How Draymond Green helped end the Dillon Brooks/Jalen Green Rockets era

The Ultimate Playoff Poetic Justice: How Brooks and Green Got Served Their Cold Dish of Reality

Sometimes basketball delivers justice with the precision of a perfectly timed steal and the satisfaction of a game-winning three-pointer. The Warriors’ Game 7 elimination of the Houston Rockets wasn’t just another playoff victory. It was the universe’s way of saying “talk trash, get taken out.”

Let’s set the stage for this beautiful karmic symphony. Dillon Brooks, the man who spent two seasons perfecting his craft as the NBA’s premier antagonist, had the audacity to call Draymond Green “a dirty player” during their playoff series. This is the same Dillon Brooks whose Memphis flagrant foul on Gary Payton II in 2022 fractured GP2’s elbow during the Warriors’ championship run. The irony was so thick you could cut it with Draymond’s defensive instincts.

Brooks didn’t just stop at trash talk—he orchestrated a masterclass in playoff disrespect. According to reports, Brooks admitted he was “trying to hurt Steph [Curry’s] hand” and positioned himself as the series’ “Mr. Big Bad Wolf.” Meanwhile, Jalen Green was supposed to be Houston’s rising star, their answer to the Warriors’ championship pedigree.

But here’s where basketball’s beautiful brutality reveals itself: Green averaged a paltry 13.3 points on 37.2% shooting throughout the seven-game series against Golden State. Besides his 38-point explosion in Game 2, Green only scored 12 or fewer points in the six other games, with four single-digit outings highlighting his major weakness as a consistent scorer for a playoff contender.

The Poetry of Playoff Elimination

The Warriors didn’t just beat Houston—they dismantled the very foundation of Brooks and Green’s playoff swagger. This wasn’t just about winning a series; it was about exposing the difference between manufactured toughness and championship DNA. After the Warriors eliminated the Rockets, Draymond took to his podcast to call out Brooks for “running off the court” without acknowledging any opponents, describing him as someone who loses respect when he doesn’t “face the music.”

The most delicious part of this entire saga? The Rockets immediately traded both Brooks and Green to Phoenix in exchange for Kevin Durant, essentially admitting that their playoff performance was so disappointing they needed to completely overhaul their approach. Houston’s front office looked at their Game 7 loss and decided these weren’t championship-caliber players.

Brooks, the self-appointed culture changer, got shipped out after two seasons of building that “culture.” Green, averaging 20.1 points per game in the regular season, proved he couldn’t elevate his game when it mattered most. The Warriors exposed both players as regular season performers who crumbled under authentic playoff pressure.

The Warriors didn’t just win Game 7—they provided a clinic in how championship teams handle disrespect. They let their basketball do the talking, eliminated the noise makers, and sent a clear message throughout the league: respect is earned through rings, not through running your mouth.

Brooks and Green learned the hardest lesson in professional sports: you can’t fake championship mentality, and you certainly can’t disrespect champions without facing the consequences. The Warriors sent them packing, and Houston’s front office immediately hit the reset button.

Sometimes the basketball gods deliver justice exactly when it’s needed most.