He acknowledged in the most explicit way yet how his role changed this season. He’s nonetheless a player in a contract year and ultimately yearns to do more. Within that answer lies the complexity of what Brooks seeks these playoffs. But I’m going to knock down my shots and play my heart out.” If they need me to do more, I will be ready. "I’m not going in there with no pressure," Brooks reiterated. There’s a sense of satisfaction now that it feels as if the worst has passed in time for a postseason push. He just scored more points Wednesday (30) than he had in any game since December. He’s shooting 36.7 percent from 3-point range in March after hitting only 25 percent of his shots from beyond the arc the previous two months. He also emerged from perhaps the worst shooting slump of his career in January and February, right as Morant temporarily left the team, and right after a trade deadline in which his name got bandied about in rumors. 28, 2023.īrooks helped spur this on with his temerity and tenacious defense. The Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks (24) dunks the ball against the Orlando Magic guard Markelle Fultz (20) during a game at the FedEx Forum in Memphis on March. The Grizzlies now have a two-game lead over Sacramento for the No. Wednesday’s loss ended a stretch of 10 wins in 11 games, which culminated with a new franchise record for home wins (33). So many, in fact, that there are still plenty left to convince.īut Memphis has done a remarkable job removing itself from the maelstrom that enveloped the entire franchise in the immediate aftermath of Morant’s Instagram Live fiasco earlier this month. They found themselves while so many declared them lost. He has become, unintentionally maybe, a microcosm of what the Grizzlies have gone through. “You’d rather have a guy that leaves it all out there than guys that are buddy-buddy out there, letting them shoot the ball.” It’s hard to coach me sometimes because I get so into the personal battle,” Brooks said. “I play defense at a different rate than most people. How the boos and the vitriol that sparked still linger today, even as he often invites more of it upon himself with the villain status he seems so willing to embrace during and after every game. How much of a toll it took on him when he got ejected and eventually suspended for the flagrant foul that left Gary Payton II with a fractured elbow in Game 2 against Golden State. Now, for perhaps the first time, Brooks had pulled back the curtain on how devastating that experience was for him. The Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks (24) exchanges words with the Los Angeles Clippers guard Russell Westbrook (0) at the FedEx Forum on Main Memphis. To remember that, as topsy-turvy as this campaign has felt at times, it will still be defined by how far Memphis goes in the postseason. With the playoffs around the corner, it’s finally appropriate again to consider how last season ended. PROGRESS REPORT: How Luke Kennard's 3-point shooting has solved a problem for the Memphis Grizzlies offense “But that’s how I felt during that backlash from the media and I had a lot of backlash from people, and I had to deal with it throughout this whole season.”Īnd at that moment, with the start of the postseason less than three weeks away, it became apparent once more Morant isn’t the only member of the Grizzlies out for redemption right now.Ī NEW JA: 'I'm more humble now': Why Ja Morant says he's changing his ways on postgame interviews I’m not going to explain myself on that,” Brooks continued. “I’m going to leave that in the rear view. “I gave it all my heart out there and I got penalized for it.” I was playing with a torn hamstring,” he added, including a detail that had not been previously disclosed since, during last year’s playoffs, Memphis listed him as playing through a foot injury. Information on how we process your feedback can be found here.“I got no pressure,” Brooks said instinctively, and then offered a more vulnerable (and revealing) corollary suggesting the opposite. In case you would like to give Daimler Truck Financial Services Deutschland GmbH feedback, please contact us via e-Mail. HRB 232662īundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht Florian Peterl, Thomas FederschmidtĬommercial Register Berlin, No. Daimler Truck Financial Services Deutschland GmbHĮ-mail: of the Supervisory Board: Dr.Other companies publishing on this website:Į-mail: by the Board of Management:Martin Daum (Chairman), Karl Deppen, Jochen Goetz, Andreas Gorbach, Jürgen Hartwig, John O’Leary, Karin Rådström, Stephan Unger Represented by the Board of Management: Martin Daum (Chairman), Karl Deppen, Jochen Goetz, Andreas Gorbach, Jürgen Hartwig, John O’Leary, Karin Rådström, Stephan UngerĬhairman of the Supervisory Board: Joe KaeserĬommercial Register Stuttgart, No.
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