Dillon Brooks turns to Lakers’ most annoying villain, LeBron James, and he’s taking it

Ahead of last Sunday night’s heartbreaking 105-104 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets took to Crypto.com Arena with new faces. More specifically, Dillon Brooks.

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Brooks, now known as a “villain” on Instagram, received plenty of boos from the Lakers faithful before the game and during the announcement of the starting lineup. Not long ago, the Lakers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies in last year’s playoffs. Not only did Brooks embarrass himself on the court with mediocre numbers, but he also embarrassed himself off the court in postgame interviews. Brooks poked the bear during the Grizzlies’ Game 2 win, arguably ending his NBA career.

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Of course, it didn’t help, especially since LeBron James completely outplayed Brooks in the crucial Game 4. The all-time scoring leader ended the game with a brutal 22 points, 20 rebounds and 7 assists, while Brooks only had 11 assists and scored 1 of 7 three-pointers.

Brooks was immediately met with massive boos in Game 5. Brooks was initially known for his defense, but he struggled in the series, especially against James. Ironically, in Game 6, James answered Brooks’ request. The Lakers defeated the Grizzlies by 40 points and advanced to the Western Conference semifinals.

More Deja Vu by Dillon Brooks

In Saturday’s road game, Dillon Brooks once again faced Lakers fans in his new uniform. Although he scored 24 points, shot 6-of-11 from the field, and had 4 steals, his defense against LeBron James was poor.

Earlier this season, the Rockets hosted the Lakers at Toyota Center. As the primary defender against LeBron, Brooks watched James score 18 points and commit three turnovers, and was a -24 in Houston’s convincing 34-point victory. In addition to fans discussing the Rockets, Lakers fans and NBA media also overshadowed Brooks’ defense, tending more to think that the Lakers due to Anthony Davis and Jared Vanderbilt Te was injured and performed poorly and did not give his best.

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It’s safe to say that Lakers fans are considered quiet. However, in the most recent game in Los Angeles, LeBron scored 17 points with a true shooting percentage of 65, shot 80% on two-pointers (8-of-10), and dished out 3 assists while guarded by Brooks. No mistakes. . This sent fans in Los Angeles into a frenzy of pranks.

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Dillon Brooks’ last crucial game against the Lakers turned out to be the unfortunate icing on the cake. In a game that was tied at 100, Brooks gave Austin Reeves too much space to hit a crucial long three-pointer that brought the momentum back to Los Angeles. Alperen Sengun tied the game again with a shot, but LeBron James then took control of the game.

Brooks tried to intercept the ball passed to James in the corner, but failed, leaving James with the opportunity to foul. James then made a free throw, part of his 37-point night, giving the Lakers a one-point lead with 1.4 seconds left. After the timeout, Houston faced a tough serve in this game. Unable to score, the Rockets’ miserable loss sparked a barrage of attacks on Brooks from Lakers fans on social media:

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Even LeBron’s teammate Rui Hachimura came to join in the fun:

“No matter what (Dillon Brooks) is doing, it doesn’t do anything for (LeBron)…Brooks, I guess just wants to be a part of (LeBron’s) legacy,” Hachimura said after the game.

Speaking of LeBron, he had the exact opposite attitude against Dillon Brooks. While he performed well against the former Grizzlies, LeBron praised Brooks’ shooting and comeback mentality in the Rockets offense:

“(Dillon) He’s a great competitor. I love playing against him,” James said. “Certainly, he played basketball tonight. He shot the ball really well and kept them in the game. I think they were down seven at one point and he hit two great three-pointers in the fourth quarter to keep them in the game. Stay in the game. So, that’s competition. Those young guys, they keep me going. So, I need that.”

While LeBron likes this mostly because he keeps himself young, for Brooks it’s the exact opposite. The 27-year-old still laments the one-sided competition that started last season and uses it as a chip on his shoulder.

“I still feel the same way,” Brooks told Fox Sports before the game on Friday. “When I start making consecutive stops, people get scared and they start hanging their heads and pouting. It’s just a spell. Whoever is doing the research on social media, they’ve already lost. “I just play with it and keep playing. basketball. “

While we wait for the next LeBron vs. James game, Brooks added the word “Villain” to his Instagram bio, which is sure to get NBA fans’ attention. Brooks vs.