Rockets player pleads with Dillon Brooks after ugly ejection

One Rockets player does not want to see Dillon Brooks revert to his Memphis Grizzlies self while in Houston.

Brooks was ejected from Thursday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls. Brooks stepped in to defend teammate Jalen Green after a hard foul from Bulls veteran DeMar DeRozan, sparking a skirmish (video here).

Both Brooks and DeRozan were ejected for the third-quarter incident. The Rockets then went on to win, 127-117.

Houston big man Jock Landale, who finished with 17 points and a team-high 12 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench, earned a postgame interview for his efforts. Landale used his opportunity to send a message to Brooks.

“Dillon Brooks, if you’re listening. This ain’t Memphis, man,” he said. “Stop getting yourself ejected. We need you out here. We need that physicality.”

Landale was smiling a little when he said it, so it is possible that he was just giving Brooks a hard time. But there is some definite truth behind Landale’s message: Brooks, the Rockets’ best defender, has been ejected twice this season and received 13 technical fouls (just three away from triggering an automatic one-game suspension).

Granted, Brooks’ act of standing up for his teammate on Thursday was at least defensible, and, to an extent, you can’t stop Dillon Brooks from being Dillon Brooks. But seeing how dearly Brooks’ antics cost his former team, the Grizzlies, last year, you can also understand where Landale is coming from.