Dillon Brooks incinerates refs for allowing Klay Thompson to get away with taunting him all throughout their Christmas Day matchup - "It was a circus"
Dillon Brooks
© Darren Yamashita-USA TODAY Sports
The Christmas Day slate of games in the NBA this year was filled with several exciting matchups, and even though it wasn't a particularly close game, the Memphis Grizzlies matchup with the Golden State Warriors was one of the most exciting of the day. The Grizzlies have been trying to assert themselves over the veteran Warriors squad, but Golden State always seems to find a way to hold them off, and they did so again on Christmas, winning by a score of 123-109.
Dillon Brooks was not happy with the officiating in this game
The Grizzlies and Warriors had had some chippy matchups over the past few seasons, especially in last year's playoffs when they met up in the Western Conference semifinals. That continued into this season, with trash-talking being a big piece of the game, and it was something that clearly bothered Dillon Brooks, who lashed out at the officiating after the game.
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Brooks was particularly upset about a play late in the game in which Klay Thompson hit a jumper over Brooks that saw Brooks end up on the ground afterward. Thompson side-shuffled by Brooks, getting lower as to taunt him and was assessed a technical foul for his actions. According to Brooks, this had been going on all game long, and he lit up the officiating of the game, comparing it to a circus act.
Does Dillon Brooks have a legitimate gripe with this officiating in this game?
Thompson was rightfully assessed a technical for this play, but it's clear this wasn't the only trash-talking incident throughout this game. Both these teams were going at it all game long, and it was surprising that Thompson didn't pick up a technical earlier in the game for continually chirping Brooks, although there isn't a rule preventing trash-talk.
On the other hand, though, Brooks himself isn't exactly innocent when it comes to all this trash talk or rough play, either. Brooks was just as guilty as Thompson of playing into it throughout the game and even had his fair share of plays in which the refs opted not to call a foul on him when it was blatantly obvious.
If you aren't getting a foul called on you for that, there's really no way you can complain about the officiating. Brooks does make a good point in saying that Thompson could have gotten more fouls called on him, but Brooks also could have picked up more fouls himself. The refs always were going to have a challenging task officiating this game, and while it wasn't ever going to be perfect, Brooks' complaints here are somewhat unjustified.
