Wizards' Markieff Morris throws shade at Celtics, declaring 'Boston has never been better than us'

Morris and the Wizards are never afraid to speak their minds, but this time may have gone too far

The Wizards have never been afraid to speak their mind, but have often failed to back up their talk. Given that trend, you may have thought they would be more reserved at media day this season. And in fact, coach Scott Brooks made a point to say the team needed to "stop talking."

So of course Markieff Morris did the opposite of that. 

"Boston has never been better than us," Morris said when discussing the Wizards' expectations and goals for this upcoming season. 

Which, just... why? Of course Morris is going to be confident in is team, but what are you going to gain from saying that? The Celtics have finished ahead of the Wizards in each of the past three seasons, have gone to the past two Eastern Conference finals and knocked the Wizards out of the playoffs in 2017. Morris' statement is objectively just not true, and only serves to add drama and controversy to the start of a new season. 

Wall, likewise, was not eager to stop talking. Referencing ESPN's preseason ranking of the top 100 players in the league, which placed Wall at No. 32, he said "if there are 31 players better than me, prove it." 

Again, it's understandable that Wall, the No. 22 player in CBS Sports' ranking of the top 100 players in the NBA, is confident in himself, but making these comments just serves no positive purpose for the Wizards after they've already had trouble walking the walk. 

After some notable offseason moves, including acquiring Austin Rivers and Dwight Howard, this will be another big season for the Wizards. If the initial pressure to meet expectations wasn't enough, they now have some more to deal with courtesy of Morris and Wall. 

It wasn't the first time the Wizards have attracted attention for their bravado. Last November, just a few weeks into the season, Bradley Beal made headlines when he appeared on The Jump with his All-Star teammate John Wall. 

"I feel like we're the best team," Beal said when asked about where the Wizards' rank in the East. 

They didn't back that up. Thanks in part to injuries, the Wizards struggled to an eighth-place finish in the Eastern Conference, and were eliminated in the first round by the Toronto Raptors.