Markieff Morris blames the fans

[johnson]

So I finally heard the post-game comment from Morris. WOW! I think we all knew this guy wasn't the most mentally put together human on the planet, but come on...

Anyone else hear what he said? Basically called out all fans above the first few rows (the ones who aren't rich) for not being there for them, only cheering when they were winning, etc.

The timing is hilarious. After setting a Suns record for lowest point total in the first half (24), he whines that the fans aren't clapping enough.

I don't think the Twins will be here next year.

 

[GMATCa]

So I finally heard the post-game comment from Morris. WOW! I think we all knew this guy wasn't the most mentally put together human on the planet, but come on...

Anyone else hear what he said? Basically called out all fans above the first few rows (the ones who aren't rich) for not being there for them, only cheering when they were winning, etc.

The timing is hilarious. After setting a Suns record for lowest point total in the first half (24), he whines that the fans aren't clapping enough.

I don't think the Twins will be here next year.

They will still be in Phoenix, but players should never bother themselves in the media with fan responses. Recall the legend of how Phoenix fans booed Kevin Johnson off the court at the end of Game Two of the 1993 NBA Finals (when K.J. scored 4 points on 2-8 field goal shooting, with 6 assists, after also struggling in Game One). The only problem is that the alleged incident never happened: at just about the same time that K.J. was walking off the court after fouling out (delivering an intentional foul to stop the clock), the officials also ejected Robin Ficker, the notorious Washington Bullets' super-fan and heckler who was attending the NBA Finals in Phoenix in order to heckle the Bulls. Suns' fans were actually booing Ficker's ejection, but some people in the media thought that they were booing K.J. In the postgame press conference, when a reporter asked Charles Barkley about the fans supposedly booing K.J., Barkley responded that the Suns would never have been in the Finals without K.J. and that if fans were going to boo, "Don't come to the f*cking games." So, according to the legend that had suddenly taken hold, Suns' fans had booed Kevin Johnson off the court.

K.J. could have tried to clear up the misconception immediately, but he never did so until almost eight years had passed and the Suns were about to retire his number and induct him into the Ring of Honor. He noted that back in June 1993, "I had other things to worry about, like going to Chicago two games down." So rather than worrying about how the fans and media were reacting, K.J. established a new NBA Finals record by playing the first 62 minutes and 40 seconds of Game Three, scoring 25 points with 9 assists, 7 rebounds, and 2 steals, and harassing Michael Jordan into needing 43 field goal attempts in order to score 44 points as the Suns won in triple-overtime. Over the last four games of the series, K.J. never scored fewer than 19 points and served as Jordan's primary defender in three of the four games as Phoenix nearly forced a Game Seven.

You just play the game; if the fans are not into it, you get them into it with your play.

And, look, a lot of fans nowadays—in arenas all over the country—are constantly looking at their phones during the games, they're arriving late and leaving early, they're walking around the concourse and hardly in their seats, and they're barely interested in the nuts-and-bolts of the game. As a player, you just worry about yourself and your team.

 

[johnson]

Big difference in KJ's response on the floor and Morris. Morris hits the road and gets a technical foul, a flagrant foul, and commits half a dozen other mental errors en route to getting pasted by the Heat.

He had a chance to apologize, say he was just made because the Spurs crushed them, etc....but he stood by his words. Dude is a knucklehead.

I think his point wasn't that the fans were booing him/the Suns, but that they weren't cheering loud enough, esp when things weren't going well. I'm not sure how any fan could keep themselves cheering and screaming in support in the Spurs game, but more power to them if they exist.

This is partly Coach Horny's fault too. He is letting these clowns get out of hand. They lead the league in technicals. He looked like he had a good plan to stop it, by sitting down anyone who got one, but then promptly started making exceptions and now the plan doesn't exist.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

I would either want to:

A) Get rid of the Twins this offseason

or

B) Bring in a veteran presence that will not put up with their BS and put them in their place constantly.

If neither of the two happens then I quit on McDonough.

 

[GMATCa]

Big difference in KJ's response on the floor and Morris. Morris hits the road and gets a technical foul, a flagrant foul, and commits half a dozen other mental errors en route to getting pasted by the Heat.

He had a chance to apologize, say he was just made because the Spurs crushed them, etc....but he stood by his words. Dude is a knucklehead.

I think his point wasn't that the fans were booing him/the Suns, but that they weren't cheering loud enough, esp when things weren't going well. I'm not sure how any fan could keep themselves cheering and screaming in support in the Spurs game, but more power to them if they exist.

