Memphis Grizzlies: Why people should be talking about Dillon Brooks

The hype surrounding the Memphis Grizzlies and their young core is valid. But more of it should be directed towards the first of their youth, Dillon Brooks.

Ja Morant. Jaren Jackson Jr. Brandon Clarke. Grayson Allen. Justice Winslow.

The youth movement for the Memphis Grizzlies is off to a strong start, with the team still in the playoff picture despite having lost Jackson and Clarke to injury for weeks at a time. Morant is the clubhouse leader for Rookie of the Year, but he hasn’t been working solo.

Notice the one name missing from above? Dillon Brooks, the original piece to the Grizzlies rebuild, who’s now in his third year and lighting up the league.

You wouldn’t know it, because so often Memphis headlines are painted of Morant, or Jackson, or even Clarke. But Brooks has been the best Grizzlies player this season not named Ja.

Brooks faded into the background last season when he played just 18 games. He ruptured a ligament in his right big toe, and surgery sidelined him until the start of this season.

Averaging 15.8 points on a 40.6/37.2/82.0 shooting split, the third-year guard is a big reason Memphis is still sitting as the Western Conference’s eighth seed. The Grizzlies have been in a bit of slump recently, as has Brooks, but they appear ready to fight for their postseason berth.

Brooks put up 32 points in their latest loss, a last-minute fall to the Sacramento Kings.

The loss to Sacramento was Memphis’ fifth straight, which is not ideal at this time of year. But Brooks’ heating up was a sign of good things to come for the Grizzlies.

Over those previous four games, all of which were losses, he averaged just 10.5 points on an uncharacteristically poor 27.9/22.9/37.5 shooting split. It appears, that for the Grizzlies, their playoff hopes will live and die by Brooks’ success as a scorer.

In games this season where he’s scored 20 or more points, the Grizzlies are 18-3. In games where he’s scored 15 or less, they are 6-21. Numbers don’t lie.

So naturally, in a marquee matchup against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooks dropped 24 and the Grizzlies came out on top in blowout fashion. Memphis snapped their five-game losing streak behind his and Morant’s efforts against arguably the best team in the league.

And sure, there are things not to love about Brooks’ game. His shooting can be incredibly streaky and he’s not a frequent visitor of the free-throw line. But the kid can score like nobody’s business.

It helps that the Grizzlies have figured out how to use him. In his last two seasons — or season and some change — Memphis played him primarily at small forward.

Per Basketball-Reference, in his 2,680 minutes played, only 684 were played at shooting guard. That’s barely 25 percent. This season, he’s played 75 percent of his minutes at the two-guard slot, allowing him new and familiar advantages on both ends of the ball.

Brooks is as integral to the Grizzlies rebuild as anyone else, and they’ve acknowledged such, signing him to a three-year contract extension for $35 million in February.

Instead of rolling the dice and letting him hit restricted free agency in the summer — where he’d no doubt receive a more lucrative contract offer — they pounced early on their most important offseason decision. Brooks and Morant will be the Grizzlies featured backcourt for years to come.

The Memphis Grizzlies’ current successes can be credited to how quickly they retooled from the depths of rebuilding. In that, Dillon Brooks was the last to survive the old Grizzlies, and simultaneously was the first to usher in the new.

When speaking on Memphis, whether now or in their very bright future, don’t forget his role.