Am I understanding this situation right? Dillon Brooks was pretty much solely responsible for the Grizzlies’ slipping playoff chances up until this game. Every loss the ‘Zlies had in The Bubb is pretty much directly attributable to him and him alone. If any other players on the ‘Zlies appeared to play poorly, it was because Brooks and his chuckerific shot selection were causing them to play poorly. And now…AND NOW…Dillon Brooks dragged his team back into the playoffs with a 31-point performance in the final game of the season? What the heck?
I’m fully convinced that Brooks PURPOSELLY played poorly in the games leading up to this just so that he would have the chance to be the savior and become the hero in the eyes of ‘Zlies fans. He played just well enough to not get perma-benched, and just bad enough that the ‘Zlies couldn’t win a game. As the kids say, that is “big brain” right there. It was also “big brain” to shoot a bunch of floaters which the Bucks didn’t seem to be expecting, even though I hate floaters, and, by extension, any player who makes floaters a featured part of their offensive arsenal.
I’m going to try this next time I get a chance to play a pickup game (which will be god-damn never, thanks COVID). If we’re playing to fifteen, I’ll be a bricklayer until the opposing team is right on the cusp of victory, and then I’ll go hero-mode on everybody’s ass, spamming midrange jumpers until we reach fifteen without even giving the ball up. I fully believe this will earn me more respect on the court than just playing a solid game the whole time.