Brooks is no villain to Toronto
Mercurial guard returns home to cheers, not jeers
TORONTO — Dillon Brooks has become accustomed to the boos when the Rockets are on the road. It would be difficult not to get used to them by now, like failing to pick up on that it tends to get chilly in Minnesota or that the locals sort of like hockey in Canada.
Brooks has often said that he can block out the noise, with more practice at the exercise than most. But that does not mean he does not enjoy those times he receives the opposite sort of welcome.
There are not many of those nights, reduced to Portland (left over from his time playing for Oregon,) Memphis (where he spent six seasons with the Grizzlies,) and Toronto (where he is celebrated as a favorite son and a leader with Team Canada and the rising contingent of Canadians in the NBA.)
“A lot of friends a lot of family,” Brooks said of his contribution to the crowd at Scotiabank Arena on Friday when the Rockets make their lone visit of the season to play the Raptors. “It’s always a great time to come back and play in front of familiar faces and you know, the whole country. So, I can’t wait for the warm welcome.”
For Brooks, a native of Mississauga, which borders Toronto, trips to play the Raptors are a homecoming. But there is always an understanding the nation’s basketball fans are watching, even if there can be no novelty about a Canadian returning to Toronto. The season began with 27 players either from Canada or with ties to Canada.
“It’s great. They really recognize their Canadians here,” Brooks said. “So, it’s an amazing feeling, especially with what we did in the World Cup. So, it’s great to be back here.”
Brooks’ strong play in the World Cup, with Canada taking the bronze and qualifying for this summer’s Olympics in Paris, provides more to celebrate in his first game in Toronto since returning from the Philippines.
Brooks excelled in the tournament, averaging 15.1 points on 59.4% shooting. Coming off the first-round loss to the Lakers in last season’s playoffs, when Brooks became a center of attention, the World Cup was uplifting, setting him up for his strong start to the season with the Rockets and bringing memories he cherishes.
“It meant a lot,” Brooks said of the World Cup experience. “I have a lot of great memories. That’s why we do it; for the for the memories, the pride on the chest for (being) from Canada. I’ll never forget. I’ll cherish those moments for my lifetime.”
He will also get a reminder. He returned to Toronto, conveniently with two off nights, shooting better than he ever had in his six seasons and looking forward to a matchup with Team Canada teammate R.J. Barrett who did not play against Brooks and the Rockets last week in Houston and had already been traded to the Raptors when the Rockets faced the Knicks last month.
“I love that matchup,” Brooks said. “We were going at it all summer. And you know, I can’t wait to go against him. We grew up in the same city. He looked up to me while he was playing hoops. So, I can’t wait.”
There are benefits to returns home that go beyond seeing friendly faces and embracing happy memories. Brooks is not Dillon the Villain in his hometown. He is known for more than his on-court persona or run-ins with LeBron James and the Lakers.
Brooks does not apologize for his playing style or how fans or opponents feel about it. But it was nice to be somewhere where it is assumed that he does not spend his life looking for confrontations. But this is where he learned to play the way he does, helping to build his career and earn his four-year, $86 million contract with the Rockets.
“Between those four lines, when I see those hoops and I see the jerseys and everything, it just turns on,” Brooks said.
“You can’t be like that all the time. You’d be a psycho.
“I learned as a kid to always have that passion, that tenacity, that intensity for the game, just a constant love-hate relationship I have with myself, knowing when to turn it is, knowing what times it’s needed. A big thing to that is how I speak to my teammates to be a leader.”
The Rockets wanted that from Brooks, Fred VanVleet and Jeff Green, veterans brought in to bolster a team that was talented but too young, stuck for three seasons at the bottom of the standings. They had already signed him so there was some confidence about how Brooks would fit.
“Us knowing what he was when we got him from a work ethic standpoint, mentality, physicality rubs off onto your team,” Rockets coach Ime Udoka said. “What you’ve seen has been some carryover from the summer. He had a different role than he always had in Memphis. He got to do the same things here, which was not only be a defender, but be a leader, lead guys in different ways.
“He’s been more vocal, more than a follow-mylead type of guy. That’s been great for our guys, for our young guys to see everyday preparation, how he takes care of his body. That’s been good, but also expanding his game.”
Brooks shoots less often, just 10.9 attempts per game, than in any of his previous four seasons with the Grizzlies, but he is making a career-best 45.8% of his shots. His defense has been everything the Rockets hoped, with Brooks taking on the most difficult assignment possible most nights.
Udoka said Brook’s play in the World Cup was “an opportunity for growth, an opportunity to be seen in a different role. He was one of the leaders with Canada. We’re asking him to do the same thing here, where maybe he wouldn’t have had that same role in Memphis.”
Brooks has been especially proud of filling that role. As much as Brooks’ play in the World Cup might have given him a running start into his first season with the Rockets, he also served as a leader, developing skills to apply with the Rockets.
“Obviously, lead by example and then slowly learning everybody, how they learn, how they receive the words when you speak to them, when you get on them or when you take them to the side,” Brooks said. “It’s learning them as people first. That’s what makes great leaders.”
It also makes him more than just his reputation. But in Toronto, that was already known — and cheered.