Dillon

Brooks

Both of Houston’s veterans will sit out the season finale, since they have been eliminated from the postseason for a little while now. Cam Whitmore should slide into the starting unit in place of Brooks, while Jock Landale will remain in the starting unit in place of FVV, with Amen Thompson filling the point guard minutes.

While his performance did not come in a win, Brooks was excellent in Dallas. He was efficient as a scorer, with the 29 points representing a new season-high. Brooks may only be a late-round option in fantasy leagues, but he has been more reliable this season than during his final run in Memphis. For fantasy leagues that run through Week 24, the Rockets play four games. That includes a game on Thursday, which is one of the lighter days of the regular season’s final week. Rostered in 31% of Yahoo leagues, Brooks could be worth streaming on that day.

Brooks came into this one sporting a putrid four-game streak of Tony Snell-like cardio sessions. Over his last four, Brooks scored a total of 18 points on 7-of-30 shooting with almost no peripheral contributions in 25.5 minutes. He bounced back in a big way, and the absence of Amen Thompson likely had something to do with the bump in production and playing time. Brooks isn’t a trustworthy fantasy option, especially heading into the final weekend of championship play.

Efficiency hasn’t been a strength of Brooks, but his performance on Wednesday was an improvement on his 2-of-13 performance in Monday’s win over Portland. Houston has won ten straight games, but that hot streak has not made Brooks a more attractive fantasy option. Over the past ten games, he has averaged 12.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.6 3-pointers, shooting 43.7% from the field and 88.2% from the foul line. That production has Brooks ranked outside the top 200 in 9-cat formats. Being a fixture in the starting lineup is why he remains rostered in 32% of Yahoo leagues.

Brooks and Bulls wing DeMar DeRozan got into an altercation after the latter delivered a hard foul to Rockets guard Jalen Green. DeRozan was issued a Flagrant 2 foul and ejected, with Brooks being tossed due to his actions after the foul. Brooks played 25 minutes, finishing with 23 points (10-of-13 FGs), two rebounds, one assist, two steals, and three 3-pointers.

Brooks had a lousy night from deep, making one of his seven attempts. And that was a departure from the norm for him, as he’s shooting a career-best 39.9% from three for the season. While Brooks’ fantasy value remains lower than what fantasy managers would prefer from a player who logs starters’ minutes, he’s been considerably better than last season as a member of the Grizzlies. Over the past two weeks, Brooks has provided 10th-round value in 9-cat formats. That’s better than Alperen Sengun, who is ranked outside the top 150 during that stretch. Sengun finished Wednesday’s loss, which dropped Houston to 5-21 on the road, with 17 points, five rebounds, five assists, one steal, one block, and one 3-pointer in 34 minutes.

While the headline from Monday’s game will be its controversial finish, that shouldn’t detract from Brooks’s performance. Shooting a career-high 39% from three, he seemed to have an answer for each Knicks rally, scoring 12 of his team-high 23 points in the fourth quarter. Rostered in 37% of Yahoo leagues, Brooks has provided 12th-round value in 9-cat formats over the past two weeks. While the offensive game makes him challenging to trust in more leagues, Brooks has been more reliable on that end of the floor than he was in Memphis last season.

Brooks shot 4-of-5 in the fourth quarter, scoring 14 points to spruce up his stat line and give the Rockets a chance to force overtime in the final seconds. The defensive stopper has scored 20 points or more in consecutive games. It’s the first time he’s done this since wins over the Hornets and Kings in early November. Brooks still isn’t a must-roster player, as he’s ranked just outside the top 150 in 8- and 9-cat formats. However, he’s worth a look in standard leagues while Fred VanVleet is sidelined.

While this season has been better than last for Brooks, he remains a late-round player who isn’t a must-have in standard leagues. Tuesday’s performance was good, with the 23 points being three fewer than his total in Houston’s prior three games. But the erratic shooting is an issue, especially when the defensive stats haven’t been there. Over the past two weeks, Brooks has averaged 0.6 steals and 0.3 blocks per game. Fred VanVleet being sidelined may get him more scoring opportunities, but that’s unlikely to make him a must-roster player in standard leagues.

With Fred VanVleet (back) and Jabari Smith Jr. (ankle) sidelined, there were more shots for the available Rockets who may take a back seat on most nights. Brooks certainly qualifies, and he led Houston in field goal attempts (23) and points (25) on Sunday. This wasn’t an efficient scoring effort, but field-goal percentage was the only category where Brooks managers took a hit. He was also responsible for five 3-pointers and four steals, which is nothing to scoff at. As for the player who replaced Smith in the lineup, Cam Whitmore finished with five points, four rebounds, one steal, one block, and one 3-pointer in 27 minutes. Houston plays three games during Week 14, beginning with Portland on Wednesday.