Grizzlies: 3 takeaways from Dillon Brooks’ return to the court

Takeaway No. 3: Ja Morant’s Memphis Grizzlies sidekick is finally back

I know what you’re thinking — Dillon Brooks isn’t generally thought of as Ja Morant’s “sidekick.” Most would call Jaren Jackson Jr. Ja Morant’s sidekick. Heck, even I referred to Desmond Bane as the Robin to Ja Morant’s Batman last week. But that may not necessarily be true.

It dawned on me while watching this game that Dillon Brooks is the true number two guy to Morant at this stage of the team’s progression. Why, you ask? He’s willing to pick up the load offensively when that needs to be done.

On Wednesday night, the Grizzlies struggled mightily against a really bad Hornets defense. I mean it, too — Charlotte allows 118.3 points per contest. That number is worse than any other team in the league by a 5.5-point margin. For what it’s worth, the Grizzlies are second-wors, but that’s neither here nor there.

On a night when Memphis was struggling to score, Dillon Brooks did virtually everything imaginable on offense. He scored 20 points — that was second on the team behind Morant. He handed out six assists — second on the team to Morant. He took 17 shots and made eight of them — both second on the team behind Morant.

There’s no way around it — Brooks is the number two guy on this team. Even though the Grizzlies didn’t get the result they were looking for, their two top guys stepped up.

The Grizzlies are hovering around. 500, but that could change in a hurry when Brooks is fully re-assimilated into the lineup.