The Miami Heat played a terrible game on Monday night. To get that out of the way, they were horrible.
They came out sluggish, with low to no energy, eventually losing the game, and not closely. Near the end of the game though… now, that’s the even that has everyone talking the morning after.
With just a little time left in the game and the Nuggets headed towards victory, there was the now-infamous Markieff Morris/Nikola Jokic dustup. No matter which side of the ledger you fall on, it was a lot to take in.
Well, that’s for most people. For Miami Heat head man, Erik Spoelstra, it all seemed simple and straight to the point.
Here is what he had to say after the contest. It comes via the reporting of Five Reasons Sports.
"“That was a dangerous, dirty play. I thought Keef took a foul. It was one of those fastbreak take fouls, with his shoulder.You might deem that as a little more than slapping somebody, but after watching it on film it was a take foul. That was absolutely uncalled for.”"
The Miami Heat were handled on Monday night in Denver. However, that’s not the biggest story from the contest and here’s Spo’s take on it all.
Coach Spoelstra is spot on. Yes, might it had been a bit harder than normal, absolutely.
However, was it a play that isn’t seen in NBA Basketball… time and time again? No, it wasn’t.
Again, the takes on who was right or wrong, if anybody was right, or any justifications aren’t the point. Coach Spoelstra’s take on it was just an interesting one.
He also expounded in different ways. Here is another Five Reasons tidbit that gives more perspective from Spo.
Erik Spoelstra on the dirty play from Jokic on Morris:
— Brady Hawk (@BradyHawk305) November 9, 2021
“He’s moving around right now in the locker room. That was a very dangerous, dirty play.”
“This whole thing could’ve got a lot uglier if he was facing Jokic.”
Interesting thoughts, indeed. This could be perceived or deciphered in a few ways, but he seems to be saying that had Keef been facing Jokic, things would have been different.
Who knows? It all happened fast and though things never escalated to the point of the highest contention, there did seem to be some postgame reactions by the team.
Things will continue in this saga on November 29th, where there are sure to be fireworks. Even if it doesn’t happen like this, it will surely be an interesting and entertaining contest.