Dillon Brooks had the best possible seat to witness the rise of the Memphis Grizzlies from bottom-feeders to contenders. They went from having the second-worst record in the Western Conference in 2017-18 (22-60) to the second-best record in 2021-22 (56-46), with Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr. leading the way.
Brooks, now a member of the Houston Rockets, sees a lot of similarities between his current teammates and the Grizzlies of 3-4 years ago.
“I feel like it’s almost the exact same team from 3-4 years ago,” Brooks said. “We kind of have the same type of players. Jalen Green is like Ja Morant. Jabari (Smith Jr.) is like Jaren. Young guys that can expand their games to be one of the best or the best in the league.”
Asked Dillon Brooks how Memphis prepared him for this role in Houston:
"I feel like it's exactly the same team from 3-4 years ago. Jalen is like Ja Morant. Jabari is like Jaren. Young guys that can expand their games to be the best in the league."
📺 https://t.co/7pu3eRG8vz pic.twitter.com/SuVqytfuxF
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) July 10, 2023
If Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr. become as good as Morant and Jackson, then the Rockets would be thrilled.
Green is coming off a solid sophomore season in the NBA in which he averaged 22.1 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 3.7 APG, 0.8 SPG, and 0.2 BPG. You don’t see superstar potential in him as of now, but then again, no one thought Morant would be this good after he averaged 19.1 PPG in his second season.
Jabari, meanwhile, averaged 12.8 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 1.3 APG, 0.5 SPG, and 0.9 BPG as a rookie. The potential is there in him to be great, and he has had a terrific Summer League so far as well. Will it translate into a strong regular season? We shall see.
How Good Can The Rockets Be Next Season?
The last three seasons have been downright terrible for the Rockets. They had the worst record in the NBA at 17-55 in 2020-21 and then again in 2021-22 when they were just 20-62. Last season was marginally better, as they were tied for the worst record in the Western Conference at 22-60.
Next season though, promises to be better than these ones. The Rockets have paired their talented young stars, with Brooks and Fred VanVleet and also have Ime Udoka as their new head coach.
On paper, this does seem like a team that could be competing for one of those final play-in spots, and considering how bad the last three campaigns have been, that’d be viewed as great progress.
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