L.A. Lakers: Has Darius Morris Proved He Deserves More Minutes?

In the Los Angeles Lakers past two games rookie point guard Darius Morris has played a total of 41 mostly unimpressive minutes, but Morris' uneven performances may be evidence that coach Mike Brown should give him more minutes.

Tasked with defending all-world Clippers point guard Chris Paul, Morris clearly looked overwhelmed at times, and on offense he played a little out of control which led to several turnovers.

But Morris did have his moments, going 2-3 from the field and 2-2 from the free throw line in the Lakers loss to the Clippers. Morris also showed his toughness by taking a hard foul from Blake Griffin that the officials failed to call and returning to sink a shot at the buzzer.

In the Lakers 73-70 win over the Dallas Mavericks, Morris had less impact in his 18 minutes, but he did provide the team with energy and occasional strong defense from the bench.

Morris did nothing in his first significant NBA minutes to suggest he is ready to assume the reins of the Lakers offense, but he did display the type of potential that suggests he should play a larger role.

Lakers starting guard Derek Fisher responded to Morris' increase in minutes with his best game of the year against Dallas, going 5-9 from the field for 13 points and hitting a clutch three point shot that eventually sealed the victory.

It was another great moment for Fisher, but in no way should anyone think that Fisher is capable of repeating his performance against the Mavericks on a consistent basis.

I should mention that the only reason Morris is probably playing right now is because of the injury to Steve Blake, who is the only other point guard on the roster besides Fisher and Morris.

Brown hinted that he would give anyone who was ready to play a chance, and rookie Andrew Goudelock and second year forward Devin Ebanks have seen a little playing time, but Brown may not be all that different from his predecessor when it comes to serving youth.

Phil Jackson was notorious for his reluctance to play younger guys, especially rookies, and while Brown has given a few token minutes to his young players, he is relying mostly on the veterans on his roster.

Which leads me to believe there is a good chance that Morris could return to the bench once Blake recovers unless he can prove to Brown that he is good enough to earn a place in the Lakers rotation.

There is also a possibility that the Lakers may attempt to acquire a point guard by the March 15th trade deadline, and by playing Morris the team will have a better idea of his value going forward.

The Lakers may choose to package Morris as part of a deal to land a higher profile player, or they may just decide that his potential is worth holding onto.

But the only way the Lakers will ever come to any conclusion is if Brown continues to give minutes to Morris in Blake's absence.