Paul Millsap maneuvered around and into Markieff Morris with precision, sending the Wizards’ power forward to the bench with foul trouble game after game. Something had to be done.
It wasn’t just the fouls. Millsap was scoring from the field with efficiency. He picked up assists. Washington knew that the Hawks’ All-Star would be a problem in its first-round playoff series with Atlanta. But, it also believed that Morris — 6-foot-10, mobile, feisty — was a well-constructed counter to the man who gave the Wizards so much trouble two years ago in the playoffs. For three of the first four games, Washington was wrong.