Kung fu training fails Suns' Dillon Brooks at first hurdle

Dillon Brooks and technical fouls. They unfortunately go together like peanut butter and jelly. Not anymore, proclaimed the Phoenix Suns' forward at media day, who credited his time learning kung fu in China this offseason with giving him a more level-headed approach. That lasted all of five minutes into their first preseason game versus the Detroit Pistons.

"It's gonna get me to be more still and focused and motivated to do what I did last year. Dominate every game and be able to use my voice in the right ways. So no more technicals." That felt like a bold statement from a player who toes the line with officials every night, and John Collins wasted no time pushing Brooks to the brink.

Brooks technical proves nothing has changed

The Canadian international is clearly the emotional leader of this group, and his league-leading 17 technicals last season are already under threat based on his clash with Collins. Were some of them previously handed down because of the reputation he has cultivated? Sadly, yes, but looking at the video below, you could make the argument (kind of) that Collins was more at fault than Brooks was. Yet, he received the technical, with Collins being handed a flagrant.

The Suns need Brooks to continue being the mentor to younger players and the glue among the role guys in The Valley, but this is not the best example to set on night one of a long season. He has already taken rookie Koa Peat under his wing, while last season he did the same with Oso Ighodaro and Collin Gillespie.

The results with that latter duo speak for themselves, as both are firmly in the Suns' rotation entering this season.

If Brooks can cut silly technicals like this while still playing with the same intensity we've come to expect on both ends of the court, the Suns can begin to dream about winning more than 45 games this time around, especially with Miles Bridges joining him in the frontcourt and talking about committing to the defensive end in a way we have never seen from him before.

Brooks must take care not to lose unique spark

Seeing Brooks fall foul of the referees is actually a positive here, as part of what makes him so valuable is his regular trips over to the dark side. This is the same player who required stitches during a training camp scrimmage last year and who treats every regular season game like it's his last. You can now add preseason meetings to the list of games he cares about to an insane degree.

That kind of intensity rubs off on guys who work hard, such as Gillespie and Ighodaro, and it made the Suns a tough out every night as well. Sanding down those rough edges is not what Head Coach Jordan Ott will want to hear with so much on the line heading into this season.

Turning in his best defensive season alongside the always-improving Jordan Goodwin should be the actual goal here. Fewer technicals along the way would be cool, but as long as it does not come at the expense of what makes Brooks who he is.

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