Inside The Rockets

Rockets' Dillon Brooks Crucial to Success

Dillon Brooks is off to a great start this season for the Houston Rockets.

Jeremy Brener

Nov 22, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) reacts after a made basket against the Portland Trailblazers during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images
Nov 22, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks (9) reacts after a made basket against the Portland Trailblazers during the third quarter at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Erik Williams-Imagn Images / Erik Williams-Imagn Images
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The Houston Rockets have many young, budding stars, but one of the veterans also deserves some credit for the team's hot start.

Rockets forward Dillon Brooks has had a strong start to the season, and the team needs him to keep it up if it wants to remain high in the Western Conference standings.

"He wasn't a major offensive threat (35.9 percent from deep), and his floor presence actually brought down Houston's efficiency (minus-3.0 net differential)," Bleacher Report contributor Zach Buckley writes. "This season, though, he is splashing a career-high 39.4 percent of his three-pointers and showing how impactful he can be when he's genuinely helpful on the offensive end. For all of the Rockets' depth and (budding) star power, no one has meant more to their success than Brooks, who leads Houston with a plus-14.6 net differential and trails only Jayson Tatum and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in plus/minus (plus-168)."

Brooks, 28, is averaging 12.6 points per game while shooting just over 39 percent from beyond the 3-point line.

If Brooks can continue to play this way, he will raise the Rockets' ceiling and potentially get the team back to the playoffs for the first time since 2020.

Brooks and the Rockets are back in action tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the NBA Cup. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m. CT.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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