Markieff Morris: Give it or give up

How hard do you work?

Do you give everything you have to your job every day?

I didn’t ask if you are great at your job or do you do a great job every day. No one can be great at their job every day. I asked if you know there are people at your job who out-work you on a consistent basis.

If you know beyond a shadow of a doubt you give all that you have, ask someone at the job site if they agree with you. If you’re confident that you work as hard as you can, the majority of the office/sales staff/fellow bus drivers would agree with you. So you should have no problem asking, right?

Instead of answering the first questions I posed to you in the natural, autobiographical sense, imagine how Markieff Morris would answer those questions. Does Markieff Morris really sit on the bench watching Miles Plumlee and truly believe the effort levels match? At what point do the excuses for Morris and his lack of energy end?

I guess it’s the long list of national championships he won at Kansas that made him take winning for granted. Markieff must be bored with the regular season due to his consistent postseason success in Phoenix. He clearly must have been tired Tuesday night against Chicago due to all of his high-energy games this year that are starting to wear on him.

Both the Chicago Bulls and the Phoenix Suns had plenty of reasons to lose last night. Phoenix had terrible travel delays and was without Eric Bledsoe. It was worse for the Bulls. Losing Carlos Boozer wasn’t helpful, but the night before, the management of the team declared the season finished with a white flag trade of Luol Deng. The stage was set for Markieff Morris to play his best game. If Morris outplayed Joakim Noah, the Bulls would have lost. Morris’ line: 2 FGs, 6 pts, 6 rbs and 0 assists. Noah’s line: 14 pts, 16 boards and 6 assists.

There are some people in our country that actually blame their employer for their own lack of intensity and drive. What an embarrassment to their family tree these people are. I’m sure you’ve worked with the guy that always complains about the way management is treating them. You know the guy that thinks his work ethic should raise and lower based on his perception of how much his company respects him. The rest of us with character understand you give all you have because you respect yourself as a man and the last name your father gave you.

I think Markieff Morris is one of the guys in the former category. I bet Morris is so narrow-minded, he’s actually told his employer after a good game, “If I had more minutes, I’d have more games like that.” Instead of doing everything he can with the minutes he gets to earn more, Morris, more than likely, plays with a lack of energy because he wants more love from the coaches and management. If you don’t think this happens, read the quotes from Pau Gasol last month on how where he gets the ball affects his intensity.

I have three questions for you, Markieff.

1) If it’s the coach’s fault, is it Gentry, Hunter or Hornacek?

2) If it’s the GM’s fault, is it the one that drafted you and has been fired or the one that’s here now?

3) If it’s the situation here in Phoenix, don’t you think the Suns would love to trade you if there were other teams that were remotely interested?

4) Do you blame every NBA GM for not evaluating your immense worth and offering the Suns a strong enough package to bring you to what ever team you consider to be the Utopian Unicorns of the NBA?

Markieff wasn’t in the lineup at the end of the game against Chicago because the coaches must not believe he’s one of the five most consistent players on the team. Markieff Morris must be coming off the bench because the coaching staff feels like he can’t out-work the opposing starters.

If Markieff Morris continues to believe he’s giving enough, it’s time for the Suns to give up.

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