Cleveland Cavaliers forward Marcus Morris was sort of a forgotten man in the NBA, at least for a few weeks, after he was traded from the Philadelphia 76ers to the San Antonio Spurs in February, then immediately waived. The Cavs signed him a few weeks later, and for the most part, they're glad they did.
But man oh man, they were hoping Morris wouldn't go viral for blowing a play that NBA players make 99.99 percent of the time. But guess what happened in the Cavaliers' Game 1 blowout loss to the Boston Celtics in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs?
You guessed it. Morris had a dunk. Wide-open. Off a beautiful pass from Darius Garland. Like, there was no one around. So Morris, who stands 6-foot-8, decided to lay the ball in with two hands. Easy, right?
Well, maybe not. Instead, his attempt hit the back of the rim ... sat there for a second ... and rolled off. The Celtics got the rebound and quickly scored.
The Cavs weren't ever really in the game after that.
MARCUS MORRIS WINDMILL DUNK ? pic.twitter.com/Om2U8mXLbE
— BrickWrld (@BRICKW0RLD) May 7, 2024
Of course, the Cavs' 120-95 loss wasn't Morris' fault. After all, he had just hit a 3-pointer before the missed layup. But it was a sign of things to come. And it makes you wonder if this series isn't a sweep in the making.
Even when the Cavs did something right — yeah, they blew it.
On the bright side, they still have Donovan Mitchell, and he is a joy to watch. But based on these playoffs, he's become a one-man show for Cleveland.
In Game 1, he scored 33 points and is now the fourth player in league history to score 30 or more points in six straight playoff series openers, joining Michael Jordan (three times), Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain. But the rest of the team? Gotta make your layups, man.
