Earlier this season, Miami Heat big man Markieff Morris suffered a whiplash-related injury when Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic violently shoved him.
Morris hasn’t played since, and it is safe to say he still harbors ill feelings towards last season’s MVP for what transpired in November.
Asked if he heard from Nikola Jokic during these four months off, Markieff Morris said, "F–k, no, I don't want to hear from him. He did what he did. It is what it is."
— Ira Winderman (@IraHeatBeat) March 13, 2022
The incident happened towards the end of a contest in Colorado in which the Heat were getting blown out by Denver. Morris hit Jokic, who then reacted by taking an egregious cheap shot at him.
Morris landed on the ground, and although a stretcher was brought out onto the floor, he was able to walk off under his own power.
The two players then took on each other on social media, and family members even got briefly involved.
Much like last season, the Heat overall have had trouble staying healthy. But true to their championship-caliber culture and “next man up” mentality, the team continued to play well no matter who was available for each contest.
Miami currently has the best record in the Eastern Conference and has a two-and-a-half game cushion over the second-place Milwaukee Bucks, the defending NBA champions.
The Heat have a couple of relatively easy games coming up against the Detroit Pistons and Oklahoma City Thunder. But after that, Miami will face contenders such as the Philadelphia 76ers, Brooklyn Nets, Golden State Warriors, Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls as the 2021-22 regular season winds down.
