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NBA Scout worried about Morris, likes Suns offensive changes

An NBA scout who has seen ALL of the Phoenix Suns preseason games shares his professional opinions on the team with Fox Sports Arizona's Randy Hill.

How aggressive should Markieff Morris be?
How aggressive should Markieff Morris be?
Ronald Martinez

Scouts are always an interesting source of outside perspective on your team. They are paid to watch and assess basketball and therefor generally should be regarded as dudes with something to say that you might want to listen to (aka DWSTSTYMWTLT).

This scout dude had some very interesting things to say about the Suns when he spoke to Fox Sports Arizona's Randy Hill. The mystery scout, who for obvious reasons didn't share his name with us, agrees with Alvin Gentry's approach for revising the offense. He confirmed what we've been seeing regarding Michael Beasley's unselfish play; discussed how the Corner offense is a good fit for Goran Dragic; and talked about Marcin Gortat's role in this system.

Perhaps most interesting, however, was scout dude's assessment of Markieff Morris. He noted Morris' increased confidence and aggressiveness but worries that it might go too far.

Scout: Suns are 'who we thought they were'

"To be fair," the scout said, "I’ve seen him not convert some relatively easy chances after making a couple of really nice moves in the lane. You don’t want to discourage him from expanding his game ... but if you’re the Suns, you don’t want experimentation to hurt their plus-minus when he’s in the game."

Give this entire story a read.

My take: Morris should be aggressive. I'd rather have him taking those shots in the paint than Wesley Johnson jacking up excessive threes or Shannon Brown going to his "Kobe mode". But, at the same time, if Morris is going to continue shooting at a 7-28 rate then he will obviously need to dial it back.

Of course, shooting percentages and shot selection in the preseason aren't necessarily indicative of what will happen when the games start counting for reals. Guys often are playing on dead legs in the preseason since morning shootarounds can be more like full-on practices this time of the year. Morris is a smart guy, he's not going to suddenly turn into Monta Ellis. But scout dude gave us something else to keep an eye on...so we will.

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