If you name players who are likely to be sent off in a match, whether due to technical errors or a physical altercation, Markieff Morris and DeMarcus Cousins will be at the top of the list. They showed Sunday why they were both kicked out of the Los Angeles Lakers’ game with the Houston Rockets.
The problems started late in the first quarter when Morris knocked Jae’Sean Tate off the ball. Cousins, who were just standing there, trembled with a forearm that sent Morris himself to the floor. It is not surprising that Morris was not satisfied with it, and he jumped up and returned to Cousins with a push of his own.
There was a lot of jawbone after that, and Morris had to be held back before he was finally calmed down by Montrezl Harrell and LeBron James. The referees went to the monitor to review the situation and determined that Morris and Cousins were each getting a technical foul. Morris also received a flagrant 1 and was ousted.
While Cousins rightly stayed in the game after the incident, he did not last long. Early in the second quarter, LeBron drove to the basket and Cousins wiped hard on the ball, but the only thing he hit was LeBron’s head. The refs went to the monitor again and determined that it was a blatant 2 offense due to the wind and contact with the head, and Cousins was ejected.
Both Morris and Cousins will receive fines, but it remains to be seen whether this will be a significant figure above the normal amount that technical and blatant players cost. However, it is unlikely that one of them will be suspended.