CLEVELAND — The Cavaliers are keeping tough-guy forward Marcus Morris Sr. around for the rest of this season.
Cleveland signed Morris on Friday for the last nine regular-season games and playoffs after his 10-day contract expired earlier this week. The Cavs initially added the 14-year veteran to the roster on March 18.
Morris has played in five games, averaging 7.8 points and 3.0 rebounds in 18.4 minutes. But his contributions go beyond the numbers as he has brought a spark and energy to the Cavs, who have struggled since the All-Star break amid a slew of injuries.
The Cavs have been without All-Star guard Donovan Mitchell (knee bruise, broken nose) and forward Evan Mobley, and Max Strus only recently returned from injuries that kept them out for weeks.
On Monday, Morris slammed Charlotte's Nick Richards with an intentional elbow to the jaw, knocking him to the floor and awakening his teammates as Cleveland went on to beat the Hornets.
"I'm trying to implement that no-dunk rule and all that type of (stuff) because going forward, we're going to need that," he said. "It's a lot of bigs in the East and a lot of tough guys and a lot of tough games coming up. So I just want to just keep showing it, man."
The Cavs got pushed around in last year's playoffs by the New York Knicks. Morris will not only give Cleveland some frontcourt depth, but he has plenty of postseason experience with 67 playoff appearances.
The No. 14 overall pick in the 2011 draft by Houston, Morris has also played for Phoenix, Detroit, Boston, New York and the Los Angeles Clippers. He's averaged 12.0 points and 4.5 rebounds in 26.7 minutes.
Morris' twin brother, Markieff, plays for Dallas.