<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-dillon-brooks-1-word-fix-kryptonite-start-season');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dillon Brooks’ 1-word fix for Suns’ kryptonite to start season');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Dillon-Brooks-reacting.jpg"><figcaption>© Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Dillon Brooks’ 1-word fix for Suns’ kryptonite to start season</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-26T11:00:07-07:00">October 26th, 11:00am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-26T11:00:07-07:00">October 26th, 11:00am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>For all the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-what-phoenix-expects-season-opener-vs-kings">talk about the Phoenix Suns this offseason</a>, they were poised to be a scrappy defensive team. Well, that’s at least what Dillon Brooks and head coach Jordan Ott collectively shared a vision for.</p><p>Now, the team has allowed 116, 129, and 133 points through the first three games of the season. Granted, the last two games were against the Los Angeles Clippers and Denver Nuggets, two elite offensive units.</p><p>Regardless, both men feel that it isn’t a worthy enough excuse. Brooks chalked it up to <a href="https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1982320437423177943" rel="noopener">one underlying issue</a> postgame against the Nuggets.</p><p>“Communication,” Brooks said via AZCentral’s Duane Rankin on X (formerly Twitter).</p><p>The latter is a major issue, but it makes sense considering the state of the season. The team is only three games in, missing Jalen Green due to a lingering hamstring injury, and has a new cast of players.</p><p>Not to mention, this is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/how-jordan-ott-earned-valley-moment-first-win-suns-head-coach">Ott’s first season as the Suns head coach</a>, so there are still some tweaks in his rotations and schemes.</p><p>Still, the standard is high, and the team hasn’t yet met it. It did against the Sacramento Kings in the second half of their lone win of the season, so good things could be on the horizon.</p><p>However, one half of basketball across six shouldn’t justify a resounding defensive scheme just yet.</p><h2><b>It’s not just Dillon Brooks who criticized the Suns’ defense</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Jordan-Ott-coaching.jpg"><figcaption>© Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Currently, the Suns have the <a href="https://www.nba.com/stats/teams/defense?dir=A&amp;sort=DEF_RATING" rel="noopener">second-worst defensive rating</a> in the league. Again, this is a small sample size but one that Brooks will continually dissect as the season progresses. His teams have improved drastically since he arrives.</p><p>The Memphis Grizzlies and Houston Rockets all had adopted defensive philosophies and principles because of him. But Ott will also continually look at those advanced metrics and see what goes wrong.</p><p>Much like Brooks, the head coach knows that the <a href="https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1982311168845955105" rel="noopener">current point totals won’t cut it</a>.</p><p>“We’ve got to be better,” Ott said via Rankin on X (formerly Twitter). “There’s no excuse for that. We’re going to have to be better defensively. This is a defensive minded group at times and we just lose our way, but we’re three games in.</p><p>“There’s a sample size to all this. A lot that is who you play. I think we’ve played some good offenses. We’ll keep looking. Find ways to guard better, find ways to attack better, but 133, doesn’t matter where you’re at, that’s probably not going to get it done.”</p><h2><b>The Suns can make strides defensively</b></h2><p>In this small sample size, Mark Williams is making a gradual return to being the team’s starting center. The franchise has microscopically managed his minutes. Also, they were on a back-to-back, so Williams wasn’t going to play in either half.</p><p>In his first game, he had a plus-15 in the box score, as well as two crucial blocks. His <a href="https://valleyofthesuns.com/mark-williams-terrifyingly-difference-maker-for-suns" rel="noopener">defensive impact as a rim protector</a> and shot alterer go under the radar.</p><p>Furthermore, inserting Green back into the starting lineup can do wonders. While he hasn’t been labeled as an All-NBA defender, his athleticism can pair nicely with the rest of the group.</p><p>Plus, pairing him with Brooks and Ott can help him use that athleticism to navigate screens, hound ball handlers at the point of attack, and play cross-matches more effectively.</p><p>Phoenix will travel to Salt Lake City and take on the Utah Jazz on Monday to conclude a three-game road trip. It might not be how the Suns start the road trip, but how they finish defensively that can help them take something positive away.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dillon Brooks’ 1-word fix for Suns’ kryptonite to start season

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-devin-booker-needs-more-selfish-dillon-brooks-says');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Devin Booker needs to be more ‘selfish,’ Dillon Brooks says');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Suns-All-Star-Devin-Booker-Dillon-Brooks.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Suns’ Devin Booker needs to be more ‘selfish,’ Dillon Brooks says</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-25T09:45:38-07:00">October 25th, 9:45am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-25T09:45:38-07:00">October 25th, 9:45am</time><address><a>Josue Pavon</a>Josue Pavon is an Associate Editor and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat writer for ClutchPoints. He started his career as a credentialed media member writing about the Boston Celtics for WEEI.com in Boston, where he grew into a local on-camera NBA reporter and podcast host for CLNS Media. Alongside the Celtics radio broadcaster and two-time NBA champion Cedric Maxwell, Josue is the co-host of the Cedric Maxwell podcast.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Two games into his new tenure, veteran Dillon Brooks says Phoenix Suns All-Star Devin Booker isn’t being selfish enough. The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/how-jordan-ott-earned-valley-moment-first-win-suns-head-coach">Suns secured a 20-point comeback win</a> in their 120-116 victory against the Sacramento Kings in coach Jordan Ott’s debut. Booker (31 points) and Brooks (22 points) led the team in Wednesday’s win.</p><p>However, after Friday’s 129-102 blowout loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, Brooks <a href="https://twitter.com/DuaneRankin/status/1981990147878175091" rel="noopener">spoke out</a> about Booker’s attempts, per Suns insider Duane Rankin.</p><p>“He needs to shoot them even if it looks like a bad shot. I played against Devin for a long time,” Brooks said. “He’s a natural scorer. Finds ways to score. He just needs to be a little selfish out there.”</p><p>Devin Booker finished with 18 points on 5-of-10 attempts, while Dillon Brooks scored 21 points on 7-of-17 tries. Grayson Allen added 12 points on 4-of-12, as Booker was uncharacteristically shy as third for most attempts for the Suns. As the Suns and the Suns are still finding continuity among many new parts, including Brooks, who was part of the Kevin Durant blockbuster trade.</p><p>Ball distribution between Brooks, Booker, and Allen will figure itself out. It’s not a concern for now. However, it’s interesting to hear the veteran guard make such a suggestion for Booker during the opening week of the regular season.</p><h2><b>Jordan Ott on his Suns debut in comeback win vs. Kings</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Suns-head-coach-Jordan-Ott.jpg"><figcaption>Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>After Suns head coach Jordan Ott made his coaching debut, he gave all the credit to his players for their fight to erase a 20-point comeback against the Kings. It’s difficult to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/3-devin-booker-bold-predictions-2025-26-suns-season">predict how good Booker and the Suns will be</a> in 2025-26. We’ll undoubtedly find out.</p><p>After his first win with the Suns, Ott addressed his players and the opportunity he’d been given.</p><p>“But it is not about me, I mean, they’re out there playing,” Ott said. “We’re just a part of it, we’re along for the ride. Any way we can help them, that’s what we’re gonna be out there doing.</p><p>“Very grateful again for the opportunity to staff I’m with. And the players, I mean, it’s always about the players.”</p><p>Next up, the Suns will face the Nuggets on Saturday.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Devin Booker needs to be more ‘selfish,’ Dillon Brooks says

