Dillon Brooks is having an offensive breakout this season, and it's shocking even league insiders. Jake Fischer recently expressed his disbelief in Brooks' transformation this season as a scorer. It's been a great ride for the Suns, as Brooks is perfectly complementing the primary option in Devin Booker.
Dillon Brooks has been perfect for the Suns
Along with his trademark tough defense, Brooks has brought an unexpected scoring punch to Phoenix. He went from being essentially a throw-in as part of the Kevin Durant trade to the second most important piece on a playoff team. And he's been able to get his points in the flow of the offense without excessively dominating the ball.
Although his shooting from three hasn't been stellar (35% compared to 40% last season), Brooks is making up for it with his tough work inside the arc. It's turned him into a perfect sidekick for Booker. Brooks is dominating teams with his bully ball style and becoming a reliable option for the Suns when plays break down.
He's having a career year by far when it comes to scoring average. This season, he's at 21 points per game; his previous career high was 18. At age 30, Brooks seems to have found his perfect role within the offense. He's able to combine his strength and skills with the experience of nearly a decade in the NBA.
Brooks was expected to bring a new level of defense and toughness to the Suns. He's done that excellently and endeared himself to both the team and the fanbase in the process. But this offensive growth was not something that anyone saw coming.
Somehow, Brooks has turned into a deadly three-level scorer. Although his three ball hasn't been as consistent this season, he's still a threat to let it fly. And he's become one of the league's deadliest midrange maestro; Brooks has the 10th most midrange buckets this season.
Along with Devin Booker's versatile scoring arsenal, Brooks gives the Suns a unique one-two punch that's hard to counter. No matter how defenses play them, these two have moves to get their shots off. And Brooks' ability to create his own shots in tough circumstances makes it difficult for defenses to load up on Booker as well.
Dillon Brooks has been one of the most surprising success stories this season. He's helped turned the Suns around not only with his personality and defense, but also his newfound scoring. His performance this season has shown that it's never too late to teach an old dog new tricks. Hopefully he can keep it up and lead the Suns to more wins as they pursue a playoff berth.