Grizzlies star Dillon Brooks delivers warning shot to NBA, Warriors after elimination
The Golden State Warriors eliminated the Memphis Grizzlies from the NBA playoffs in Game 6 on Friday night, squashing any chance for a series comeback despite the shocking Game 5 result. Despite playing without star point guard Ja Morant, the Grizzlies kept the game close until the final minutes when Steph Curry and Klay Thompson created separation.
Despite going out, outspoken Grizzlies forward Dillon Brooks delivered a definite warning shot to the Warriors and the rest of the NBA before officially entering the offseason.
“We’re young and they’re getting old,” Brooks said, via ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz. “They know that we are going to come every single year.”
While the Grizzlies came into the series as the higher seed, the Warriors were named favorites in every game. The experience gap between the two sides played a role down the stretch of multiple games, particularly without Morant on the floor.
Dillon Brooks was ejected and suspended one game for a flagrant foul against Warriors guard Gary Payton II early in the series, but came back with 30 points on Friday night while trying to fight off elimination. Even after losing, he sees the value the young team created for itself throughout the regular season and postseason.
“This is good motivation, good learning, playing against two of the best shooters in history,” Brooks said. “Going against them was an amazing feeling. It’s big for us, and we’re going to take this throughout the summer and be ready to do it again.”
Steph Curry on Grizzlies team
Steph Curry and the Warriors veterans have gone back and forth with the Grizzlies throughout the series but appeared to leave the battle with respect. After taunting fans ahead of Game 5 by commenting on their fourth quarter “whoop that trick” chant, Curry watched Draymond Green join the song with rapper Al Kapone during the blowout loss.
Now past Memphis and waiting for either the Dallas Mavericks or Phoenix Suns, Curry spoke about the future of the young team.
“I have a lot of respect for every single guy on the team in terms of how they are built as a group, the individual talent,” Curry said. “They have a lot of energy, a lot of potential in terms of winning at the highest level. They were the higher seed for a reason. They had an amazing regular season and dominated throughout the course of those 82 games. For us to be able to come out of the series with a W, like there’s definitely respect. There’s definitely an understanding that they made us better; I’m sure we made them better.”