When the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Memphis Grizzlies 128-113 on Thursday, Dillon Brooks hit Donovan Mitchell below the belt, which led to both of them being ejected from the contest.
On Friday, the NBA decided to suspend Brooks for one game as a result of his actions.
Grizzlies‘ Dillon Brooks has been suspended one game for striking Cavaliers‘ Donovan Mitchell in the groin.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 3, 2023
Brooks has had a history of what some would call dirty play, as well as acrimonious behavior.
In last year’s playoffs, he committed a very hard foul on the Golden State Warriors’ Gary Payton II during their Western Conference semifinal series, which led to him being assessed a flagrant 2 foul and ejection, as well as a one-game suspension.
When the two teams faced off on Christmas Day this season, he got into it with both Klay Thompson and Draymond Green by talking trash to both of them.
Then, just a couple of weeks ago, when the Grizzlies played the Los Angeles Lakers, Brooks had an altercation with NFL Hall of Fame tight end and Fox Sports 1 personality Shannon Sharpe, who was sitting near the court.
Although Brooks is one of the best players on one of the Western Conference’s best teams, he has struggled this season, shooting just 39.5 percent overall and 31.3 percent from 3-point range.
After the Lakers snapped their 11-game winning streak that night Brooks and Sharpe had their incident, the Grizzlies have struggled, losing seven of their last eight games, and there is a growing feeling that despite a 32-20 record, they simply aren’t ready to seriously contend for the NBA championship.
