Dillon Brooks has been an excellent defender for a few seasons now, he is one of the better players on that end in the NBA. His tenacity, IQ, and ability to move his feet all make him hard to beat for opposition players and he also tends to be competitive to a fault that doesn’t hurt his defensive prowess.
The Memphis Grizzlies have some other elite defenders like Jaren Jackson Jr. but Dillon Brooks sets the tempo on that end. So when they took on the Los Angeles Lakers, there was no doubt he would take on the assignment of LeBron James. In the 8 games, before he played against Memphis, James had been averaging a whopping 36.4 points per contest.
However, when faced with the daunting task of slowing LeBron James down, Brooks was able to make an impact, and James was held to just 23 points. And even though the Lakers won and there were plenty of distractions with Shannon Sharpe around, Brooks was impressive enough to get asked about his defense after the game.
Dillon Brooks Opened Up On His Strategy For LeBron James
When it comes to defending the greats, all anyone can do is throw them off their game. And LeBron shooting just 38% from the field and a pitiful 20% from three-point range indicate that he was thrown off. His team won without him taking over, which is a positive sign for the Lakers. But for Dillon Brooks, it seems he did his job manfully, explaining after the game what his plan for the matchup is.
https://twitter.com/jovanbuha/status/1616694181786976256
“He doesn’t want to go left. I was just making him go left all game. Then he would settle or he would pass the ball. And then play physical with him. Continuously bump him all of the time. And don’t let him take easy shots.”
LeBron James has faced Dillon Brooks on 11 occasions, and he has managed 30 or more points in just 3 of those games. His three-point percentage in particular seems to drop when Brooks is opposite him, he has shot just 27% from range in those games. Ultimately, whatever Brooks does or doesn’t do, he is as powerless to completely shut LeBron James down as anyone else. But his playbook for the King seems solid, and their matchups will likely continue to be fun to watch.
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