This is partly Coach Horny's fault too. He is letting these clowns get out of hand. They lead the league in technicals. He looked like he had a good plan to stop it, by sitting down anyone who got one, but then promptly started making exceptions and now the plan doesn't exist.

I think that the problem is that Hornacek does not have much to turn to. This team is full of young players with very little maturity or veteran leadership—none, really. The way that they pout and stew and bark at the referees is reminiscent of Charles Barkley, except that these guys have not earned the right to act that way (not to mention that in today's era, if you even look at a referee sideways, you might receive a technical foul).

In addition to technical problems such as rebounding, passing, and team defense, the Suns badly need to import a couple of veterans who can teach the young players how to win and comport themselves.

 

[GMATCa]

I would either want to:

A) Get rid of the Twins this offseason

or

B) Bring in a veteran presence that will not put up with their BS and put them in their place constantly.

If neither of the two happens then I quit on McDonough.

Even when the Suns rebuilt with a very young team in 1988 (of which a young Hornacek was a part), they kept a twenty-nine-year old Eddie Johnson and signed a twenty-nine-year old Tom Chambers. Mark West was also in his late twenties and provided stability, as one can sense in this TNT report from 1990:


You cannot have a truly successful team with just young players, twenty-five and under. And if anything, veteran leadership is even more important now because in the days of that video, virtually all the Suns' young players had spent four years in college apiece and the money was much less. Now guys spend a year or two in college, draw big salaries without accomplishing all that much, and are thus even less likely to develop maturity.

 

[GMATCa]

But here's what they don't realize: Arena vibe is a mirror into a basketball team's soul and its connectivity with the fan base. For much of this season, these Suns have seethed, scowled, slipped into isolation basketball, complained to referees, accumulated technical fouls — and they haven't always played hard.

Bickley: Planet Orange has big problems, and a lot has to change

 

[johnson]

Great points. They need a few vets. PJ Tucker is the closest thing they have to a true leader, but he's nowhere near what they need.

 

[The Derski]

I disagree about the Morris twins. They may get some techs every other game but they are about the only players that play with passion on this team. I like em. They bring it every night.

 

[Orange602]

I like the Morris twins. They just need to step back from the leadership role (because they aren't mature enough to be leaders, yet).

 

[GMATCa]

I disagree about the Morris twins. They may get some techs every other game but they are about the only players that play with passion on this team. I like em. They bring it every night.

I'm not ready to give up on them, but I actually feel that they are pretty inconsistent in their commitment level. If Markieff proved more consistently engaged, he could be a 17/7 guy.

At the same time, there is utility in their versatility and thus the Suns cannot simply give them away.

 

[GMATCa]

Even when the Suns rebuilt with a very young team in 1988 (of which a young Hornacek was a part), they kept a twenty-nine-year old Eddie Johnson and signed a twenty-nine-year old Tom Chambers. Mark West was also in his late twenties and provided stability, as one can sense in this TNT report from 1990:


You cannot have a truly successful team with just young players, twenty-five and under. And if anything, veteran leadership is even more important now because in the days of that video, virtually all the Suns' young players had spent four years in college apiece and the money was much less. Now guys spend a year or two in college, draw big salaries without accomplishing all that much, and are thus even less likely to develop maturity.

From Mark West himself:

On Eddie Johnson’s undervalued skill…

He was a guy who pretty much could transcend any factions. He was a skilled player who could shoot the living crap out of it, but to me his biggest strength was he was a great teammate. We’re coming from somewhere else, Tom’s coming from somewhere else, they had people who were already there, and he kept us all together playing as a unit. Everybody hung out with Eddie. He could transcend all the work cliques.

Suns Throwback: Mark West | Phoenix Suns

I think that one can safely say that there is no Eddie Johnson on the current Phoenix roster.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

I would either want to:

A) Get rid of the Twins this offseason

or

B) Bring in a veteran presence that will not put up with their BS and put them in their place constantly.

If neither of the two happens then I quit on McDonough.

Well, we did half of one and completed the other.

 

[LeChuck421]

NBA Trade Machine - ESPN

Miami's unprotected pick would be included too.

 

[Arizona_Sting]

NBA Trade Machine - ESPN

Miami's unprotected pick would be included too.

Indy would never do that…

 

[johnson]

Markieff looked terrible and was treated like a backup. He's a complete moron, but needs to get major minutes. No matter how defective his personality is, the guy has talent.