Brooks rewarding Grizzlies’ show of faith
This NBA season could have been a lot different for Dillon Brooks.
The guard-forward from Mississauga faced an off-season of uncertainty after injuries limited him to18 games in his sophomore 2018-19 campaign with the Memphis Grizzlies. He didn’t make a single start after having 74 in his rookie season, and with the final year of his three-year rookie deal not guaranteed, a rebuilding Grizzlies team could have cut ties with the once promising prospect.
Instead, the Grizzlies showed faith in Brooks, with the team picking up the final year of the 23-year-old’s deal and new head coach Taylor Jenkins making him an integral part of his system. While Brooks remains an offensive enigma with his streaky scoring, he has proved his worth to a young Grizzlies squad with “pesky” defence and an infectious energy.
“Playing with passion, playing with grit and making it contagious throughout the team,” Brooks told reporters before the season when asked what he hoped to bring to the team. “We’re going to need that because games are going to be upand-down, and somehow I’ll have to channel it, keep it going and make it contagious.”
There is no question Brooks’s play is contagious when his shot is falling; the Grizzlies are 5-0 when he scores 20 or more points. But the offensive numbers in his game log read like a roller coaster. For instance, after a season-high 31 points in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Nov. 6, he made only two of 15 shots in a pair of single-digit scoring efforts over his next two games.
Despite the ups and downs of his offensive game, he has been tenacious on defence. Brooks has admitted that he fouls a lot — he was among the top-10 most penalized players in the league heading into Tuesday’s action at 3.9 fouls per game — but his energy has impressed Jenkins.
“Shots maybe not falling or there may be foul trouble but his spirit has been consistent,” Jenkins said after Brooks’s 31point game. “He’s been ultraconsistent in just being a tonesetter for us defensively.”
Added Brooks: “I foul a lot, but I am just physical. I want to guard the best player. I want to try to shut them down and make their life a little harder even if they score 30 or whatever, it’s a hard 30 to get.”
The former Oregon star was only Memphis player to appear in all 82 games in 2017-18.
What was supposed to be a promising follow-up season went wrong early . He was used off the bench by coach J.B. Bickerstaff before suffering a serious knee ligament sprain just 11 games into the season. He returned after missing 21 games, only to suffer a season-ending toe injury seven games later.
This season is proof that Brooks’s rookie campaign was not a fluke. He is setting careerhigh averages in points (13.7), rebounds (3.7), assists (2.1), and his free-throw percentage has improved dramatically, up to 81.3 over 73.3 last season and 74.7 in his rookie year.