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-dillon-brooks-100-real-fit-devin-booker');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Dillon Brooks gets 100% real on fit with Devin Booker');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Dillon-Brooks-and-Devin-Booker.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Suns’ Dillon Brooks gets 100% real on fit with Devin Booker</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-10-12T21:02:23-07:00">October 12th, 9:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-10-12T21:02:23-07:00">October 12th, 9:02pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Phoenix Suns might’ve unlocked a premier option next to Devin Booker, and it might not be Jalen Green. It could very well be Dillon Brooks.</p><p>After the latter was traded to Phoenix as a part of the Kevin Durant trade, it felt like a full-circle moment. During training camp, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-dillon-brooks-first-impression-devin-booker-nba">Brooks emphasized that Booker was the first Suns player he spoke to</a> as soon as he was traded.</p><p>Now, they’ve played the preseason with one another after spending the offseason training. Following Sunday’s preseason game in Macau, China, against the Brooklyn Nets, Brooks candidly <a href="https://x.com/CGBBURNER/status/1977504399896260740" rel="noopener">shared his thoughts on the fit</a> with the franchise guard.</p><p>“It’s been easy,” Brooks said. “My first call when I got traded was to Book, tryna get acquainted. He’s been like a big brother to me, taking me under his wing. Being able to play beside him and not be able to guard him is better for me.”</p><h2><b>The Suns love Dillon Brooks playing with Devin Booker</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Suns-Devin-Booker.jpg"><figcaption>Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><p>The two players complement one another extremely well. Brooks can be the guy who does all the little things, and he does just that. However, he’s improved his offensive game and has been efficient from beyond the arc.</p><p>Meanwhile, the team is in Booker’s hands. He’ll continue to operate as the team’s primary scorer and facilitator. Having someone like <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-why-dillon-brooks-was-phoenix-main-target-kevin-durant-trade">Brooks can establish the gritty and tough identity of this Suns team</a>.</p><p>It’s only been three preseason games, but the fit also looks seamless. Brooks knows where to be in transition and how to space the floor for Booker.</p><p>That alone is a major advantage. The eye test can detect a lot, but a larger sample size will be needed to confirm how well the fit is.</p><p>The Suns will have their <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2025/10/12/phoenix-suns-preseason-china-games-preview/86554495007/" rel="noopener">final preseason game</a> on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Lakers. Coming from Macao isn’t ideal, but there might be another chance for fans to see if the fit between Booker and Brooks is as good as the latter claims it to be.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Dillon Brooks gets 100% real on fit with Devin Booker

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-dillon-brooks-first-impression-devin-booker-nba');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Dillon Brooks details first impression of Devin Booker in NBA');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Dillon-Brooks.jpg"><figcaption>Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Suns’ Dillon Brooks details first impression of Devin Booker in NBA</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-25T16:27:59-07:00">September 25th, 4:27pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-25T16:27:59-07:00">September 25th, 4:27pm</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>SCOTTSDALE– 2025 will be a season of firsts for both Devin Booker and Dillon Brooks. The two Phoenix Suns players were once rivals, but have now turned into teammates.</p><p>As <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-devin-booker-drops-eye-opening-dillon-brooks-take-trade">Brooks was traded to the Suns</a> in the Kevin Durant deal, he brings a certain toughness, grit, and tenacity. However, Booker and Brooks’s rivalry began when the latter was on the Memphis Grizzlies.</p><p>Fast forward to training camp, and the defensive anchor shared an interesting tidbit. He mentioned that he called Booker as soon as the trade was finalized.</p><p>Communication was emphasized, and a togetherness for how they want the team to look was the top priority. Still, Brooks had the chance to <a href="https://x.com/DuaneRankin/status/1971321887704875053" rel="noopener">reflect on his early matchups</a> with the Suns’ all-time leading scorer.</p><p>“He was a great challenge to guard. Different game than a lot of guys have. 3-level scorer,” Brooks said during Day 1 of training camp.</p><p>“Tough to guard. Plays physical, but I knew that he didn’t like physicality then. So I could play physical with him, but we’re going to get through that this year for sure.”</p><h2><b>Dillon Brooks and Devin Booker can be a quality duo for the Suns</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Booker-and-Brooks.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Both players are different, yet strikingly similar. They both play with a chip on their shoulder, can lead a team on a particular side of the ball, and can talk your ears off.</p><p>Brooks excels at the latter, but he’s been a defensive powerhouse. During his time with the Houston Rockets, he helped transform their team defense.</p><p>They were in the Top 10 during his two seasons there. Now, he has the chance to do that in Phoenix.</p><p>But now there’s another challenge with this Suns roster. They have <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/sports/nba/suns/2025/07/07/phoenix-suns-rookie-class-excited-to-help-rebuild/84499914007/" rel="noopener">a barrage of talented, but young players</a>. Brooks has taken it upon himself to push Ryan Dunn and Oso Ighodaro into being elite defensive players.</p><p>Both have the talent and capabilities to do so. Other guys on the roster have the chance to be impactful on the defensive side.</p><p>Either way, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-why-dillon-brooks-villain-persona-perfect">Booker and Brooks broke the bread</a>, and can lay the foundation of how people will perceive Phoenix, heading into the regular season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Dillon Brooks details first impression of Devin Booker in NBA

