Correction: Awful Announcing didn’t accurately portray Landale’s demeanor or the possibility this was all a joke in this initial post. A revised version follows.
If you aren’t Dillon Brooks’ teammate or a fan of the team he plays for, the Houston Rockets guard’s antics would likely unnerve you. LeBron James refuses to answer questions related to Brooks, and you wouldn’t need to go through many locker rooms in the league to get the feeling that his peers don’t exactly respect how he conducts himself.
And on Thursday, Brooks was seemingly the subject of that ire again.
Tempers flared in Houston’s 127-117 win over Chicago. Brooks and DeMar DeRozan saw themselves ejected in the third quarter of Thursday’s contest after a brawl ignited by DeRozan’s flagrant foul on Jalen Green.
And while you could put that off as Brooks just being Brooks, well, his teammates didn’t see it like that. In fact, some postgame remarks saw Jock Landale, who recorded 17 points and 12 rebounds in the win, seemingly call out Brooks for being ejected. There, he let it be known that the actions that were tolerated in Memphis won’t be in Houston.
Though both 28 years old, Landale, a newcomer to the NBA after beginning his professional basketball career abroad, comedically and subtly delivered a bit of a message during a postgame interview.
Jock Landale to @SportsVanessa:
“Dillon Brooks if you’re listening this ain’t Memphis man. Stop getting yourself ejected. We need you out here. We need that physicality.” pic.twitter.com/BC881wivXX
— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) March 22, 2024
Well played. Still, it’s pretty notable that Landale would choose a local television medium to get this point across, even if he was joking.
“Dillon Brooks, if you’re listening, this ain’t Memphis man,” said Landale.”Stop getting yourself ejected. We need you out here. We need that physicality.”
Whether Brooks takes it as a joke remains to be seen. This media call-out is a gamble, as public criticism usually backfires. However, with Dillon Brooks, a different approach might be necessary.
[Jackson Gatlin on Twitter/X]
