Dillon Brooks' Game 4 Performance Was A Perfect Example Of When Irrational Confidence Goes Wrong

Noah Graham. Getty Images.

The Grizzlies/Warriors series has been wildly entertaining as long as you don't have a rooting interest in either team. Outside of that 30 point beatdown in Game 3, each of the other three games have been decided by 5 points or less. It sucks that Ja got hurt and couldn't play last night as the Grizzlies season was basically on the line, but sometimes shit happens in a playoff series and you still have to find ways to win. The good news is the Grizzlies were ridiculous without Morant all season long, mostly because they have one of the deepest rosters in the league.

That's an important fact to remember because when we look at how Game 4 went down, not utilizing that depth ultimately cost them the game and perhaps their season.

Advertisement

When a star is out, someone is going to have to step up and replace that production. You prefer it to be balanced where several guys elevate their play as opposed to one guy taking it upon himself to basically be Morant 2.0. For 47 minutes of Game 4, the Grizzlies looked like they were on their way to steal a win and even this series up to regain momentum heading into Game 5 in their own building. They did a great job of limiting the Warriors, especially from three (9-37) and turning them over (16) and all they had to do was hold onto a 7 point lead heading into the fourth quarter. What's crazy is that they had this lead in the first place despite  2-13 (0-5) showing from Dillon Brooks. This man would not stop shooting despite not being able to throw a pea in the ocean, and it felt like the Grizzlies were going to have to win in spite of Brooks being on the floor.

Then the fourth quarter happened.

He kept getting burned on the defensive end and then compounded the issue by refusing to stop shooting on the other. It was clear to everyone that was watching that Taylor Jenkins needed to take him out of the game as we all watched the Grizzlies lead shrink and the Warriors build more and more momentum. The numbers are legit staggering

and the video of it is even worse

Advertisement

Even with everything he did earlier in the game, the Grizzlies still had a chance to pull it out, but the second we all saw this shot you knew the Grizzlies were cooked. The lack of situational awareness is staggering. For a guy who had struggled as much as Brooks had there's just no need for that hero ball shit. Especially when guys like Tyus Jones had been having a great quarter. I'd say Brooks was alone in this, but JJJ did the same shit with his end of game three

Part of this is a young team maybe not being ready for that moment. Part of it is not having Morant on the floor so other guys who maybe aren't used to that situation are now tasked with coming through. But there's no denying that the situational awareness from everyone down the stretch of this game was piss poor. I go back to that Brooks three because often times when you see someone do that, it snowballs. Now the Warriors are able to push the ball and score, the pressure mounts, guys get tight and their decision making isn't always the best. Success in the playoffs come to those who are calm in the toughest moments and can execute under pressure. When you are trying to hold onto a lead against a team like GS, shot selection at the end of a close game is so important. You have to put your ego aside and make the right basketball play, something that Brooks had a hard time doing all night long and especially in the biggest moments. 

Now, unfortunately, this series is probably over. Morant is no lock to play in Game 5, in fact the early reports are he probably won't, but even still I can't see this Warriors team losing 3 in a row. That's why Game 4 was so massive and why this has to be absolutely heartbreaking for Grizzlies fans. You were right there! You had it! That's the thing with irrational confident guys though. At times their inability to worry about misses works out because they shoot themselves out of the slump. Other times they get caught up in their confidence and their shooting ends up killing you. We've all lived through that a time or two with our favorite teams over the years, it's not like this is uncommon, it's just unfortunate. For a while, this looked like we were headed for 7 games, but now I'd be shocked if this thing even went back to the Chase Center.

Advertisement

One thing we do know is giving the Warriors life when you should instead be burying them usually doesn't work out well for you. You only get so many chances to take this team down, and unfortunately the Grizzlies have had all sorts of trouble with that this series, and it probably cost them their season.