Tag: dillon brooks

The unsung heroes of the Memphis Grizzlies’ quietly impressive run

The Memphis Grizzlies have remained a top-4 team in the NBA despite losing Ja Morant weeks ago to a knee injury.

Things seemed to be heading all the way left for the Memphis Grizzlies just two short weeks ago.

Seven losses in the month of November? Check.

A sixth 20+ point loss on the season? Check.

Franchise player Ja Morant injuring his knee against the Atlanta Hawks, leaving the game non-weight-barring and causing everyone to fear for the worst? Check, check, and check.

Morant has yet to take the court since the late November beatdown from Trae Young and Co. but the absence isn’t holding the Grizzlies down. Surprisingly, Memphis (15-11, 7-3 over its last ten games) is playing its best basketball of the season. How? Let’s talk about it.

(All odds via Tipico Sportsbook)

Dillon Brooks to miss start of NBA season with broken left hand

Former Oregon Ducks guard Dillon Brooks will miss at least the first week of the NBA season with a broken left hand.

Former Oregon Ducks guard Dillon Brooks, now in his fifth season with the Memphis Grizzlies, will miss the start of the NBA season while he fully recovers from a broken left hand.

The Grizzlies intend to reevaluate the dynamic scorer in two-to-three weeks while he gets additional treatment, stemming from an imaging done as part of the team’s return to play protocol.

With the Grizzlies set to begin their season on October 20, it looks like Brooks will at least miss the first week of the season – and possibly more.

Brooks said at the team’s media day on September 27 that he broke his hand during an offseason practice reaching for a loose ball.

The former Oregon star is Memphis’ longest-tenured player and, amazingly, their fourth-oldest player despite being just 25 years old. He averaged 17.2 points per game last year in 67 games, establishing himself as an above-average scorer off the wing.

Brooks spent three years in Eugene with the Ducks. He averaged 16.1 points and shot 40.1% from three during the 2016-2017 season, leading to Houston making him the 45th overall pick in the 2017 NBA draft and promptly sending him to Memphis.

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Grizzlies season preview: How strong is Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson duo?

With Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson, both only recently 22 years old, the Memphis Grizzlies may have the best duo of young players in the NBA.

With Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson, both only recently 22 years old, the Memphis Grizzlies may have the best duo of young players in the NBA.

Memphis is building well around Morant, who is clearly one of the league’s top rising stars. They still have some weaknesses, like an ability for anyone else beyond Morant to crate their own offense off the bounce. But they have enough depth — and enough tenacity on defense — to at least put up a fight on both sides of the ball.

Below, check out our preview for the 2021-22 Grizzlies campaign.

Which NBA players committed the most technical fouls last season?

Technical fouls are a part of basketball at every level, but when called in the NBA, they also come with significant fiscal consequences.

Technical fouls are a part of basketball at every level, but when called in the NBA, they also come with significant fiscal consequences.

Technicals can be issued for a myriad of reasons during the course of a game. This includes “non-unsportsmanlike” reasons such as excessive timeouts, delay of game, incorrect number of players on the floor or hanging on the basket and/or rim.

However, more detrimental are unsportsmanlike whistles for conduct such as disrespectfully addressing an official, physically contacting an official, overt actions indicating resentment of a call or non-call, use of profanity, taunting or deliberately throwing elbows at an opponent.

While the players we’ll discuss in the list are the modern leaders of getting T’d up, no one comes remotely close to what Rasheed Wallace accomplished during the 2000-01 campaign. Wallace was called for 41 technical fouls that season, which forced the league the eventually change the rules.

Nowadays, players are automatically suspended once they reach sixteen technical fouls in a single season — as Dwight Howard was this past season. Players then receive another automatic suspension with each passing two technical fouls they are called for (e.g. technical fouls No. 18, No. 20, etc.) subsequently.

Even though none of these players come close to matching the prolific rate Wallace once had, the following players are the ones who best embody his spirit:

(Data via Spotrac and Stats Perform)

WATCH: Dillon Brooks throws down massive dunk against Spurs in NBA play-in game

Dillon Brooks had no mercy for Dejounte Murray on Wednesday night, throwing down a massive dunk in his face on the fast break

You think Dillon Brooks is happy to be playing on the big stage in the NBA play-in game? Look no further than his massive tomahawk dunk in the first quarter against the San Antonio Spurs as proof.

