NBA ‘tough guy’ Markieff Morris lit up Twitter today by throwing another jab at Nikola Jokic. Shortly after, people online predictably had a field day at his expense.
I’d normally have a bit more sympathy for an injured player, but the entire situation that resulted in his injury was entirely of his own making. If you don’t remember, he tried to cheap shot Nikola Jokic when the Miami Heat were getting blown out in Denver.
Jokic’s reaction, which cost him a one-game suspension, was certainly harsh. However, that reaction never happens if Markieff doesn’t act like a jackass to begin with. Markieff fucked around and found out that maybe, just maybe, you shouldn’t antagonize a Serbian giant.
This whole situation’s now reminded me of a classic Mike Tyson clip.
Sure, the Heat players got an opportunity to look tough in a hallway after too, but these multi-millionaires understand that they don’t really wan’t to fight and cost themselves fines and suspensions.
Being a dirty player seems to run in the family, too, as you might remember all of the stunts that his brother Marcus ran on Luka Doncic when the Clippers and Mavericks met in the playoffs.
The common denominator between the two brothers is that they try to get away with something on the court, especially when they know their teammates and the officials will show up to break up the incident.
One would think that Markieff would learn his lesson after this incident, considering that he’s the one that’s ended up missing 30 games after Jokic’s retaliation, but my gut feel is that he’ll be back up to his usual antics afterwards.
Let’s hope that he tries Jokic again, or maybe DeMarcus Cousins when he’s not in the mood to walk away.