If there was a Villain of the Year award, Dillon Brooks would be a leading candidate every year. He’s been able to bring some personality to the Houston Rockets, even if it annoys the hell out of everyone around. The Rockets host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night, and Brooks isn’t giving his old comrades a pass.
“You can see now they have no swagger. We have swagger. We have an identity we’re building. Each and every game, we show it more and more,” Brooks said.
Brooks has likely been waiting for this day ever since he found out Memphis was going to pass on re-signing him. He felt he deserved around $25 million per year, and the Grizzlies chucked up the deuces and thanked Brooks for his time. That figure sounded just as absurd to everyone else, although Brooks did sign with Houston for $21.5 million a year. Not quite what he’d expected, but pretty damn close.
“It’s like the girlfriend that you used to have. You don’t know how good she is until she’s gone,” Brooks said.
So far, Brooks is making an impact in Houston, averaging the most steals of his career (1.3) and shooting 50 percent or higher from the field and three-point land. Those are also career highs for Brooks. The villain is averaging just under 14 points per game, but you can expect him to try and show out against his former mates. He’s already started to trash talk and mind games. Brooks has three 20-point performances in his first 12 games with the Rockets, and you know he’ll be looking to show out Wednesday night.
However, the matchup we won’t get to see is Brooks against Ja Morant. Since Morant decided playing with guns on camera was more important than basketball, he’s serving a 25-game suspension to start the season. Morant isn’t eligible to return to the court until Dec. 19 in New Orleans. Within this time, the Rockets and Grizzlies will have faced off three times, with one game remaining on Valentine’s Day.
Even without Ja on the court, it’ll still be a good matchup and one Brooks will want to own each time. Brooks’ first game back in Memphis on Dec. 15 should be lit, as he’ll probably be booed for talking crazy leading into that meeting. He shouldn’t be a star, but he’s making himself one by popping off at the mouth and keeping his name trending on Twitter. Everyone knows that’s the most important element to becoming a star now. If you’re lit on social media, you’re granted access to the cool kid’s club.