On a fast break, Brooks took the ball down the lane and rose up with a defender in his way, cocking his arm back and throwing it down with authority to give the Memphis Grizzlies an 18-4 lead early on. He celebrated with all of the enthusiasm and confidence that any Oregon fan is used to.

The Spurs eventually came back from a big deficit to make it a close game at half, but the lasting highlight will undoubtedly be Brooks’ slam early on. The playoff certainly suit a player of his stature.

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Former Duck Chris Duarte projected to be a first-round pick in 2021 NBA draft

A new mock draft has former Duck Chris Duarte being selected by the Memphis Grizzlies with the 19th overall pick in the draft.

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The last month of news concerning former Oregon Ducks to make a leap to the professional level has had to do with the football team, where a total of five players were selected in the 2021 NFL draft.

Coming later this summer, though, the 2021 NBA draft will get underway, and there’s a good chance that former Oregon star Chris Duarte hears his name called in the first round of the draft.

According to CBS Sports Gary Parrish, Duarte is being mocked to get selected by the Memphis Grizzles with the 19th overall pick.

Some might discount Duarte as a prospect because he’s already 23 years old, and because he’s not an elite athlete. But the former National Junior College Player of the Year is an accomplished player who made better than 42% of the 5.5 3-pointers he attempted per contest this season, and there’s little doubt he has a game that’ll translate to the NBA.

If Duarte were to go to the Grizzlies, he would be joining fellow Oregon alum Dillon Brooks, who has turned into an extremely valuable asset for Memphis.

Of course, the NBA season is still finishing the regular season, so we don’t know the draft order just yet, or how the lottery is going to shake out. The Draft Lottery Show will take place on June 22nd, with the NBA draft happening on July 29th. We will see where Duarte ends up, but there’s a good chance he goes somewhere in the first round.

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Former Ducks’ star Dillon Brooks has entertaining trip to Oregon, gets best of Trail Blazers

Dillon Brooks got into it with several Blazers players in their pair of games this weekend, but the former Duck got the last laugh in the end.

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Before we get too far ahead of ourselves and declare that Memphis Grizzlies’ forward Dillon Brooks, a former Oregon Ducks’ standout, owns the Portland Trailblazers, let’s make it clear that we aren’t arguing that point. However, it is impossible to ignore the success that Brooks has found in the great state, even after moving away.

After his incredibly successful career as a Duck, Brooks moved away to Memphis after being drafted and traded in the NBA, and now he seems to get up a little bit extra any time he comes back to his collegiate state.

The most recent example of this took place over the weekend when the Portland Trail Blazers hosted the Grizzles for two games, both of which ended in losses for the home team. In those games, Brooks was stellar, going for 25 points, 3 assists and two rebounds in 34 minutes during the first game, and adding 18 points, 8 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the second.

At one point during the second game, things got a bit chippy between Brooks and the Blazes, with the former Duck taking exception to a foul from CJ McCollum and later being assessed a technical foul after getting into a verbal argument with Carmelo Anthony.

For any fan of the Oregon Ducks, watching Brooks get under the skin of another team is nothing new. We saw this a number of times in college as the precocious scorer is quick to let his feelings be known.

Brooks got the last laugh against Portland, with his team winning the second straight game over the Blazers and moving even closer in the western conference standings in the midst of a race for the final playoff spots.

The two teams will face off once again on Wednesday night, this time in Memphis, so we may see if the Oregon theory has any legs.

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Rockets at Grizzlies: Betting odds, point spread for Thursday night

John Wall should be fresh after sitting out Wednesday, and the Rockets need him to be aggressive. Houston is 8-4 when he plays this season.

At different points earlier this week, the Grizzlies and Rockets each owned the NBA’s longest winning streak. But the seven-game streak by Memphis ended with a Tuesday blowout by Indiana, while Houston’s six-game run concluded with a similar crash on Wednesday at Oklahoma City.

On Thursday night at the FedExForum in Memphis, both teams are looking to make amends and potentially start a new streak.

The Rockets (10-10) are on the second night of a road back-to-back, which means they will be more fatigued and short-handed. John Wall will return after resting during the loss to the Thunder, but backcourt mate Victor Oladipo is likely to sit out for planned maintenance.

The Grizzlies (9-7) are led by prized young guard Ja Morant, which likely factored into Houston’s choice to save its floor general for Memphis. If Oladipo is out, Eric Gordon will make his second straight start.