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-why-dillon-brooks-villain-persona-perfect');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Dillon Brooks ‘villain’ persona is perfect for Suns');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Why-Dillon-Brooks-villain-persona-is-perfect-for-Suns.jpg"></figure><h1>Why Dillon Brooks ‘villain’ persona is perfect for Suns</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-24T18:33:52-07:00">September 24th, 6:33pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-25T10:36:50-07:00">September 25th, 10:36am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Mini-Editorials</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>PHOENIX– It’s not often that a role player can change a team’s dynamic. However, if you’re <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-news-sneaky-dillon-brooks-reason-kevin-durant-trade-works-rockets-suns">Dillon Brooks and the Phoenix Suns</a>, it appears to be a match made in heaven.</p><p>After <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-devin-booker-drops-eye-opening-dillon-brooks-take-trade">Brooks was originally supposed to be traded to the Suns</a> in 2018, the trade itself was denied because the Memphis Grizzlies offered the wrong player. They meant to trade MarShon Brooks, not Dillon. Somehow, the pairing felt meant to be all along.</p><p>During Phoenix’s media day, a plethora of questions surrounded Brooks with being a villain. It’s a role that he’s embraced, and for more of <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1970980236943650816" rel="noopener">an interesting reason</a> than one would expect.</p><p>“Memphis not wanting me… Trying to figure out a new path in the NBA. I had to look myself in the mirror and say, ‘How can I be wanted?'” Brooks said. “The way I play, smash mouth, physical, in-your-face type of game is where I got the villain [role from].”</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">"Memphis not wanting me… Trying to figure out a new path in the NBA. I had to look myself in the mirror and say, 'How can I be wanted?'… The way I play, smash mouth, physical, in your face type of game is where I got the villain [role from]."</p><p>Dillon Brooks on the origin of… <a href="https://t.co/8QAqh0MNke">pic.twitter.com/8QAqh0MNke</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1970980236943650816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p> </p><p>Not being wanted by any team is sure to put a massive chip on one’s shoulder. And Brooks already plays with an edge. So doing this could be the equivalent of throwing lighter fluid on an engulfing fire.</p><p>Since he was traded from Memphis to the Houston Rockets, he once again had success, specifically on the defensive end. Brooks helped anchor that defense and set the tone of physical, smash-mouth, in-your-face basketball.</p><h2><b>Can Dillon Brooks make an immediate impact for the Suns?</b></h2><p>Luckily for the franchise, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-why-dillon-brooks-was-phoenix-main-target-kevin-durant-trade">Brooks has been someone the Suns have targeted</a> for the past few seasons. His grit, toughness, and defense alone make him a formidable matchup.</p><p>Over those few seasons, his offensive game has expanded. Brooks has been mostly a 3-point shooter and operates in catch-and-shoot scenarios.</p><p>One point he touched on during media day was being more of a playmaker. With guys like Devin Booker and Jalen Green as legitimate scorers, there will be plenty of opportunities for him to expand that skill set.</p><p>Meanwhile, his scoring will come in nicely, especially considering what he did in Houston. He shot nearly 40% from deep on 6.3 attempts per game.</p><p>With more spacing, elite playmakers on the perimeter, it could open things up offensively. Brooks could also be another option to bring the ball up the floor and initiate the offense.</p><p>Offense is important, but that’s not the ultimate calling card.</p><h2><b>The Suns can have an elite defense because of Dillon Brooks</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/IMG_1476.jpeg"><figcaption>Kelley L Cox-Imagn Image</figcaption></figure><p>Putting the pressure on one player to anchor, especially a wing, can be a bit much to ask. Sure, the Suns will play team defense, but someone of Brooks’s <a href="https://valleyofthesuns.com/dillon-brooks-offers-suns-something-no-other-player-does" rel="noopener">acumen on that side is advantageous</a>.</p><p>Not to mention, head coach Jordan Ott has been labeled as a “gym rat” throughout Wednesday’s media availability. Brooks even mentioned how he and the first-year coach are going over particular schemes and strategies.</p><p>Acumen aside, hard work beats talent when the latter fails to beat hard work. And there’s no secret that Brooks has an <a href="https://x.com/NBA/status/1970915474742632506" rel="noopener">insatiable appetite for being the best defender</a>.</p><p>“The edge and competitive spirit he plays with is unmatched… He’s an incredible worker, one of the hardest workers I’ve seen,” Ott said during his portion of media availability.</p><p>Towards the end of his remarks, Ott mentioned Brooks being the head of working hard, and not letting anyone outwork them. On a team with a barrage of young players, setting that precedent early has to be the biggest modus operandi heading into training camp.</p><p>Furthermore, it aligns with Phoenix’s new-age identity ever since the championship experience failed. They might not reach a championship in the 2025-26 season. But with Brooks as the anchor, this Suns team won’t have any quit.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Dillon Brooks ‘villain’ persona is perfect for Suns

