Dillon Brooks: Kawhi Leonard Was My White Whale, Suns Surge

Merlin sees Dillon Brooks confessing in The Players' Tribune that "pretty much from the jump, I was a s--t-talker." He says he kept little "dossiers" to get under opponents' skin and turned trash talk into a craft, yet "the only guy that never reacted was Kawhi. He was my white whale." Kawhi's calm even stopped a real pinch and a flat "Play basketball, bro." Meanwhile Brooks is having his best year at 20.4 points and the Suns sit 43-35, headed into the Play-In. Merlin knows provocation can win sidewalks and scrappy games, but it meets its match against stoic stars. Brooks' fire has helped Phoenix exceed expectations, yet the playoffs will test whether intensity or steady fundamentals decide tight series. Watch how Brooks fares when opponents simply do not bite.