Nikola Jokic and Markieff Morris made headlines earlier this season. During an intense back-and-forth between the two, Jokic ended it with a brutal shove on Morris, who fell to the floor in a fit of pain.
https://twitter.com/BallyHEAT/status/1457927401078509574
What followed was craziness behind the scenes, with Morris’ twin brother and Nikola Jokic’s brothers exchanging threats on social media. Needless to say, things got pretty intense — but most believed the situation had already cooled down.
But on Twitter late Thursday night, Markieff rekindled the rivalry with a tweet, calling Jokic a “fat boy” while reminding everyone that he is still missing time due to the incident.
“Ain’t shit wild about it! It’s a real injury! Imagine having a 300-pound sloppy fat boy run full speed and make direct contact with your spine! I’ll be back soon like I said,” said the Heat forward on Twitter.
Ain’t shit wild about it! It’s a real injury! Imagine having a 300 pound sloppy fat boy run full speed and make direct contact with your spine! I’ll be back soon like I said. https://t.co/jMdySrLxuw
— Keef Morris (@Keefmorris) January 7, 2022
At first glance, the shove may not seem like anything that would keep a player rout for 30 games, but the Joker is easily over 275 pounds. Being thrown by a guy like that, completely off guard, would be enough to keep anybody in pain for a while.
With booth families still giving each other the evil eye, it seems like Keiff and Jokic will always have something going on. Though, according to Udonis Haslem (who defended Jokic), it would be much better for both sides to just move on.
“Obviously in a situation like that, alpha males and reactions take over. A couple of days later, we all want what’s best for everybody. I don’t think Jokic is a bad guy. I actually love him as a basketball player and I love him as a person. I think he’s a really good guy. I think emotions just got the best of everybody.”
“Looking at it a day or two later, I wish it wouldn’t have gone down the way it went down. But I don’t think he’s a bad guy, nor do I think he’s a dirty player. I’m also a guy who has definitely let emotions get the best of me sometimes. But I never hit nobody in the back, and I think that’s where it got a little murky. But I don’t think he’s a bad guy, and I don’t think he meant to hurt anybody. We don’t hold grudges, so it’s time to move on.
In the heat of battle, tempers run high all the time. Whether it’s in the spirit of competition, an over-aggressive foul, or simply two players who have taken trash talk too far, it’s not rare for opponents to get physical on the basketball floor.
In this case, however, the impact is being felt well after the initial incident.
We’ll see how much longer it goes on.
