Grizzlies’ ‘D’ needs more than Brooks to be fixed
Dillon Brooks skipped his way on the court when the Grizzlies came out for pregame warmups Wednesday night at Fedex Forum. After a month out of action as he recovered from a fractured hand, he looked relieved being himself again.
He came off the bench for the first time since 2018 and had as many assists - three - as shots in the first quarter. He dove for loose balls and even drew a technical foul when he and Charlotte Hornets forward Miles Bridges jawed back-and-forth after a flagrant foul on Lamelo Bell.
He finished with 20 points on a teamhigh four 3-pointers even if he admitted he was tired playing 26 minutes in the Grizzlies' 118-108 loss.
"Each game is the same thing. I might go for five points the next game. It's all a stepping stone to get to where I was at the end of last season," Brooks said.
He also couldn't fix the Grizzlies' defensive issues as coach Taylor Jenkins warned he couldn't by himself. The Hornets scored 37 points in the fourth quarter and Kelly Oubre Jr. - a career 32.7% shooter on 3-pointers - tied his careerhigh with seven and finished with 37 points.
As much as Brooks wants to be seen as an All-defensive caliber player, the Grizzlies (6-5) need more players with that mindset. They've given up 115 points or more in seven of 11 games and are 2-5 in those games.
After Wednesday's loss, they're last in the NBA in defensive rating (113.4), second-to-last in opponent 3-point percentage (38.9%) and 25th in paint points allowed per game.(49.1).
The Grizzlies have played good defense in spurts - see Monday's comeback win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. They've won close games in the fourth quarter mainly because of their defense along with guard Ja Morant's heroics.
But it's a concern in the other three quarters. It's a concern when Oubre is the latest wing to have a big scoring game against the Grizzlies like Paul
George, Stephen Curry, CJ Mccollum and Anthony Edwards.
"We can't keep guys in front of us and that's contributing to how bad we guard the rim," Brooks said. "That's why a lot of teams are winning games. Getting to the rim. Offensive rebounds."
Brooks will bring his physicality back on the court.
He'll only add to how well the offense has looked so far.
Brooks' return, however, won't be the cure for all the Grizzlies' defensive problems. Just as the team's collectively improved shooting 3-pointers and spacing the floor better, they must match Brooks' passion on the opposite end if they want to keep taking positive steps forward.