Miami Heat’s Jae Crowder Replacements: Markieff Morris
Everyone knows the reputation the Morris twins have around the league. They bring toughness and grittiness everywhere they go and can be solid contributors.
1. Markieff Morris
While the older twin, Marcus Morris, would be the ideal fit for this team, I doubt the Clippers would let him go. With that being said, Markieff Morris is the next best thing and could prove to be a good piece for Miami to bring in.
Just like Crowder, Morris can guard multiple positions and had a defensive rating of 108.2 this season, which is better than league average. He could be a good defender next to Bam and be that dog that is yelling in his ear telling him to be more aggressive, much like I imagine Crowder was doing.
The Heat have been missing a player cut from the same cloth as Crowder since he left and Markieff Morris is that guy. He will hold guys accountable and isn’t afraid to go at anyone in the league.
Morris is a guy that could change the locker room of the Heat and provide the impact that Crowder did on the defensive side of the ball. Offensively, the main difference is that Morris is not shooting the three-ball nearly as efficiently as Crowder does (31 percent for Morris compared to 39 percent for Crowder in 2020-21).
While he can’t light it up from deep as well as Crowder can, Morris is more effective down low in the post and at scoring inside the paint. Morris shoots 52 percent on twos, while Crowder shoots 45 percent.
Their rebounding numbers are very similar as well. That means that Morris could help Bam on the boards as well.