Marcus Morris believes he is the NBA's second-best player when it comes to stopping LeBron James, ahead of the Boston Celtics' huge Eastern Conference finals series against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
James proved he could carry the Cavs as they swept the Toronto Raptors during the semifinals, but Celtics forward Morris is not concerned about the in-form 33-year-old, who is bidding to reach an eighth consecutive NBA Finals.
Speaking ahead of Sunday's home game one, Morris, who defended James in the first round of the 2016 playoffs, said via ESPN: "I'm a little older, a little more experienced.
"That series, it was fun. It was my first time being in the playoffs, being able to go against one of the best players in the league, if not the best. It was definitely a good time.
"Circumstances are a little different now. Personally, I think I'm probably the best guy defending him in the league, outside of Kawhi [Leonard, of the San Antonio Spurs].
"That's one of the things [Celtics general manager Danny Ainge] said when I first got here, that I was one of the guys they felt as though could guard LeBron.
"There's not going to be one guy that's going to be able to defend him. He's the best player in this game. My thing is just cut down the easy baskets. Cut down the easy baskets, and cut down the other guys that are going to score.
"We can't have [James' supporting cast] having 30-point games and 20-point games, and I think that gives us the best chance to win, because he's going to do what he's going to do, but as long as we make it tough for him and don't give up the easy ones."
Even though Morris thinks he is among the league's top options to defend James, he is also fully aware of what his opponent is capable of doing to a team.
When asked by a reporter if James can break teams, Morris responded: "I think he probably broke Toronto if that's what you're referring to.
"I think in the Toronto series, no disrespect to them, but watching film, it just looked very easy at times. He looked very confident.
"I didn't see no physicality, I didn't see any of that. That's something different that we will bring to the table."
