The Los Angeles Lakers and L.A. Clippers are home to two of the most recognizable siblings in basketball. Markieff Morris just finished his second season with the Lakers, being eliminated in the first round by the Phoenix Suns. Meanwhile, Marcus Morris — who was traded to the Clippers last season — is now moving on to the second round.
The Clippers overcame a 2-0 deficit and a 3-2 deficit in their first-round series against the Dallas Mavericks. Now, they are going to face the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Semifinals. The win over the Mavericks came down to a riveting Game 7 in L.A. at the Staples Center. Markieff, who has been eliminated in the very same building three days prior, was there to cheer on his brother.
Markieff described the feeling of watching his brother move on to the second round on the same court that he was eliminated on, according to Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated:
“I felt sick out there,” Markieff Morris told The Undefeated. “I feel sick about the [Lakers’] loss. But I wanted to show my brother love.”
Marcus gave his thoughts on Markieff being by his side during Game 7, something they’ve always done regardless of the teams they’ve been on.
“He’s watching it from a basketball mind and showing me stuff, telling me to slow down,” Marcus Morris said. “Just little things that he see during the game, and you know, obviously it helps. He’s always coaching me. We’ve been doing that since we were kids, so I wouldn’t expect anything less. …
“He can talk to me with his mask on and I know what he talking about. So it’s just, you know, we’ve had that forever.”
With the Lakers out and the Clippers moving on, Markieff made it very clear that he is rooting for his brother to win a championship.
“It would mean the same as me winning,” Markieff Morris said.
Despite the ongoing angst between the two Staples Center co-tenants, Markieff and Marcus have maintained their brotherly bond. The two have made it abundantly clear with their actions that if the roles were reversed, Marcus would be in L.A. cheering on the Lakers.
It seems that Markieff’s presence worked as Marcus was a big reason for the Clippers’ Game 7 win, scoring 23 points on 8-of-15 shooting (7-of-9 from deep).
Markieff Morris among Lakers hoping to run it back
Nearly every Lakers player for the 2020-21 team has publicly stated they would like to be back with the team and run it back. Markieff was among those, saying that there is nowhere he’d rather play and that they have a good shot at winning a championship if they run it back.
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