NBA WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: LAKERS VS. NUGGETS

September 19, 2020

Markieff Morris

Los Angeles Lakers

Practice Day

Q. Wanted to ask you first about the shooting rhythm you've been in especially from three. How do you think you were able to find that kind of touch, just given the lack of total playing time going back to March and where have you found your success from a shooting standpoint?

MARKIEFF MORRIS: Just repetition, same thing over and over every day, being out on the court a little bit more, figuring out how to play with the guys that I'm on the court with, finding my sweet spots. But I shot 40 percent when I was in Detroit from the three, so it's really nothing new.

Q. How much do you think your development with this team in the bubble was delayed by not being here from the start? When do you feel like you might have made up for that and hit your stride?

MARKIEFF MORRIS: It definitely was super delayed. I had to stay in California to deal with a few things. But I knew eventually, I would get around to being -- catching that groove that we had before all this stuff happened. You know, we got some time in the gym right before we came out here, so I was able to get it in there with them.

It just is a different dynamic. We didn’t have Rondo, so we had to play a little different brand of basketball, but we are back to regular-scheduled program and the game is a lot easier for us when we play the right way.

Q. Denver plays so different from Houston, and there's a lot more moving, there's a lot of screens, obviously they have a lot more size. How hard is just that first game of like getting used to how much they move and how much they cut and how much they screen?

MARKIEFF MORRIS: Well, we got a chance to play them a couple games before the playoffs, last game, last two games, one of those, so we have a feel for how much they move. But we are a veteran team and we’re locked into all that. It’s the playoffs, you have to be locked into all that. We have a lot of guys that's been here before. We're 12-deep, so if a guy is not on his job, send someone else in that’s paying attention to detail more. With us, it's just the fact that we got a lot of veteran guys in here. We can keep sending guys in at you.

Q. Obviously a great win yesterday and you mentioned a veteran team. Denver has found a way in two straight series to come back. How much is that conversation about keeping your foot on the gas and making sure you take your opponent seriously, respect the opponent that you have? How much of those conversations are being had after Game 1?

MARKIEFF MORRIS: A lot, after watching them beat two great teams back-to-back, after being down 3-1, they are the comeback kids. They like to come back. So we know we haven’t had their best shot yet -- we know they are down 3-1 and it's still early, but like I said we are a veteran team and we have a goal in mind and we want to keep working towards our goal.

Q. When you first joined the Lakers, was there one player in particular who you sort of leaned on who made the transition a bit easier?

MARKIEFF MORRIS: Sure, JD [Jared Dudley], it's my third team with him on there. He made it easier for me when I was in Phoenix. He made it easy for me when I was in Washington. I know the perception of me and my brother in this league and what people see on TV. So they might judge early on but it's just basketball, you know what I mean. So it was easy for me to get acquainted with these guys and having JD around and JD letting them know that we’re great guys and all that stuff that follows around is not true.

Q. Do you believe that the Game 1 against Denver is going to set the tone for the whole series?

MARKIEFF MORRIS: It's going to set the tone for us for sure. We’re not letting up. We’re going to play hard. We’re going to play together. We’re going to be aggressive the whole series, but you have to respect them. They’re in the Western Conference Final for a reason. We don't ever think it's going to be easy and we hope it not going to be easy. We want to go out there and play at the highest level and play our brand of basketball every night.