Forward Nicolas Batum is in as a starter as of Monday. Marcus Morris Sr. is out as of Monday. And the change isn’t because of anything Morris Sr. did or didn’t do, according to Clippers coach Tyronn Lue.

“It was nothing that Marcus did wrong, just trying something different,” Lue said, “When you’re not playing well you want to try something different.”

Still, Morris’ recent play cannot be discounted as a reason for the switch. The personable veteran forward, who is in his fourth season with the Clippers, is averaging his fewest points per game (11.2) since 2014-15, his fewest rebounds (4.0) since his third season in the league, and his lowest shooting percentage (42.6) in five years.

Despite his dwindling numbers, Morris continued to start (155 of his last 156 games since March 2021), averaging 28.1 minutes and providing the space that All-Stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George need to play their games. Lue told Clutch Sports Media last week that Morris “fit” into the lineup.

“I don’t care about (his) stats. It’s what fits us, what fits our team. I like the fit,” Lue told the media outlet.

Yet, in that role, Morris often found himself in a catch-and-shoot position.

Morris is a tough shot-maker who is more effective at taking the defender off the dribble, creating space and shooting mid-range jumpers. Whether he accepts coming off the bench remains to be seen when the Clippers travel to Memphis for a pair of games Wednesday and Friday against the Grizzlies.

Morris missed Monday’s game because he was ill and on Tuesday he was listed as out for Wednesday’s game against the Grizzlies after entering the health and safety protocols.

“Marcus was all for it,” Lue said of the move. “We have to sacrifice if we want to win, want to win at the highest level and our guys have bought into that even in the playoffs two years ago and last year and now.

“It’s just something we needed to try differently and Nico played great, so I hope he can continue this. I just think giving them a different look, especially with PG being out, by adding Nico, which is another defender to the starting lineup, will help us out. We’ll see going forward.”

Batum revels in the catch-and-shoot role, lofting 3-pointers without much thought. He made eight shots from behind the arc (one off his career high) and finished with 24 points in 31 minutes in the Clippers’ 124-112 victory against the Chicago Bulls.

“We needed that win, so sometimes someone is like, ‘yeah you could shoot that one’,” Batum said.

“My guy was wide open next to me, so I just tried to keep playing the right way. It’s no time to really try to do something crazy. We need good habits because now the playoffs start in six games now, two weeks. Just try to keep playing the right way.”

Lue faces more change when Norman Powell returns, possibly as soon as this week after being sidelined for 11 games because of shoulder subluxation. Lue said he wants to trim his rotation to nine players for the playoffs, and expects Powell to be among that group.

“We need him back, we need his juice, we need his scoring and so happy to get him back soon,” Lue said of Powell, who was upgraded to questionable for Wednesday’s game.