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-devin-booker-drops-eye-opening-dillon-brooks-take-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Suns’ Devin Booker drops eye-opening Dillon Brooks take after trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Booker-and-Brooks.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Suns’ Devin Booker drops eye-opening Dillon Brooks take after trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-24T15:46:58-07:00">September 24th, 3:46pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-24T15:46:58-07:00">September 24th, 3:46pm</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University alum from Atlanta who graduated with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-mat-ishbia-spins-head-scratching-yarn-success-this-season">Phoenix Suns are currently preparing</a> for the upcoming 2025-26 season, which is slated to begin in less than a month. The Suns enter this year without both Kevin Durant and Bradley Beal on the roster, following a tumultuous offseason that now sees Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks as supporting cast members <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-devin-booker-admission-about-last-season-miserable-failure">around Devin Booker.</a></p><p>Recently, at media day, Booker got 100% real <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1970969737581719806" rel="noopener">on his interactions</a> with Brooks immediately following the trade that sent Durant to the Houston Rockets.</p><p>“[Dillon Brooks] called me immediately the day the trade went down… The guy you hate when he’s not on your team, but you embrace him when he is. I think that whole reputation has taken away from what type of player he is,” said Booker, via Oh No He Didn’t on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>Brooks indeed has garnered more of a reputation for his antics and trash talk rather than his play on the floor, but he reminds a solid perimeter defender who can also knock down open threes on the other end of the floor.</p><h2><b>Can the Suns stay competitive?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Suns-star-Devin-Booker.jpg"><figcaption>Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>While Brooks is a complementary 3 and D player who could slide into seemingly any modern NBA rotation, there have been big concerns about the fit between Devin Booker and Jalen Green, both of whom play the two guard position and theoretically need the ball in their hands to be the best versions of themselves (although Booker did find success playing off the ball when he was teammates with Chris Paul).</p><p>In a crowded Western Conference playoff field, many are projecting the Suns to once again be on the outside looking in for the postseason this year. However, if new head coach Jordan Ott can find a way to get Booker and Green to complement one another as opposed to canceling each other out, there is an intriguing collection of talent still left on this Suns roster even after the losses of Durant and Beal.</p><p>In any case, the Suns are slated to kick off their 2025-26 season with a home game against the Sacramento Kings on October 22.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Suns’ Devin Booker drops eye-opening Dillon Brooks take after trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-news-why-dillon-brooks-was-phoenix-main-target-kevin-durant-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why Dillon Brooks was Sun’s main target in Kevin Durant trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Dillon-Brooks-3-poses-for-portrait-during-Media-Day.jpg"><figcaption>© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Why Dillon Brooks was Sun’s main target in Kevin Durant trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-09-24T12:32:15-07:00">September 24th, 12:32pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-09-24T12:32:46-07:00">September 24th, 12:32pm</time><address><a>Julian Ojeda</a>Julian Ojeda is an Orlando-based sports journalist with 3 years of professional writing under his belt, specializing in both NBA and NFL coverage. A devoted Orlando Magic fan, he deftly balances fervent fandom with insightful reporting, possessing a keen eye for compelling narratives.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia recently shed light on <a href="https://x.com/clutchpoints/status/1970920751776874895" rel="noopener">why the franchise prioritized</a> Dillon Brooks when finalizing the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/kevin-durant-trade-grades-7-teams-blockbuster">blockbuster trade that sent Kevin Durant to the Houston Rockets</a> in June. Ishbia emphasized that Brooks embodied the toughness and defensive edge the Suns were looking to establish as they moved away from the three-star model that failed to deliver results.</p><p>“We made the Kevin Durant trade, Dillon was a target,” Ishbia said. “Dillon is exactly what we’re talking about. He’s the kind of guy we want here. So to be very clear, defensive minded, tough, sticks up for his teammates… I love everything about Dillon Brooks’ game.”</p><p>Brooks, 29, arrives in Phoenix with a reputation as one of the NBA’s more rugged and outspoken defenders. Last season with the Rockets, he averaged 14.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game while shooting 42.9% from the field and 39.7% from three in 75 appearances. He played 31.8 minutes per contest, often taking on the challenge of guarding the opposing team’s top scorer.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">“We made the Kevin Durant trade, Dillon was a target. Dillon is exactly what we’re talking about. He’s the kind of guy we want here.”</p><p>Matt Ishbia on the Suns acquiring Dillon Brooks in the trade that sent KD to the Rockets 🗣<a href="https://t.co/cfaPMoDztm">pic.twitter.com/cfaPMoDztm</a></p><p>— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) <a href="https://twitter.com/ClutchPoints/status/1970920751776874895?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>For the Suns, Brooks represents more than just defensive help. The franchise is aiming to redefine its identity following a disappointing 36–46 season that left them outside of the playoffs. Despite having star-level talent, including Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal, the team struggled with chemistry and consistency. By acquiring Brooks, the Suns hope to inject intensity and accountability into a roster that had previously been criticized for lacking grit.</p><h2><b>Kevin Durant trade brings Dillon Brooks as face of Suns’ culture-first shift</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Kevin-Durant-35-dribbles-against-Houston-Rockets-forward-Dillon-Brooks-9-in-the-first-quarter.jpg"><figcaption>© Thomas Shea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The decision to target Brooks also highlights the Suns’ shift under Ishbia’s leadership. After initially swinging for high-profile stars, the organization is now focusing on building a balanced roster centered on culture and fit. Brooks’ reputation as a relentless defender and emotional leader aligns with this vision, even as his sometimes controversial style of play has drawn criticism in the past.</p><p>Brooks will join Booker,<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/suns-jordan-ott-hiring-hope-new-direction-dark-past"> new head coach Jordan Ott</a>, and a reshaped Suns roster that has already undergone significant changes this offseason. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/los-angeles-clippers/clippers-news-bradley-beal-need-ring-declaration-signing">Beal agreed to a buyout and later signed with the Los Angeles Clippers</a>, while Durant was dealt to Houston for a package that included Brooks, Jalen Green, and draft capital. The moves reflect a clear pivot toward depth, versatility, and defensive identity.</p><p>As the Suns prepare for the 2025–26 season, Brooks is expected to be a cornerstone of that new approach. His combination of perimeter defense, improved shooting, and intensity on the floor made him a priority in the Durant trade negotiations. For Ishbia and the Suns, the acquisition of Brooks signals a commitment to reshaping the team into one that Phoenix fans can take pride in, regardless of star power.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why Dillon Brooks was Sun’s main target in Kevin Durant trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celebrity/dillon-brooks-files-restraining-order-ex-heather-andrews');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dillon Brooks files restraining order against ex who’s mother of his 2 kids');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Rockets-star-Dillon-Brooks.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images.</figcaption></figure><h1>Dillon Brooks files restraining order against ex who’s mother of his 2 kids</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-26T09:04:58-07:00">June 26th, 9:04am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-26T09:04:58-07:00">June 26th, 9:04am</time><address><a>Andrew Korpan</a>Andrew Korpan is the lead entertainment editor and film critic for ClutchPoints. He's also an award-winning author and Ken Jeong's best friend.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Celebrity</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The drama between <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/nba-news-sneaky-dillon-brooks-reason-kevin-durant-trade-works-rockets-suns">Phoenix Suns star Dillon Brooks</a> and his ex girlfriend, Heather Andrews, <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/06/26/dillon-brooks-files-for-restraining-order-against-ex/" rel="noopener">has taken a turn</a>, as the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-dillon-brooks-doesnt-hold-back-pat-spencer-game-5-confrontation">former Houston Rockets star</a> filed for a restraining order against her.</p><p>TMZ Sports reports Dillon filed the restraining order on Wednesday, June 25, 2025, in Los Angeles, California. Andrews is the mother of their five-year-old and two-year-old children.</p><p>He alleges that Andrews “destroyed his belongings” and “hacked into his social media accounts.” Additionally, she once “threatened to cut off his fingers,” as TMZ notes.</p><h2><b>Dillon Brooks’ drama with his ex girlfriend Heather Andrews before the restraining order</b></h2><p>Brooks and Andrews’ relationship has been rocky for years. In his filing for the restraining order, Brooks alleges he met Andrews in a Las Vegas strip club in 2018.</p><p>They began dating shortly after, and they were expecting their first baby a few months later. Brooks alleges that her harassment began around that time.</p><p>She would allegedly regularly send him “emotionally abusive” messages, and she also threatened him several times. One text message read, “I am going to have you hurt.”</p><p>Additionally, Andrews allegedly threatened Brooks’ mother as well. “I’ll send someone after your mom to [sic] bitch,” she wrote to Brooks.</p><p>While Brooks was with the Memphis Grizzlies in 2022, Andrews also allegedly vandalized his house, writing, “You Suck B***h,” among other things, on his fireplace mantle.</p><p>Previously, Andrews filed for a temporary restraining order against Brooks. She alleged he had “harassed and threatened her.” We will see where it goes from here.</p><p>Brooks is heading into his ninth year in the NBA and first with the Suns. He was previously drafted in the second round of the 2017 NBA Draft.</p><p>He played for the Grizzlies for six seasons. Brooks was traded to the Rockets during the 2023 offseason as part of a sign-and-trade agreement.</p><p>Then, during the 2025 offseason, Brooks was traded to the Suns. It will become official in July 2025 at the start of the new year for the NBA.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dillon Brooks files restraining order against ex who’s mother of his 2 kids

