San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama has been on quite the tear as of late. But Houston Rockets wing Dillon Brooks always makes it a point, nay, his life’s mission to make it difficult for the best players in the association. On Tuesday night, Brooks was his best self on the defensive end of the floor, as despite nearly giving up 10 inches to Wembanyama, he was able to help frustrate the presumptive 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year to a 10-point night on 4-10 shooting from the field.
Following the Rockets’ 114-101 win over the Spurs, head coach Ime Udoka credited Brooks for taking on the challenge of frustrating Wembanyama by nudging him off his spots and fighting hard for positioning, especially at the high post area.
“Yeah, that was the main thing [for Dillon Brooks], doing his work early. No matter where [Victor Wembanyama was], top of the key [or] on the elbow, he had a body on him the whole time. [Brooks] denied a bunch of catches, pushed him off his spots, and then even on the posts he was fighting him [and] pushing him off the blocks in there. Then we had help and good rotations behind it so [I] loved our versatility on defense,” Udoka said, via Paul Garcia of Project Spurs.
Indeed, during the fourth quarter especially, the Rockets showed the true hallmark of an Ime Udoka-coached team — top-tier defense. The Spurs ran a bunch of actions for Victor Wembanyama along the perimeter, which gave Dillon Brooks the responsibility of battling against the nascent rookie, and then when Wembanyama was making his move, he ran into plenty of defenders in the paint.
Wembanyama turned the ball over six times, with Alperen Sengun, who had himself a night, racking up five steals as Brooks’ primary source of help along the backline. Brooks added two thefts, while Fred VanVleet had four of his own; all of this added up to what was quite the impressive defensive performance from the Rockets.
The signing of Dillon Brooks spurred plenty of confused reactions in the offseason, but Brooks’ brand of defensive tenacity has helped the Rockets create a hard-nosed, lockdown culture.
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