The Phoenix Suns beat the Golden State Warriors 111-96 in the final game of the play-in tournament at Mortgage Matchup Center on Friday to set up a first-round clash in the playoffs with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Suns dealt with some foul trouble against the Warriors, and Dillon Brooks was asked postgame on NBA on Prime about balancing aggressiveness and discipline against the Thunder.
“There are a lot of foul-baiters on that team, so we got to show our hands,” Brooks said, via The Hoop Central. “I hope it’s the real playoffs… Show your hands, we gotta follow the scout, funnel them in the paint, and be able to have our rotations proper because they shoot it great at home. There is a reason why they are the No. 1 team in the NBA.”
Brooks is throwing some shade at the Thunder and, more specifically, at fellow Canadian Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Gilgeous-Alexander looks set to win MVP for the second straight year, but while he is a fabulous player, he has also earned a reputation for being a foul-baiter. Players and coaches have voiced their frustration about it.
We had Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown call out Gilgeous-Alexander for foul-baiting. Brown acknowledged his greatness, but he isn’t a fan of those antics.
The most vocal critic has been Minnesota Timberwolves head coach Chris Finch. Finch called it frustrating to play the Thunder because they foul a lot, and then on the other end, you can’t touch Gilgeous-Alexander. He is undoubtedly not the only coach in the NBA to feel that way.
We saw Finch have an outburst for the ages when the Timberwolves took on the Thunder back in December 2025. Here’s hoping Suns head coach Jordan Ott doesn’t have one of these.
The Suns did have a little bit of success against the Thunder, as the season series only ended 3-2 in OKC’s favor. Now, it should be pointed out that the second of those wins for Phoenix came on the final day of the regular season. Both teams were without some big names for that clash.
If we just look at the first four games, two of them were blowout wins for the Thunder. As for the other two, they were close wins for either team.
The Thunder didn’t actually make too many trips to the line in those four meetings. They averaged 19.8 free throw attempts per game, which is fairly low. As for Gilgeous-Alexander, he averaged 8.3 free-throw attempts per game against the Suns, which is just below his season average of 9.0.
So, the Suns managed to keep the Thunder off the line to an extent, and they’ll need to do that in the playoffs as well. Even if they do pull that off, though, you won’t give them much of a chance. The 64-18 Thunder should prove to be too much for the 45-37 Suns, but Brooks made it clear on Prime that he believes they are capable of pulling off the upset.
“It’s about believing what we do every single day,” Brooks said, via Yahoo. “Our principles, our base, our foundation. And then just play hard each and every single possession and value every single possession. So, I believe in my guys going against anybody in the NBA. And we’re going to go out there and steal Game 1.”
Brooks will have to play a lot better than he did against the Warriors for the Suns to have a chance. The 30-year-old put up just 13 points (4-14 FG), one rebound, and four assists on the night. Brooks’ poor showing didn’t cost the Suns against the Warriors, but you better believe they will lose if he puts in a performance like that against the Thunder.
Game 1 of this series will be held at Paycom Center on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.