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/houston-rockets/fred-vanvleets-heartfelt-message-to-jalen-green-dillon-brooks-after-rockets-kd-trade');   ga('set', 'title', 'Fred VanVleet’s heartfelt message to Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks after Rockets’ KD trade');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rockets-forward-Dillon-Brooks-9-Houston-Rockets-guard-Jalen-Green-4-and-Houston-Rockets-guard-Fred-VanVleet-5-sit-on-the-bench-1.jpg"><figcaption>© Erik Williams-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption></figure><h1>Fred VanVleet’s heartfelt message to Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks after Rockets’ KD trade</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-23T20:35:05-07:00">June 23rd, 8:35pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-23T20:35:05-07:00">June 23rd, 8:35pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Rockets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In a trade where most pundits and fans believe that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/nba-stories/kevin-durant-trade-grades-rockets-suns-after-blockbuster-deal">Houston Rockets came out on top</a>, they managed to bring in future Hall of Famer Kevin Durant from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for a package involving Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the 10th overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft, and five second-round picks. Considering how much the Suns gave up for Durant, that return isn’t nearly enough, but then again, Durant is set to turn 37 years old prior to the start of next season.</p><p>Green and Brooks were instrumental parts of the Rockets squad that finally saw its rebuild bear fruit. And another one of the team’s culture-shifters, veteran point guard Fred VanVleet, bid the two farewell with a <a href="https://twitter.com/spacecitybr/status/1937338140840312980" rel="noopener">heartfelt message</a> on his Instagram story.</p><p>“4L 🖤🤞@jalen proud of you,” VanVleet told Green.</p><p>“@dillonbrooks24 boo sum 💪🤝real warrior thank you for shifting this culture with me,” VanVleet said of Brooks.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="pt">Capitão do time, Fred VanVleet se despede de Dillon Brooks e Jalen Green nos stories do Instagram! </p><p>“Pra sempre, tenho orgulho de você” – Jalen Green. </p><p>“Um guerreiro de verdade, obrigado por me ajudar a mudar essa cultura junto comigo.” – para Dillon Brooks <a href="https://t.co/cbsjuCdrqr">pic.twitter.com/cbsjuCdrqr</a></p><p>— Space City br 🎙🚀 (@spacecitybr) <a href="https://twitter.com/spacecitybr/status/1937338140840312980?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 24, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>VanVleet and Brooks certainly helped transform the Rockets from an also-ran to a serious team with serious contending aspirations. They both came into the team via free agency in the same year (2023) and they brought a hard-nosed, no-nonsense approach to the game that helped teach Houston’s young core winning habits.</p><p>Meanwhile, Green, despite having a stinker of a playoff run, grew up a ton alongside VanVleet in the Rockets backcourt. He was more locked into doing the little things, and he at least bought into the challenge of being a better defender.</p><p>But now, Green and Brooks will continue their careers elsewhere — and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/phoenix-suns/the-suns-cant-keep-new-big-3-together-after-kevin-durant-trade">whether or not that would be with the Suns</a> is far from certain.</p><h2><b>Rockets win the Kevin Durant trade by a landslide</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Durant-vs-the-Suns.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Durant might be near the end of his career, but he surely isn’t playing like it. He averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists last season, and unlike with the Suns, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-rumors-ime-udoka-role-kevin-durant-trade">Rockets can give him the requisite support</a> he needs to compete.</p><p>Even a 37-year-old Durant is much better than Green on every aspect of the game, while the defensive void Brooks’ departure leaves behind will easily be filled in by Amen Thompson and Tari Eason. Durant’s not too shabby on that end of the floor, either.</p><p>Moreover, Durant is surely about to make the Rockets’ offense that much smoother. There were plenty of stretches last season where the Rockets’ halfcourt offense was a mess and they had to rely on their bruising presence on the offensive glass to manufacture points. And for what they gave up, this cannot be construed as anything other than a landslide win in Houston’s favor.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Fred VanVleet’s heartfelt message to Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks after Rockets’ KD trade

