Halfway through the third quarter of their eventual 127-117 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets starting small forward Dillon Brooks was ejected for standing up to Chicago star DeMar DeRozan. Brooks may have been advocating for a colleague, but that advocacy wasn’t exactly rewarded by attendant game referees. Allow us to elaborate.
The Rockets swingman was standing up for teammate Jalen Green after a hard DeMar DeRozan foul. DeRozan ran up to the young shooting guard and looked to be on the cusp of setting a pick before shoulder-checking him and knocking him over. Brooks promptly ran over and started chirping at DeRozan, and soon the two players were virtually at each other’s throats. They needed to be separated by teammates as the conflict rippled out to others on either side. Eventually, both were ejected.
It’s unclear if either player will face financially punitive repercussions stemming from this interaction. If that were to happen, it wouldn’t really hurt their respective bank accounts. DeRozan, 34, is earning $28.6 million in the final year of his contract with Chicago, and will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, probably in line for a raise. The USC product has earned $257.6 million on the court alone since going pro in 2009. Brooks, 28, is in the first season of a four-year, $86 million contract.
DeRozan finished the night having scored 16 points on a woefully inefficient 4-of-15 shooting from the floor and 8-of-9 shooting from the foul line in 23:37. Brooks would wrap up with 23 points on a hyper-efficient 10-of-13 shooting from the floor (3-of-6 from deep), two rebounds, two steals and an assist. Green led the team with 26 points on 10-of-22 shooting (4-of-12 from three point land). Reserve center Jock Landale notched a 17-point, 12-rebound double-double, while also adding five assists and two blocks. During his postgame interview, Landale also issued a powerful missive to Brooks, who became known for his on-court confrontations while with the Memphis Grizzlies before he signed on with Houston.
“Dillon Brooks, if you’re listening. This ain’t Memphis, man. Stop getting yourself ejected. We need you out here. We need that physicality.”
Jock Landale had a message for his Rockets teammate after his ejection against the Bulls 😅pic.twitter.com/UDnAys1imq
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) March 22, 2024
Choice words? Perhaps. But clearly, it’s something Brooks needs to take to heart, even if he was ultimately supporting his hurt comrade.
Head coach Ime Udoka seemed to be in favor of Brooks’ behavior. His presence has certainly led to wins. Udoka offered up an intriguing explanation, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic:
Ime Udoka cracked a rare smile when I asked about the number of scuffles Houston has been involved in this season.
“Not a bad thing to have chippy games. I don’t mind that part of it at all. If a guy takes a hit, teammates gotta stand up for each other.”
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) March 22, 2024
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.