Markieff Morris was one of the Washington Wizards’ best physical and psychological weapons in their Round 1 win over the Atlanta Hawks, but now it’s uncertain how effective he will be in Round 2 against the Boston Celtics.
Morris suffered a bad-looking sprain of his left ankle in the second quarter of the series opener in Boston on Sunday when he landed on the foot of Celtics big man Al Horford while shooting a jumper. He was forced to exit the game and did not return as the Wizards ultimately lost 123-111.
Markieff Morris heads to the locker room after turning his left ankle#DCFamily #NBAPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/f3XpfO5D4E
— NBA.com (@NBAcom) April 30, 2017
Afterwards, the sixth-year forward said he first thought the ankle was broken.
“This was my worst one,” said Morris, per Jay King of MassLive.com. “I kind of twist my ankles like this, that’s my injury, an ankle twist. But this was by far the worst one. I honestly thought it was broke. They got the swelling to go down a whole lot, but it almost was like the size of a softball.”
King adds that Morris vowed to play in Game 2 on Tuesday, but if the 27-year-old, who is known for his bruising style of play, is at all limited or tender this series, it could help swing the tides in favor of the top-seeded Celtics.