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/nba-stories/nba-news-sneaky-dillon-brooks-reason-kevin-durant-trade-works-rockets-suns');   ga('set', 'title', 'The sneaky Dillon Brooks reason the Kevin Durant trade works between Rockets, Suns');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Brooks-guards-Durant.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>The sneaky Dillon Brooks reason the Kevin Durant trade works between Rockets, Suns</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-06-22T10:31:39-07:00">June 22nd, 10:31am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-06-22T10:31:39-07:00">June 22nd, 10:31am</time><address><a>Jackson Stone</a>Jackson Stone is a Mercer University senior from Atlanta on track to graduate with a BA in communications. A lifelong sports lover, Jackson is a die-hard fan of all Atlanta teams. He joined ClutchPoints in 2023.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">NBA</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>On Sunday afternoon, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-kevin-durants-live-reaction-to-blockbuster-houston-trade">Houston Rockets shook up</a> the NBA world by trading <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-kevin-durant-trade-suns-jalen-green">for Phoenix Suns superstar Kevin Durant</a>, per Shams Charania of ESPN. In return, Houston gave up Jalen Green, Dillon Brooks, the number ten pick in this year’s draft, and five second round picks.</p><p>While Dillon Brooks may not have been the deadlining piece in the deal, it turns out that a contract stipulation of his, and <a href="https://x.com/YossiGozlan/status/1936829278962028999" rel="noopener">how that relates</a> to the Suns’ future prospects, actually played a big role in allowing the trade to go through.</p><p>“Dillon Brooks has a $1 million bonus for making the playoffs. It will now be considered unlikely since the Suns missed the playoffs last year, so technically, they are taking back less than they’re sending out,” reported Yossi Gozlan on X, formerly Twitter.</p><p>Gozlan also noted that the Rockets “will likely get below (the second apron) through more trades, waiving non-guaranteed players, and restructuring Fred VanVleet’s contract.”</p><h2><b>A huge move for the Rockets</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Rockets-forward-Kevin-Durant.jpg"><figcaption>Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Rockets’ trade for Durant signals that the team is all-in on looking to compete for championships right away. Last year, Houston was one of the biggest success stories in the NBA, securing the second seed in the Western Conference behind their assortment of young talent as well as a tough defense orchestrated by head coach Ime Udoka.</p><p>However, concerns about the team’s half-court offense come playoff time came to fruition during the Rockets’ first round playoff loss vs the Golden State Warriors, a series in which Jalen Green struggled mightily in six out of the seven contests.</p><p>Going forward, the vibes will be quite different for the Rockets, as the team will no longer have the ability to sneak up on opponents as they have in previous years when they were underestimated. Furthermore, giving up so many assets to get a soon-to-be 37 year-old Kevin Durant puts the pressure on the team to win immediately as the star approaches the age of 40.</p><p>Meanwhile, for the Suns, this deal gives the team a chance to retool while not bottoming out. Phoenix still has Bradley Beal and Devin Booker on its roster, and Jalen Green will give them a young piece around which they can theoretically build moving forward.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

The sneaky Dillon Brooks reason the Kevin Durant trade works between Rockets, Suns

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-how-buddy-hield-roasted-dillon-brooks-after-game-7');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Warriors’ Buddy Hield roasted Dillon Brooks after Game 7');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Dillon-Brooks-and-Buddy.jpg"><figcaption>© Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>How Warriors’ Buddy Hield roasted Dillon Brooks after Game 7</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-06T08:27:40-07:00">May 6th, 8:27am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-06T08:27:40-07:00">May 6th, 8:27am</time><address><a href="https://haydencilley.wixsite.com/hayden-cilley-s-port">Hayden Cilley</a>Hayden Cilley joined ClutchPoints in August 2024 as a Phoenix Suns and Mercury reporter, as well as an Associate Editor. Hayden graduated from the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. He recently covered the Phoenix Mercury for The Next Hoops and PHNX Sports.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Buddy Hield and Dillon Brooks story dates back to the 2016 Elite Eight. However, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/betting/warriors-vs-rockets-game-7-prediction-odds-pick-spread-for-nba-playoffs-2025">Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets Game 7</a> was pure cinema.</p><p>After Hield dropped a playoff career-high 33 points, he told Amen Thompson <a href="https://www.sfgate.com/warriors/article/warriors-roast-dillon-brooks-game-7-win-20311191.php" rel="noopener">what he said</a> to Brooks during the game.</p><p>“I told him, ‘I sent you home. I’ma send you home again,” Hield told Thompson via Alex Simon of SF Gate.</p><p>The confrontation doesn’t come as a surprise. After all, Brooks has a way to get under everyone’s skin. He has that ability, unlike any player in the NBA.</p><p>Not to mention, Brooks said he was targeting Warriors’ guard Stephen Curry’s injured thumb after a Game 5 win. That raises questions, but it made Golden State embrace the villain role.</p><p>Curry was dubbed the “petty king” by his teammates, especially Hield. However, the latter isn’t one to talk much. He’ll let his game do the talking. However, he wanted to let Brooks know a little something.</p><p>Either way, the Warriors are moving on to the second round, while the Rockets will be watching from home. Hield will get his deja vu from that 2016 Elite Eight, where he dropped 37 points to advance Oklahoma over Oregon.</p><h2><b>Warriors’ Buddy Hield’s comments to Dillon Brooks are deja vu</b></h2><p>As mentioned earlier, the two squared off when they were in college. Brooks was representing Oregon, while Hield was a part of the Oklahoma Sooners.</p><p>Those schools always had elite matchups when they were there, despite being in different conferences and different parts of the country.</p><p>Now, both guys squared off in the first round of the NBA playoffs.</p><p>On a night when many thought Curry would be the hero, Hield put on the superhero cape and took over. For instance, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-buddy-hield-turns-heads-explosive-1st-half-game-7-vs-rockets">Hield’s first-half total had Warriors fans going bonkers</a>.</p><p>Furthermore, it even took Jimmy Butler by surprise. The two have always had a friendly banter with one another. However, it took it to a new level when Hield was trash-talking Brooks.</p><p>At the end of the day, the Warriors are moving on, thanks to a Buddy Hield masterclass. His 12/15 shooting line and <a href="https://sports.yahoo.com/article/buddy-hield-stunningly-ties-nba-211857632.html" rel="noopener">9-made 3-pointers</a> were beyond impressive.</p><p>Now, he’ll hope to carry over that success into the Minnesota Timberwolves series. They have a team that is tough, physical, and not afraid to talk it.</p><p>That might be what Hield needs, to secure more elite performances and more of a green light from his teammates and coaches.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Warriors’ Buddy Hield roasted Dillon Brooks after Game 7

