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  6. article_body => "<p>The Wizards strive to play a physical style on defense and no one epitomizes that more than power forward Markieff Morris. The guy has even taken issue with the term \"'stretch-4,'&nbsp;saying <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/washington-wizards\/markieff-morris-thinks-stretch-four-sounds-soft-feel-free-use-it-hawks-paul\" target=\"_blank\">he doesn't want to be called that&nbsp;because \"it's soft.\"<\/a> Morris likes to consider himself&nbsp;a tough player and his teammates follow his lead.<\/p>\n<p>\"You've got to be [tough],\" Morris said on the Wizards Tipoff podcast. \"We're Death Row. That's a tough name and we stand by the product. That's how we feel about it. We can't be Death Row and come out and play soft.\"<\/p>\n<p>Morris started the 'Death Row'&nbsp;nickname last season in part because of the Wizards' goal to be one of the more physical teams in the league. They won't back down from confrontation and aren't afraid to mix it up.<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>[RELATED: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/wizards\/closing-out-games-big-problem-wizards-numbers-paint-ugly-picture\" target=\"_blank\">WIZARDS HAVE SOME UGLY CLUTCH NUMBERS SO FAR<\/a>]<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>That motto has led to dustups with a host of teams. Depending on your definition of a rivalry, the Wizards have created quite a few of them. They have had beef with the Celtics, Warriors, Suns, Magic, Hawks and Bucks, plus minor incidents with other teams, all within roughly the last calendar year.<\/p>\n<p>Morris has a theory for why that is.<\/p>\n<p>\"Some teams don't like the physical play. Some people don't like being fouled hard. At the end of the day, it's a physical sport. It's a man's sport. We're going to do the right things and we're not trying to hurt anybody, but sometimes you're going to have to pay for getting into the paint. We just want to make you feel us more,\" he said.<\/p>\n<p>\"It's a mentality that we have to have. We want to be looked at as one of the tougher teams. Sometimes we get into foul trouble trying to be too aggressive, but I feel like it's better that way than to be a soft team. That's the stance we want to take it to. We want to be an aggressive team offensively and defensively, for sure.\"<\/p>\n<p>Morris also talked about his relationship with John Wall and Bradley Beal, why he likes playing with Mike Scott and his support for rapper Meek Mill.<\/p>\n<p>Listen to the full interview right here:<\/p>\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/art19.com\/shows\/699721b3-e735-466d-ba23-f02d0d6b6893\/episodes\/ae4f7fc9-3702-4e56-8a28-8ce1eeb87c4e\/embed\" style=\"width: 100%; height: 200px; border: 0 none;\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe> \n<p>You can&nbsp;<a data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?hl=en&amp;q=https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/wizards-tipoff\/id1206090007?mt%3D2&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1507164096587000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFSPZBy9RQw7QNxvJTUnEoHGmJ0aQ\" href=\"https:\/\/itunes.apple.com\/us\/podcast\/wizards-tipoff\/id1206090007?mt=2\" target=\"_blank\">download the podcast on Apple Podcasts right here<\/a>&nbsp;and on Google Play. If you like the show please tell your friends!<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>[RELATED: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/wizards\/numbers-beal-pace-join-whos-who-all-time-nba-marksmen\" target=\"_blank\">BRADLEY BEAL'S BIG MILESTONE, BY THE NUMBERS<\/a>]<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n"
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Wizards

Wizards

The Wizards strive to play a physical style on defense and no one epitomizes that more than power forward Markieff Morris. The guy has even taken issue with the term "'stretch-4,' saying he doesn't want to be called that because "it's soft." Morris likes to consider himself a tough player and his teammates follow his lead.

"You've got to be [tough]," Morris said on the Wizards Tipoff podcast. "We're Death Row. That's a tough name and we stand by the product. That's how we feel about it. We can't be Death Row and come out and play soft."

Morris started the 'Death Row' nickname last season in part because of the Wizards' goal to be one of the more physical teams in the league. They won't back down from confrontation and aren't afraid to mix it up.

[RELATED: WIZARDS HAVE SOME UGLY CLUTCH NUMBERS SO FAR]

That motto has led to dustups with a host of teams. Depending on your definition of a rivalry, the Wizards have created quite a few of them. They have had beef with the Celtics, Warriors, Suns, Magic, Hawks and Bucks, plus minor incidents with other teams, all within roughly the last calendar year.

Morris has a theory for why that is.

"Some teams don't like the physical play. Some people don't like being fouled hard. At the end of the day, it's a physical sport. It's a man's sport. We're going to do the right things and we're not trying to hurt anybody, but sometimes you're going to have to pay for getting into the paint. We just want to make you feel us more," he said.

 

"It's a mentality that we have to have. We want to be looked at as one of the tougher teams. Sometimes we get into foul trouble trying to be too aggressive, but I feel like it's better that way than to be a soft team. That's the stance we want to take it to. We want to be an aggressive team offensively and defensively, for sure."

Morris also talked about his relationship with John Wall and Bradley Beal, why he likes playing with Mike Scott and his support for rapper Meek Mill.

Listen to the full interview right here:

You can download the podcast on Apple Podcasts right here and on Google Play. If you like the show please tell your friends!

[RELATED: BRADLEY BEAL'S BIG MILESTONE, BY THE NUMBERS]