LeBron James is missing one game.
Markieff Morris is missing his eighth, with no end in sight.
Those two things are more connected than some might realize.
By suspending James for Tuesday night’s game against New York — the Los Angeles Lakers’ lone visit to Madison Square Garden this season — over his role in an incident in Detroit on Sunday, the NBA sent a very loud, very clear message to anyone who might want to partake in future on-court dustups.
Enough is enough.
Sunday night’s mess in Detroit — the second significant on-court fracas in the NBA this season — earned James the first suspension of his 19-year career, plus got the Pistons’ Isaiah Stewart a two-game suspension on top of the eight stitches that were needed to close a gash in his head.
“He felt like he got a cheap shot across his brow,” Pistons coach Dwane Casey said. “On the street, it’d be a different story.”