Heat’s Haslem on Jokic-Morris situation: ‘We don’t hold grudges, so it’s time to move on’
No Miami Heat players were made available for comment following Monday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets, but a few had something to say Wednesday regarding Nikola Jokic’s shove of Markieff Morris.
With 2:39 left in the fourth quarter of the Heat’s 17-point loss to the Denver Nuggets at Ball Arena on Monday night, Jokic blindsided Morris in retaliation to a hard foul.
“Obviously in a situation like that, alpha males and reactions take over,” Heat veteran and team captain Udonis Haslem said following the team’s morning shootaround session at UCLA. “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.”
Morris was ruled out of Wednesday night’s game against the Los Angeles Lakers because of whiplash stemming from the incident. He was at the team’s morning shootaround Wednesday but did not participate, leaving without comment for a medical appointment.
“He’s getting better, that’s the only update,” coach Erik Spoelstra said of Morris.
Heat veteran forward P.J. Tucker added: “Keef is my brother. He has been my brother for a long time. So of course, my brother is down there on the floor, I’m worried. But he’s good, so I can’t wait to get him back.”
The NBA reviewed the sequence of events and announced Tuesday night a one-game suspension without pay for Jokic for “forcefully shoving” Morris “to the floor from behind.” Jokic will serve his suspension Wednesday when the Nuggets host the Indiana Pacers, which will cost him a game check of $210,417, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.
The league also issued a $50,000 fine to Morris “for committing a Flagrant Foul 2 on Jokic that initiated an on-court altercation.” The $50,000 fine is the maximum before a player can file a grievance.
In addition, Heat forward Jimmy Butler received a $30,000 fine “for attempting to escalate the altercation and failing to comply with an NBA security interview as part of the review process pertaining to an on-court matter.”
A photograph taken by the Denver Post’s Aaron Ontiveroz captured a tense moment with Heat players waiting in the hallway outside their locker room following Monday’s game. As they looked toward the Nuggets’ locker room, security and Heat general manager Andy Elisburg stood in front of them blocking the hallway.
“It’s one of those situations, man, we’re grown men. Things happen,” Tucker said. “The team is going to stick behind their brothers, fight for each other as the Denver players did for their player. It’s just how it is. It’s part of the league.”
Of the postgame scene, Haslem said: “It looked like something was going on there. It’s just a situation where everybody wanted to make sure Keef was OK. So I think everybody just gathered around making sure Keef was going to be OK, making sure the next move wasn’t him losing his career going to the hospital or anything like that. So I think we were more concerned than anything.”
It all began when Jokic was dribbling the ball down the court and attempted to deliver a pass. Morris gave a hard foul with his left forearm as Jokic let go of the pass in an effort to stop the play near midcourt.
As Morris walked away after the foul, Jokic (6-11, 284 pounds) ran at Morris and shoved him from behind with his right shoulder and forearm. The shove sent Morris, 32, crashing to the floor as his head snapped back.
Morris, 32, remained on the court for several minutes as he grabbed his neck. A stretcher was brought out, but Morris was able to slowly walk off the court on his own.
Morris was assessed a Flagrant 2 for his foul on Jokic, and Jokic was ejected for shoving Morris from behind. Butler also picked up a technical foul during the incident, needing to be held back as he yelled in the Nuggets’ direction with Morris down on the court.
Some blamed Morris for instigating the chain of events, with TNT’s Charles Barkley saying Tuesday night: “Which one are you going to suspend? If you’re going to suspend one, you’ve got to suspend both. You can’t suspend the Joker.”
When TNT’s Ernie Johnson pointed out that Spoelstra called Jokic’s shove “a very dangerous, dirty play,” Barkley said: “Erik Spoelstra is wrong. He’s just defending his guy. I’m watching all these fools on television all day talking about this. First of all, Morris started it. Joker retaliated.”
TNT’s Shaquille O’Neal also defended Jokic’s actions: “I like what the Joker did. I have no problem with what the Joker did. [Morris] hit him intentionally, unnecessary roughness. What do you do as a big guy? You hit him back.”
Nuggets coach Michael Malone said Tuesday that he believed the Flagrant 2 foul on Morris was the correct call because it was “an unnecessary play, a dirty play.”
“I don’t give a [expletive] on what anybody’s thoughts are on anything, I’m done talking about it,” Spoelstra said when asked about Malone’s comments.
But the story line will surely come up again when the Heat and Nuggets face off on Nov. 29 at FTX Arena.
“I’ve seen Jokic take that foul on people before,” Haslem said. “I see him take that same foul on people. I think he took that foul on Devin Booker or something not too long ago. So I’ve seen him take that foul on people. So it was weird for me to understand people blaming Keef. Even guys who I look up to like Shaq and those guys saying stuff like that. I’m like I grew up with you guys, man, you guys would have never cosigned me hitting somebody in the back. Now you’re saying that’s OK. I don’t understand that.”
This story was originally published November 10, 2021 at 3:57 PM.
