Dillon Brooks can start writing that check to the NBA now.
In a game where the referees were thin skinned and handed out six technicals, Brooks had picked up one in the first half. Then, on a drive with less than three minutes to go, Brooks felt Kristaps Porzingis fouled him (Brooks did go to the ground, but there was no call) and got up hot. He earned his second technical, assistant coaches had to hold him back, and Brooks was done for the night.
Well, he was done for the night on the court. When he got to the interview room, Brooks unloaded on the referees.
Dillon Brooks’ full comments on the officiating tonight for the Grizzlies-Mavericks. It was raw after he was ejected for the first time this season but he decried the lack of consistency, protecting the players and more. pic.twitter.com/SLrF8etFZh
— Evan Barnes (@evan_b) December 9, 2021
“As you saw in the game, we’ve been playing physical basketball for about a week now. And all of a sudden, new officials come in here and they call an inconsistent game. They want to call ticky-tack in the first half and then in the second half they want to call nothing. And then you got guys getting undercut, being getting hit on the floor, no call. There’s a lack of protection of the players and that’s the main thing, I felt like this crew came out there and just made it about them and that’s bull.
“Obviously I can’t put it all on them. We got to get the 50/50 balls, you got to be able to rebound the basketball, you got to be able to hit shots in timely ways, but this crew did not protect the players. They just wanted to get the game over with and that’s bulls***. That’s bulls*** from the very beginning. That’s bull.”
Coach Taylor Jenkins decided to keep his money. When asked about the ejection — and he was hot when the no-call happened — he simply said, “Dillon got ejected.”
Offense has been down this season and physicality is up. It’s been more than just “points of emphasis” with officials not calling blatant non-basketball plays to draw fouls. The fact defenders know they are not going to get whistled because they are in front of/running next to a ballhandler who creates contact then flails his arms has emboldened them to get in better positions and be more physical. The result is a defense that shooters and shot creators are not used to and are still adjusting to.
Players will adjust, but what they want is consistency. Brooks felt that was not the case Wednesday night and vented about it. He knew it would cost him when he said it, and he was good with that. He can start writing the check now.