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The lines, courtesy of BetMGM

  • Point spread: Grizzlies -2.5 (-105), Rockets +2.5 (-115)
  • Moneyline: Grizzlies -150/Rockets +125
  • Over-under: 223.5 (-110 O, -110 U)
  • Player O/U Scoring Props: Ja Morant 20.5 (-110 O, -115 U), Dillon Brooks 16.5 (-115 O, -110 U), Brandon Clarke 13.5 (-115 O, -110 U), Kyle Anderson 11.5 (-115 O, -110 U); Christian Wood 23.5 (-105 O, -125 U), John Wall TBD

Place your legal, online sports bets in CO, IN, MI, NV, NJ, PA, TN, and WV at BetMGM.

According to NBA.com’s game notes, projected starters for Memphis in Thursday’s game are Ja Morant, Dillon Brooks, Kyle Anderson, Brandon Clarke, and Xavier Tillman Sr. Meanwhile, Houston counters with John Wall, Eric Gordon, Jae’Sean Tate, PJ Tucker and Christian Wood.

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The Grizzlies have a lengthy injury report, with Grayson Allen (health and safety protocols), Jaren Jackson Jr. (left knee), Sean McDermott (left shoulder), Jonas Valanciunas (health and safety protocols), Justise Winslow (left hip), and Killian Tillie (left foot) all out.

Though Oladipo is out for the Rockets, defensive ace David Nwaba (left ankle sprain) was upgraded to questionable on Thursday morning after missing each of Houston’s last two games with the injury. His potential return could be significant for a weary and short-handed group.

Advice and prediction

The uber-athletic Grizzlies have the NBA’s No. 5 defensive rating, which will likely force the Rockets to shoot far better than Wednesday’s 38.4% showing (26.1% on 3-pointers) to have a chance. On the second night of a road back-to-back, that could be a tall order.

Expect Wall to be fresh after sitting out Wednesday and aggressive with Houston coming off a loss, so the over on his point total could be a worthwhile consideration. For the 2020-21 season overall, the Rockets are 8-4 when Wall plays and 2-6 when he does not.

Prediction: 110-106, Grizzlies

Get more betting analysis and predictions at Sportsbook Wire.

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship, and there is no influence on news coverage.

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Was LeBron trash-talking Dillon Brooks after his ridiculous game-icing fadeaway?

Hmmmm!

LeBron James has started off the season doing LeBron James things as usual, including a game-icing jumper to seal a win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night.

But it’s what he did after that shot that has NBA fans buzzing.

James drove against Dillon Brooks, stopped near the free-throw line and hit a turnaround that didn’t seem to even touch the rim. After the shot, he held his palm face down close to the court.

So everyone’s wondering: is that his way of saying Brooks was “too small” to defend him? Brooks is just two inches shorter than James, so … maybe?

There are some fans speculating it was a response to a moment involving him and Brooks earlier in the contest:

I honestly don’t know in this case. It could be James was simply celebrating and it happened to look like a “TOO SHORT!” gesture. The real takeaway is James continues not to slow down and the Lakers look mostly unstoppable.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mIYjZ_s0LSw&ab_channel=USATODAYSports

Lakers vs. Grizzlies recap: LeBron caps W with dagger jumper and block (Jan. 5)

LeBron James had 21 of his 26 points in the second half as the Lakers won their fourth straight game.

LeBron James and Anthony Davis each scored 26 points to go with double-doubles on Tuesday night as the Los Angeles Lakers completed a perfect 4-0 road trip with a tough 94-92 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies that was made especially interesting by some sloppy play by the Lakers near the end of the game with turnovers. But what was more important was what forced the Grizzlies into desperation mode.

With just over one minute left in the game and the Lakers lead down to three points, James iced the game by making two huge plays during what was a dominant second half for The King. James brought the clock down for a turnaround fadeaway against Dillon Brooks. After the play, LeBron said pushed his hand down as to gesture that Brooks was “too small” to check him.

Then on the next defensive possession, James came up with a block on a floater by Memphis forward Brandon Clarke. 21 of LeBron’s 26 points came in the 2nd half. The Lakers won the game on Tuesday despite a great effort from the Grizzlies and an off night from the 3-point line, as the Lakers shot below 30% for the first time this season but still managed to earn a victory.

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