The NBA has more than its share of crybabies, whiners and lobbyists. Doesn’t it seem that every call is followed by the wails of the damned? And isn’t every no-call greeted with flailing arms and death stares aimed at anyone in a striped shirt?
I just re-watched the movie “Judgment at Nuremberg.” Great cast. Spellbinding subject. Now your average NBA player disputing a block-charge call probably shouldn’t get as worked up as Richard Widmark prosecuting the atrocities of Nazi Germany, and, yet, he does.
Anyway, we know crybabies. And Paul Millsap, sir, is no crybaby.
In fact, the Hawks forward is on the opposite end of the tantrum scale, a solid “1” on any meter measuring petulance (1 being a Buckingham Palace guard, 10 being a panicked Millennial who just lost cell phone service).
The Hawks are caught in a difficult situation now of weighing how much to offer to their 32-year-old star, knowing his production is bound to wane even as his contract bloats. A very tough call. But just the dignity Millsap brings to the court should be worth an extra couple million.
It was the Wizards Markieff Morris who, after getting rolled by Millsap and the Hawks in Game Three of their playoff series Saturday, called his counterpart a crybaby. Sounds like somebody missed his nap time before recess.
So ridiculous were Morris' words that the Washington Post's Jerry Brewer wrote a column challenging the hometown guy. Gave him the ol' shut-up-and-play treatment.
Wrote Brewer of how Millsap has turned the match-up his way after being out-played at the outset: “Since Game One, Morris is 5 for 17 from the field. He hasn’t rebounded with the same vigor, and his defense has been just so-so. On the other hand, Millsap is averaging 25.0 points and 8.7 rebounds and shooting 54.8 percent over the three games.
“Clearly, the crybaby is dropping more than just tears against the Wizards.”
Morris fancies himself a tough guy. He is going to try to rough up Millsap, as if the undersized power forward has never had to deal with such nonsense before. Morris is going to have to try a little harder to unsettle Millsap – and that may require bringing a taser onto the floor. Or biting off an ear, maybe, a la Mike Tyson vs. Evander Holyfield.
It was Morris who inspired one of the Wizards more objectionable social media identities – Death Row DC. After all, who wouldn’t want to be associated with the worst of mankind? What, was the Washington Thrill Killers nickname taken?
The Wizards Bradley Beal described the Death Row DC persona as, “A physical team that will kind of trash talk you a little bit, and that just don’t take no BS.”
They in turn can dish out the BS with both hands. In the Millsap matter, that’s nothing to get particularly angry about. It’s just laughable.
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