In their first encounter of the season, LeBron James and Dillon Brooks certainly made things interesting in Houston on Wednesday night. En route to a 128-94 win for the Rockets, Brooks went at the King with everything he had, including a bit of trash-talk after the Lakers star missed a pair of shots under the rim.
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LeBron has been having a fine season, but it wasn’t enough to get the win over Houston, who looks much improved from a season ago. At 4-3 for this campaign so far, the Rockets are looking pretty good with their new additions and Brooks is slowly sticking it to all the haters who questioned his NBA talent.
When it comes to LeBron and the Lakers, Brooks likely harbors some resentment over the way they sent him home in last season’s Western Conference playoffs. But with his performance so far, he’s getting the best kind of revenge that there is short of winning a playoff series.
Dillon Brooks Is Proving Everyone Wrong
Dillon, who was drafted in 2017, was a core member of the Memphis Grizzlies for six years leading up to the 2023 offseason. With averages of 14.5 points and 2.1 assists per game, Dillon was a mixed bag for the Grizzlies, who was often more trouble than he was worth. Shooting just 41% from the field for his first six seasons, he was a liability for them at times, and his struggles on offense were completely exposed against the Lakers last season, who made Brooks look foolish in just about every way possible.
After being exiled from the Grizzlies and left to fend for himself, critics were skeptical that Brooks would secure another long-term NBA contract but he did just that when he signed a 4-year, $86 million deal this summer. The Rockets were clowned and scrutinized for the “overpay,” but Dillon is proving himself as the right fit for the Rockets. In the first seven games so far, he’s averaging 14.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2 assists per game on 56% from the field. Needless to say, he’s blowing expectations out of the water in his Rockets tenure so far.
LeBron James Hasn’t Lost A Step
As the world waits for more intel on the new-look Rockets, the status of the Lakers has become a hot topic in the NBA community. At 3-5 on the season, this is hardly the start that fans were hoping for and there is some level of concern that the Lakers actually fell off from where they were last year when they made a run to the Western Conference Finals. Those same doubts do not exist for LeBron James, however, who is having (arguably) his best season yet in the Purple and Gold.
While the Rockets held LeBron to 18 points on the night (he only played 27 minutes), he’s still having an MVP-worthy campaign overall. In the Lakers’ first eight games so far, the King is averaging 24.4 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.4 assists per game on 55% shooting. At 38 years old, nobody is asking LeBron to carry this Lakers team but they have no other options at the moment given the injuries to Anthony Davis, Jaxson Hayes, and others on the roster. If the Lakers don’t shape up soon and give LeBron the help he deserves, it could be Brooks who ends up with the last laugh this season.
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