pretty high-percentage 3-point shooter in his career and at 6-9 – especially at small forward – he can shoot over other guys,” Jackson said. “We’re going to collectively all try to do it in the post, but that’s something he’s been working on and he’s just going to continue to grind away at it. It’s something we’re going to look to take advantage of, but we’re happy with the way he’s competed, mostly.”

Van Gundy noted last week that it will take him some time to learn the strengths and nuances of Morris and Ilyasova to best utilize not just their scoring but their ability to make plays off the dribble, too. It similarly takes teammates time to know their preferences, but they got a little closer to it in the win at Milwaukee.

“He played well tonight,” Caldwell-Pope said. “He shot the ball well. Just knocking them down. We saw it and we kept going to him and he kept making them. We want to continue to do that. If someone’s hot, you’ve got to continue to go to him until someone stops it.”

Morris won’t be the first or second option and maybe not the third, either. But he gives the Pistons a dimension at small forward they haven’t had since Tayshaun Prince’s heyday – as a scoring threat and as a defender with the size to match up with the bevy of scorers around the league at his position.

“We’re going to need him to defend night in and night out,” Jackson said. “What we get from him offensively is always a bonus, but he’s always working and looking to take those open shots. We don’t want anybody to shy away from taking any open shots – just be aggressive.”