Dillon Brooks is already looking ahead to next season with one very specific goal in mind: fewer technical fouls.
Brooks said in comments highlighted by Evan Desai of the Arizona Republic that he’d like to avoid “not to get 17 technical fouls,” though he didn’t exactly pretend that would be simple. He also acknowledged that plenty of the whistles came with a price tag for his team.
“At least half of them are earned,” Brooks said. “Some of them are by the same refs.
And some of them I don’t need to get. Costs my team some wins.”
Brooks was suspended after collecting his 16th technical last season, but he also made clear he doesn’t see his edge as a problem the Suns want him to lose. In his view, that fire is part of what gives Phoenix its personality.
“It’s the energy that we live by,” Brooks said. “Some of them are called for, to get your point across.”
Phoenix leaned into that style in Brooks’ first year with the team, and the result was a stronger defensive identity and a return to the playoffs.
In Houston, the Rockets are banking on Marcus Smart to bring a different kind of impact. Varun Shankar of the Houston Chronicle wrote that Smart’s two-year deal reunites him with coach Ime Udoka, who coached him to Defensive Player of the Year honors in Boston.
The Rockets see Smart as a veteran who can change a game without needing the ball in his hands. He gives them another physical perimeter defender and a secondary playmaker while Fred VanVleet works back from a torn ACL.
The catch is that Smart’s arrival also tightens up an already crowded backcourt. Reed Sheppard, Amen Thompson and rookie Bruce Thornton are all expected to fight for minutes, which makes Houston’s guard rotation one of the main camp battles to watch.
Smart’s jumper has never been his selling point, but Houston is clearly betting on the bigger picture: leadership, defense and playoff experience.
Brooklyn, meanwhile, may not be finished even after a busy offseason. C.J. Holmes of the New York Daily News wrote that the Nets have upgraded their talent with the additions of Julius Randle, Keon Ellis, Moe Wagner and rookie Mikel Brown Jr., but there are still issues to sort out before opening night.
The biggest concern is the backcourt, where several young guards need developmental minutes and veterans are also in the mix for playing time. Holmes also flagged the loss of Nic Claxton as a problem.
“The frontcourt … still has an obvious question,” Holmes wrote.
Without Claxton, the Nets don’t have a proven rim protector, which makes another trade or roster move a real possibility before the season starts. Brooklyn looks deeper and more competitive than it did a year ago, but the roster still needs the right balance.
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Suns Fans Have Seen This Risky NBA Comeback Story Before
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Phoenix followers know, though, that the comeback part is never the easy part. Nigel Hayes-Davis is the cautionary example here, the kind of return story that looks promising until the fit, the role and the timing all work against it. Guerschon Yabusele and Victor Oladipo have also shown how hard it can be to turn overseas success or a second chance into something lasting once the NBA gives you another look. [Read more 🡒]