{"id":617386,"date":"2026-02-22T08:18:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-22T08:18:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/617386\/"},"modified":"2026-02-22T08:18:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-22T08:18:16","slug":"karma-strikes-nba-fans-react-to-dillon-brooks-injury-as-broken-hand-dents-suns-playoff-bid","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/617386\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cKarma Strikes\u201d: NBA Fans React to Dillon Brooks Injury as Broken Hand Dents Suns\u2019 Playoff Bid"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Any news on villain Dillon Brooks gets the opposition fans excited. This time, it\u2019s not a suspension, but an injury that will sideline the Phoenix Suns guard for the foreseeable future. Netizens couldn\u2019t wait to dunk on the 30-year-old after all the comments, plays, and hard fouls he committed against their teams.<\/p>\n<p>Brooks left Saturday\u2019s game against the Orlando Magic in the first quarter due to an injury, grabbing at his non-shooting left hand after a contested jump shot. He did not return for the game, which the Suns eventually won in double overtime. But ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania confirmed the bad news with an uncertain update.\u201dDoctors will meet to determine a timetable.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>The Suns are already dealing with Devin Booker\u2019s absence due to a right hip strain, and losing Dillon Brooks will further impact their offense. He has been a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.essentiallysports.com\/nba-active-basketball-news-dillon-brooks-out-indefinitely-with-hand-injury-how-can-the-phoenix-suns-respond-roster-depth-rotations-reviewed\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:key part of the playoff-contending Suns;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">key part of the playoff-contending Suns<\/a>, averaging 21+ points and 3+ rebounds this season. His importance doesn\u2019t end with just buckets. The 30-year-old has been instrumental to Phoenix\u2019s defensive identity, often tasked with shadowing the opponent\u2019s best perimeter scorer.<\/p>\n<p>While doing so, Brooks ended up in foul trouble and even picked up his 16th technical foul of the season. This was before the mid-season break, and thus, after the All-Star break, he missed the first matchup against the San Antonio Spurs to fulfill the mandated one-game suspension.<\/p>\n<p>The 30\u2011year\u2011old has taken a clear step forward in an expanded offensive role, improving his scoring efficiency while maintaining the same defensive versatility that has defined his nine-year career. Through his first 49 appearances, Brooks is averaging 21.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.1 steals while shooting 44.1% from the field and 34.3% from beyond the arc.<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>He has been fit and missed just 6 games apart from his one-game suspension. That was early in the season, when Brooks missed games due to right groin soreness. While being fit, he has never been afraid to guard the opposition\u2019s best matchup. Be it <a href=\"https:\/\/sports.yahoo.com\/articles\/f-ing-punk-leaked-audio-013129361.html\" data-ylk=\"slk:Sixers Joel Embiid;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas;outcm:mb_qualified_link;_E:mb_qualified_link;ct:story;\" class=\"link  yahoo-link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Sixers Joel Embiid<\/a>, Warriors Stephen Curry, or even Lakers LeBron James.<\/p>\n<p>NBA fans hit back at Dillon Brooks<\/p>\n<p>Leaving his mark on his opposition is what Brooks is keen to do every time he has a matchup. This trait is not new for the now Suns star. Even last year against the Warriors during the playoffs, Dillon Brooks did the same. The then-Rockets star made contact with Curry\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.essentiallysports.com\/nba-active-basketball-news-playoffs-warriors-complaint-shutdown-as-dillion-brooks-co-get-green-light-to-harm-stephen-curry-s-health\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:right hand and injured thumb after the release of the shot;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">right hand and injured thumb after the release of the shot<\/a>. Curry has been managing his thumb injury since January 2025.<\/p>\n<p>Brooks admitted,\u201dIf [someone] had an injured ankle, I would attack that ankle every single time,\u201d Brooks said. \u201cSo, whatever they\u2019re saying on the broadcast, they can keep saying it.\u201d Naturally, the Warriors fans are celebrating the news that sidelines that villain. \u201cWent from trying to hit Steph injured hand last postseason to injuring his shit \ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23\ud83e\udd23.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Advertisement<\/p>\n<p>That rivalry continued even this season. Earlier this month, when the two teams met, Curry was on the sidelines. But it didn\u2019t stop Dillon Brooks to have his say. After Brooks hit a turnaround jumper, he looked over at the injured Curry on the sideline and taunted him with a move seemingly asking the guard to get on the floor. So, the fans are dunking on the Suns star for his apparent over-the-board trash-talking. \u201cWell deserved.\u201d Another netizen commented, \u201cKarma strikes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not just the Warriors fans. Even the Lakers fans had the same sentiment. Be it calling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.essentiallysports.com\/nba-active-basketball-news-dillon-brooks-explains-why-lebron-james-is-most-overrated-player-in-nba\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"slk:LeBron James \u201coverrated\u201d or \u201cold\u201d, the two continued their rivalry;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" class=\"link \">LeBron James \u201coverrated\u201d or \u201cold\u201d, the two continued their rivalry<\/a>. Mainly, it was the Suns star who stirred it up. A fan of the purple and gold franchise added, \u201cGod is real.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earlier this season, Brooks and James went head-to-head, getting physical and trading verbal barbs. Both were assessed technicals, and Brooks was even ejected after losing his cool. So, another fan added, \u201cThis what happens when you\u2019re a shit talker Karma is real!\u201d While the injury news should never be celebrated, Brooks\u2019 villain arc made fans celebrate it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Any news on villain Dillon Brooks gets the opposition fans excited. This time, it\u2019s not a suspension, but&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":617387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[7,32193,301,187,2292,1195,936,300,185,6,11,76,472,474,96,573,6445,255],"class_list":{"0":"post-617386","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba-playoffs","8":"tag-basketball","9":"tag-christopher-hanewinckel-imagn","10":"tag-denver","11":"tag-denver-nuggets","12":"tag-devin-booker","13":"tag-dillon-brooks","14":"tag-joel-embiid","15":"tag-lakers","16":"tag-lebron-james","17":"tag-nba","18":"tag-nba-playoffs","19":"tag-orlando-magic","20":"tag-phoenix-suns","21":"tag-san-antonio-spurs","22":"tag-sixers","23":"tag-stephen-curry","24":"tag-the-suns","25":"tag-warriors"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nba\/116113303409774057","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=617386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/617386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/617387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=617386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=617386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=617386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}