Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.
LeBron James is old for an NBA player.
We know this because Memphis Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks told us. It wasn’t exactly a news flash, especially when you compare the two men. Brooks has been in 20 playoff games; James surpassed that total when Brooks was 11 years old, in 2007.
But sometimes, age ain’t nothing but a number, and grown folks gotta put mouthy youngsters in their place.
The Los Angeles Lakers took a commanding 3-1 series lead against Memphis because James refuses to go gently into the night. Father Time is undefeated, but James is going the distance. On Tuesday he became the oldest player in NBA history with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds in a playoff game.
“I’ve done some pretty cool things in my career,” the 38-year-old said afterward. “I’ve never had 20 and 20 before. So, that’s pretty cool, I guess.”
Brooks thought he was pretty cool last week when Memphis beat the Lakers to even the series at 1-1. Dressed in a plaid jacket with no shirt, a large “DB” medallion and white designer sunglasses, Brooks showed no respect for his elder while recounting their verbal spat during the game.
“I don’t care – he’s old,” Brooks said after Game 2. “… I poke bears. I don’t respect no one until they come and give me 40.”
Just wondering: Does 20 and 20 count?
Brooks has done well in raising his profile by antagonizing James. That includes a shot in the nuts that led to Brooks’ ejection in Game 3. But his talk has been cheap and lately, it’s been altogether absent. “I’m out,” he told reporters Monday night, blowing off his mandatory media responsibilities for the second straight game.
Gloating after wins but refusing to speak after losses isn’t a good look for so-called tough guys. Avoiding microphones and cameras in defeat is a soft, punk-like move.
If you can’t man up and stop James, at least you can man up and face the press.
Instead, Brooks has shrunk more and more. Despite a history of behavior for a well-earned reputation, he played the victim prior to Monday’s game. “The media making me a villain, the fans making me a villain and then that just creates a whole different persona on me,” he said. “So now you think I intended to hit LeBron James in the nuts,” he said. “ … if you think I did that, that means you think I’m that type of person.”
He clearly colors outside the lines; he was suspended one game in February after striking Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell in the same forbidden zone. He also was suspended one game last postseason for a flagrant foul on Golden State’s Gary Payton II, who suffered a hard fall and fractured elbow thanks to Brooks’ wild shot-block attempt.
James demurred when asked if Dillion should’ve been suspended for Monday’s game. The 27-year-old irritant stands in a long line of James’ antagonists, past and present, including Draymond Green, Lance Stephenson, Jason Terry and DeShawn Stephenson. Each one had the same mission: Get under James’ skin and knock him off his game.
We’re still waiting for that strategy to work.
Brooks had his last chance with 30 seconds left in overtime, face-to-face and body-to-body against James as the Grizzles trailed by three points. He didn’t have the assignment at the end of regulation when James hit a driving layup over Mark Tillmon and NBA Defensive Player of the Year Jaren Jackson Jr. with 0.8 seconds remaining. But now it was Dillon’s turn, time to back up his “You can’t take me one-on-one” bravado from a day earlier.
Brooks sounded foolish when he said that about the NBA’s all-time leading scorer. He looked dumb and dumbfounded when James easily blew by for a layup with 29 seconds left in OT, drawing a foul on Brooks for good measure. “Obviously, LeBron gets to his right hand, which can’t happen at the end of the game,” Memphis coach Taylor Jenkins said. “Some breakdowns for us. Very disappointing loss.”
Like taunting tigers or teasing alligators, poking bears is fraught with risk and not recommended. Creatures that can tear to shreds in a flash shouldn’t be prodded. Dillon ran his mouth and James refused to take the bait in media sessions but did his clawing on the court.
“At the end of the day, my focus is to my teammates and us trying to figure out a way we can beat the Memphis Grizzlies,” James said, “not how I can beat an individual on their team. If anybody know me, they should know that’s what I always been about. And, you know, that’s all that matters.”
Brooks was right about one thing. James isn’t the same player he was at the height of his powers in Cleveland and Miami. He can’t dominate for 48 minutes like he did in his prime. Yes, he’s old by comparison’s sake. But that’s no excuse for Brooks running his mouth.
He might be a young’un, but he’s old enough to know better.
Deron Snyder, from Brooklyn, is an award-winning columnist who lives near D.C. and pledged Alpha at HU-You Know! He’s reaching high, lying low, moving on, pushing off, keeping up, and throwing down. Got it? Get more at blackdoorventures.com/deron.
Editor’s note: The following article is an op-ed, and the views expressed are the author’s own. Read more opinions on theGrio.