Jay Williams tells “The Drive” the NBA shouldn’t ban Nikola Jokic
Nov 10, 2021, 6:00 AM
If Jay Williams was in Nikola Jokic’s shoes on Monday night, there may have been fisticuffs on the court at Ball Arena instead of shoving and verbal jabs.
The altercation in question happened in the waning moments of the Denver Nuggets’ 113-96 win over the Miami Heat, when a livid Jokic forcibly pushed Markieff Morris from behind in retaliation for a forearm shiver to the ribs of the reigning MVP.
“You’re lucky that wasn’t me. I would have fought,” the ESPN basketball analyst told “The Drive.” “There would have been a fight on the court if I got hit randomly from the blindside like that.”
Aside from some chatter back and forth, the altercation remained relatively contained to those two actions, which resulted in ejection for both Jokic and Morris.
“The ejection for both individuals should be the end result of how we talk about this,” Williams said Tuesday afternoon. “That’s what I hope they do. But knowing the league, they may suspend him for a game.”
Indeed, just a few hours after Williams’ appearance on “The Drive,” the NBA suspended Jokic for one game while handing down a $50,000 fine to Morris.
“I think the league will suspend him, but they should not,” Williams said before the news dropped Tuesday. “You know, ever since we’ve been calling fouls differently this year, the physicality of the game has gone up. Actually, as a fan, I enjoy it.
“But what I saw last night while watching the game was a non-basketball play by Morris.”
NBA on TNT analyst Charles Barkley offered a similar opinion on “Inside the NBA” on Tuesday night, saying, “What about what Morris did was a basketball play? Zero. … There was nothing basketball related about what he did to Joker.”
Barkley’s co-host Shaquille O’Neal said he actually liked Jokic’s actions, saying he “had no problem with what the Joker did.”
“As a basketball guy, you have to let these little guys know that, hey, you can foul me, but if you go over the line, I’m coming back at you,” O’Neal said.
Jokic will serve his suspension on Wednesday when the Nuggets host the Indiana Pacers.
