Let’s go all the way back to a month and a half ago and remember the opening round series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies. You may recall that, after a Lakers win in Game 1, the Grizzlies were able to bounce back in Game 2, which led to former main character of the NBA playoffs Dillon Brooks going at LeBron James a bit. Brooks called James “old,” said “I poke bears,” and made clear “I don’t respect someone until he gives me 40.”
Los Angeles would go on to win three out of the next four games to bounce Memphis from the playoffs, with James posting something on Instagram in the aftermath of the series that sure showed that he had Brooks’ comments on his mind. And on the most recent episode of “Podcast P with Paul George,” one of Brooks’ soon-to-be former teammates in Memphis conceded that his comments did put some pep back in the Lakers’ step following the loss.
“It helped L.A. get around something and get some energy, get some life, and they went in the game with some life,” Jaren Jackson Jr. said at the 41:40 mark of the above video. “But, he is old, and he kicked our ass. Kicked our ass and he’s old. He dropped 20 and 20. He’s thinking about retiring. I mean, he’s been playing since 03. Like my dad retired…he’s great like he kicked our ass, he beat us. He’s not old? I mean, damn…He beat us 4-1. He kicked us and we got to spin the block but I hope we get a chance because I don’t know how many more years he wants to do it.”
George’s podcast has become a very interesting place for Brooks chat, as he’s previously compared the way Brooks carried himself in the series against the Lakers to the way Lance Stephenson prodded James when the Indiana Pacers and the Miami Heat would square off in the postseason. Unsurprisingly, that continued to be the case in his conversation with Jackson, as the two talked about how quotes in media availabilities can be turned into bulletin board material.
“And that’s fine but this is the NBA that’s bulletin board material right there,” George said. “Like coaches tell you that sh*t all the time. Don’t say this, don’t say that. If that’s how you feel, cool keep that sh*t to yourself. You know what I mean? Like we gotta play this motherf*cker, keep that sh*t to yourself. You feel me like it’s a team sport and like for Dillon, it’s not like Dillon is shooting 20, 30 shots a night. It’s not like he’s a 30-point producer. You don’t get that same opportunities Bron gets, you know what I mean? Like why would you even try to challenge him on that level?”
“Media availability, man,” Jackson said. “A lot of podiums, a lot of opportunities. Like, I mean, at that point you know, it’s Dillon. It’s packed around him, they’re gonna ask him anything. He’s there for like 20 minutes. Eventually one of those questions… they good.”
