The competitive juices were flowing for Rockets forward Dillon Brooks during Sunday’s agonizing overtime loss at Dallas, which eliminated Houston from 2024 postseason contention.
Brooks spent much of the day locked in defensive battles against the Mavericks’ All-Star duo, Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving.
In postgame comments to reporters, Brooks confirmed the apparent increase in intensity, and he also acknowledged that there were times this season in which he didn’t defend with his preferred style.
Before signing with the Rockets in the 2023 offseason, Brooks incurred a series of fines and ejections for infractions that occurred during his final months with the Memphis Grizzlies.
As Brooks sees it, that played a role in him being a bit more conservative than he would like during the 2023-24 season.
Here’s what Brooks, who finished with a team-high 3 steals in Sunday’s game, said postgame to Brian Barefield of Rockets Wire:
I didn’t want to stir the pot, too much. I feel like the NBA restrained me from playing that type of game. But I’ve just got to have an “I don’t care” mentality, and just deal with whatever comes with it.
Complete video of Brooks’ comments can be viewed below.
The competitive edge Brooks played with defensively in Dallas may also have fueled a breakout performance on the offensive side of the court — where Brooks finished with a season-high 29 points while making 9-of-14 shots (64.3%) and 5-of-6 from 3-point range (83.3%).
Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks said that he is going to go back to his old style of playing defense. He believes that he changed too much when he got to Houston because the league was watching him. #Rockets #Sarge @TheRocketsWire pic.twitter.com/55MOCuhyxB
— #SARGE (@BigSargeSportz) April 8, 2024
The Rockets (38-40) still have four games left to play in the 2023-24 season, and an opportunity for a .500 record and a winning season still exists. As part of that last-week push, Brooks is insisting that he’ll bring the type of aggressive defense and competitive intensity that will be seen much more frequently in 2024-25 and beyond.
Next up for Brooks and the Rockets is Tuesday’s home finale versus Orlando (46-32), with tipoff from Houston at 7:00 p.m. Central.