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-draymond-green-slams-dillon-brooks-postgame-antics');   ga('set', 'title', 'Warriors’ Draymond Green slams Dillon Brooks for postgame antics');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Dillon-Brooks.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Warriors’ Draymond Green slams Dillon Brooks for postgame antics</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-06T07:01:16-07:00">May 6th, 7:01am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-06T07:01:16-07:00">May 6th, 7:01am</time><address><a>Jaren Kawada</a>Jaren Kawada is a former full-time sports bettor and is now a NFL, College Football and Betting Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. Kawada was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, but now resides in Indianapolis, Indiana, after graduating from Butler University with a B.A. in sports media. Aside from football, Kawada is an avid combat sports and basketball bettor.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/warriors-news-golden-state-advances-round-2-game-7-rout-rockets">Golden State Warriors temporarily ended</a> their rivalry with the Houston Rockets with an emphatic 103-89 win in Game 7 of the 2025 NBA playoffs, but that has not dulled the feud between Draymond Green and Dillon Brooks.</p><p>Immediately after returning home from the win, Green <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLYyAxeoyl4&amp;list=PL-b9LBykCD92JTm60_20-bbATf-itWkLb&amp;t=616s" rel="noopener">wasted no time criticizing</a> Brooks for walking off the court without shaking any player’s hand. The brazen star claimed Brooks could never be part of a “dynasty” because of the way he carries himself in moments like a playoff loss.</p><p>“Dillon Brooks ran off the court,” Green said on ‘The Draymond Green Show with Baron Davis.’ “So when I say you see what guys are made of, he ran off the court… We all get it when you hoop. So if you’re going to be on that type of time — wear shades at the press conference, you’re going to be talking, you’re going to be Mr. Big Bad Wolf — don’t lose and then not face the music. I had a moment with Dillon Brooks back when he was with Memphis, and I said, ‘The dynasty starts after you.’ The reason I said that is because of things like that.”</p><p>Green and Brooks got into each other’s faces all series, as any NBA fan would expect. Both received a fair amount of public criticism throughout. Brooks was particularly put on blast for seemingly <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/rockets-news-dillon-brooks-sounds-off-targeting-accusation-amid-stephen-currys-injury">admitting he targeted Stephen Curry’s injured hand</a> when swiping at the ball.</p><h2><b>Warriors’ Draymond Green criticizes Dillon Brooks’ influence</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Draymond-Green-makes-a-reaction.jpg"><figcaption>Troy Taormina-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Green did not let Brooks off the hook easily, instead criticizing his lack of veteran leadership. Green called out his rival for having a negative influence on the younger Rockets players after noticing that third-year forward Tari Eason was also walking off the court without embracing any player.</p><p>“So then, guess what, Tari Eason does it; he leaves the court,” Green said. “I got love for Tari Eason… I ended up catching him right before he was about to walk out of the arena, and he was like walking this way so he didn’t have to come by me. But in my distance, I could see him right there. I waved him down, dapped him up, and that was kind of a little save, but don’t be that guy. You lose a series, but that’s who Dillon Brooks is. [Brooks is] a sucker man, but Tari Eason, he’s not.”</p><p>Despite the Rockets’ stout perimeter defense all season long, they struggled to even dampen the flame the red-hot Warriors ignited in Game 7. Curry, Buddy Hield and Jimmy Butler all topped 20 points, with Curry and Hield shooting a combined 13-for-21 from deep. Despite coming off a zero-point Game 6, Hield ended up as the Golden State hero, going an absurd 9-for-11 from three-point range to lead the team with 33 points.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Warriors’ Draymond Green slams Dillon Brooks for postgame antics

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-dillon-brooks-game-6-warriors');   ga('set', 'title', 'Dillon Brooks caught scheming before Game 6 vs. Warriors');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/IMG_1495.jpeg"><figcaption>Carey Edmondson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Dillon Brooks caught scheming before Game 6 vs. Warriors</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-02T18:10:47-07:00">May 2nd, 6:10pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-02T18:10:47-07:00">May 2nd, 6:10pm</time><address><a>David Yapkowitz</a>David Yapkowitz is an NBA Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He is a credentialed reporter based in Los Angeles who covers the NBA/WNBA, NCAA/NCAAW and boys/girls high school basketball.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Houston Rockets</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Rockets are facing another must-win situation in Game 6 against the Golden State Warriors if they want to avoid elimination. Facing a 3-1 deficit in the series, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/editorials/why-warriors-game-5-no-show-vs-rockets-memories-2022-title-run">Rockets responded with a huge 131-116 Game 5 win</a> to force the series back to The Bay. And ahead of Game 6, Rockets guard Dillon Brooks appeared to be calm and collected as he <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1918458153211183211" rel="noopener">strolled on the court</a> during pregame warmups.</p><p>Despite what some may think about his antics on the court, Dillon Brooks is a very important player for the Rockets and needs to have a big Game 6 against the Warriors in order to extend the series.</p><p>In Game 5, Brooks was the Rockets’ third leading scorer, finishing with 24 points to go along with one rebound and two assists. He shot 7-of-13 (53.8 percent) from the field and a perfect 8-of-8 from the free-throw line.</p><p>Through the first five games of this playoff series, Brooks has been averaging 15.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.2 assists with splits of 49 percent shooting from the field, 43.5 percent shooting from the three-point line and 85 percent shooting from the free-throw line. Brooks’ three-point percentage and free-throw percentage are both playoff career highs.</p><p>Brooks has already been involved in a few dust-ups this series, including one <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/warriors-news-stephen-curry-dillon-brooks-heated-game-4-moment">involving Warriors star Stephen Curry</a>. He also made recent headlines addressing accusations that the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/rockets-news-dillon-brooks-sounds-off-targeting-accusation-amid-stephen-currys-injury">Rockets are intentionally targeting Curry’s injured thumb</a>.</p><p>Brooks has certainly played into the role of villain, but he did guarantee before the series began that he was not going to get ejected at any time. So far, he’s been on the mark regarding that.</p><p>During the regular season, Brooks appeared in 75 games, a career-best, at a little over 31 minutes per game. He averaged 14.0 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.7 assists with splits of 42.9 percent shooting from the field, 39.7 percent shooting from the three-point line and 81.8 percent shooting from the free-throw line.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Dillon Brooks caught scheming before Game 6 vs. Warriors

