Houston Rockets Look Very Smart After Signing Dillon Brooks

Dillon Brooks has played some of the best basketball of his career in his first year with the Houston Rockets.

Jeremy Brener | Dec 9, 2023

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Houston Rockets

The Houston Rockets have hit a home run so far with their free agent signees this offseason.

Fred VanVleet has been strong in helping set the tone, culture and offense, and Dillon Brooks has done the same on defense.

Brooks also flashed one of the best scoring stretches of his career to start the season, and that made the Rockets look really smart for taking a chance on him after the Memphis Grizzlies failed to re-sign him in free agency.

"He won't shoot 44.1 percent on threes all year, but it's worth noting that his shooting form, particularly his wrist action upon release, is much cleaner than it was last season," Bleacher Report writes. "If Brooks can hit threes at a merely league-average clip all year, his deal will only look better."

Brooks, 28, is averaging 13.9 points per game this season and even scored 16 in the Rockets' win on Friday against the Denver Nuggets. He's still shooting north of 40 percent, the best of his career so far, and while it's unsure if he can sustain it, the hope definitely improves the Rockets' outlook for the season.

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If Brooks can bring the trademark intensity on the defensive end of the floor and continue shooting well from 3-point land, the Rockets could be in line for their first playoff appearance since the James Harden era.

The Rockets are back in action on Monday night against Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs at home. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. CT.

Published Dec 9, 2023

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.