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-dillon-brooks-doesnt-hold-back-pat-spencer-game-5-confrontation');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets’ Dillon Brooks doesn’t hold back on Pat Spencer after Game 5 confrontation');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Dillon-Brooks_1fd888.jpg"><figcaption>Thomas Shea-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Rockets’ Dillon Brooks doesn’t hold back on Pat Spencer after Game 5 confrontation</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-05-01T05:07:09-07:00">May 1st, 5:07am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-05-01T05:07:09-07:00">May 1st, 5:07am</time><address><a>Miguel La Torre</a>Miguel La Torre is a lifelong sports junkie and seasoned sports writer whose passion for the game has been with him since childhood. A former soccer player turned dedicated runner, he's now chasing his dream of completing all seven major world marathons. Miguel is also a proud Utah Jazz believer, a passionate Manchester United and Real Madrid supporter, and loyal Novak Djokovic fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Houston Rockets kept their season alive with a 131–116 win over the Golden State Warriors in Game 5, but the score <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-ime-udoka-reacts-accusation-dillon-brooks-stephen-curry-intent">wasn’t the only thing grabbing attention</a>. A heated late-game altercation between Dillon Brooks and Pat Spencer stole the spotlight, with Brooks offering a <a href="https://x.com/JTGatlin/status/1917774807959232567" rel="noopener">sharp response after the final buzzer</a>.</p><p>With just over four minutes remaining and the Rockets comfortably ahead, Spencer aggressively fouled Brooks while battling for a rebound. Brooks didn’t retaliate immediately, but Rockets big man <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-rockets-alperen-sengun-face-to-face-trayce-jackson-davis-pat-spencer">Alperen Şengün stepped in to confront Spencer</a>. What followed was unexpected. Spencer appeared to headbutt Şengün, triggering an eruption from both sides. Officials reviewed the play and ejected Spencer from the game. Technical fouls were also handed out to Şengün and Warriors forward Trayce Jackson-Davis for their involvement in the altercation.</p><p>After the game, reporters asked Brooks about what led to the incident. His response was brief but pointed.</p><p>“He’s talking too much,” Brooks said.</p><p>That single line sparked renewed conversation around Brooks’ reputation for <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-dillon-brooks-sounds-off-targeting-accusation-amid-stephen-currys-injury">thriving in emotionally charged playoff moments</a>. Known for his intensity and trash talk, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-stephen-curry-dillon-brooks-heated-game-4-moment">Brooks rarely backs down from conflict</a>, and this situation was no different. However, this time, it was Spencer, once a college lacrosse star turned NBA role player, who seemed to initiate the escalation.</p><p>This isn’t the first time the Warriors and Rockets have found themselves in a heated playoff series. From 2015 to 2019, Golden State eliminated Houston four times, including the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-eric-gordon-jj-redick-reflect-missed-opportunity-2018-western-conference-finals">infamous 2018 Western Conference Finals</a>. Although the rosters have changed, the competitive fire clearly remains.</p><p>Through five games in this year’s series, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-draymond-green-slapped-flagrant-1-foul-kick-tari-easons-head">the physicality has been obvious</a>. A total of 15 technical fouls have been assessed, with both teams playing with a mix of aggression and desperation. Game 5 was no exception.</p><p>Brooks played a key role in Houston’s win, finishing with 24 points and solid perimeter defense. Fred VanVleet added 26 points, and Amen Thompson chipped in 25. The Rockets’ performance cut the series deficit to 3–2 and sets up a high-stakes Game 6 in San Francisco.</p><p>As the series continues, all eyes will be on how both teams manage their emotions. If Game 5 was any indication, things could get even more heated.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Rockets’ Dillon Brooks doesn’t hold back on Pat Spencer after Game 5 confrontation

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-dillon-brooks-sounds-off-targeting-accusation-amid-stephen-currys-injury');   ga('set', 'title', 'Rockets’ Dillon Brooks sounds off on targeting accusation amid Stephen Curry’s injury');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Dillon-Brooks-Stephen-Curry.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Rockets’ Dillon Brooks sounds off on targeting accusation amid Stephen Curry’s injury</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-30T21:02:23-07:00">April 30th, 9:02pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-30T21:48:54-07:00">April 30th, 9:48pm</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and is now serving as an Associate Editor, Chicago Bulls beat writer, and Michigan football reporter at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Golden State Warriors</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-steve-kerr-drops-truth-bomb-rockets-game-5-form">Houston Rockets avoided elimination at home on Wednesday</a> night as they easily handled business against the Golden State Warriors in Game 5. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/golden-state-warriors/warriors-news-fans-clown-golden-state-disastrous-game-5-first-half-rockets">The Rockets got out to a fast start</a> in this one and never looked back as they cruised to a 131-116 win. Of course, there was some controversy that came in this game. Things got chippy in the final minutes of the contest, and Dillon Brooks has also been accused of targeting Stephen Curry’s injury.</p><p>Stephen Curry is currently dealing with a thumb injury, and some people <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/nba/houston-rockets/rockets-news-ime-udoka-reacts-accusation-dillon-brooks-stephen-curry-intent">think that Dillon Brooks is purposefully putting Curry</a> in a position to make it work. Brooks <a href="https://x.com/ClutchPoints/status/1917783531331412322" rel="noopener">addressed those claims</a> after the Game 5 win.</p><p>“I’ve been playing the game… If I had an injured ankle, I would attack that ankle every single time,” Brooks said after the game. “So, whatever they’re saying on the broadcast, they can keep saying it.”</p><p>The good news for Curry is that his thumb injury isn’t impacting his game. A photo went viral of him walking to the team plane, and the thumb looks pretty banged up if you zoom in. He is icing it and being careful with it, but it’s <a href="https://x.com/anthonyVslater/status/1917777661553766665?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1917777661553766665%7Ctwgr%5Ea9a0f067b4f5910afbd48f2a9240e3e45d9d7c7a%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&amp;ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.si.com%2Fnba%2Fwarriors%2Fnews%2Fsteph-curry-breaks-silence-on-viral-thumb-injury-photo-after-warriors-rockets-01jt4xq7fzj0" rel="noopener">not negatively impacting him</a>.</p><p>“I don’t even know how to answer it. Something you are dealing with and keep it moving,” Curry said, according to a post from Anthony Slater.</p><p>Curry was then asked if it is impacting his game, and he said no.</p><p>That’s good to hear if you’re a Warriors fan, especially after Game 5. The Rockets easily cruised to the big win to keep their season alive, and they are now just one road win away from taking control of the series. The series would be tied at three apiece if Houston wins Game 6, but Game 7 would be back at home for Houston. The last thing that the Warriors want is a road Game 7 after going up 3-1 in this series.</p><p>Because of Game 7 being in Houston, Game 6 becomes massive for the Warriors, and the pressure is on. Golden State will look to finish off the series on Friday back at home. The time of the game and the networks that it will be airing on are still to be determined. Golden State is an early 5.5-point favorite.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
19.3	3.3	2.3	0.7	2.7

2025-26 SEASON STATS
PTS	REB	AST	BLK	STL
19.3	3.3	2.3	0.7	2.7

Dillon Brooks news

Dillon
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