MarShon Brooks Scouting Report From Santa Cruz

marshon brooks scouting report (Photo: SeaDubsCentral.com)

KAISER PERMANENTE ARENA, SANTA CRUZ, CA — Back on Saturday night, MarShon Brooks, backup guard for the Golden State Warriors, was assigned along with Kent Bazemore (scouting report here) to the team’s D-League affiliate, the Santa Cruz Warriors.

While Santa Cruz defeated the Bakersfield Jam, 110-105, Brooks did not have an especially great game, finishing with just 6 points on 3-for-14 shooting.

And while the purpose of the NBA’s Development League is to develop, it often times has to co-exist in the context of said D-League team’s quest to win. The D-League is in the middle of its season just as the NBA is, and the Santa Cruz team found itself in third place following Friday night’s loss, marking two straight losses.

With the addition of Bazemore and Brooks, head coach Casey Hill was tasked with the dual role of giving Bazemore and Brooks some competitive time while at the same time trying to move up in the standings.

What made things more difficult was that Brooks, traded along with Jordan Crawford from the Boston Celtics was new to the Warriors system, even though the Warriors system transcends down to the D-League affiliate. Brooks had also spent time in the D-League with the Celtics’ affiliate, the Maine Red Claws, where he had had a pretty good stint, including a 24-point, 8-rebound, 6-assist performance at the D-League Showcase last month in Reno.

Hill went with his veteran Cameron Jones to close out the five-point victory, while Brooks was on the bench.

“When I went to Maine, we were running Boston plays and I knew Boston plays,” Brooks said after the game Saturday night, “I’m not all the way familiar with the Warriors plays yet, so it was a little different in that aspect.”

“MarShon just had a tough night,” Hill said, “I think he just hasn’t played in awhile. I probably should’ve played him extra minutes, if I’m being completely honest with you, but I wanted to win. I really wanted to win that one. That was really important. We dropped to third place last night (on Friday prior to Saturday’s win) and we just got back up to first place. These games are so important, especially in our division.”

While Brooks had a tough night shooting, he was able to get to the rim against the physical presence of the Jam. He just wasn’t quite finishing.

“I was able to get to the rim,” Brooks said, “That’s probably one of my strong point in my game. It’s just my jumpshot was a little short and I had a problem finishing, for some reason, but that’s what happens, when you don’t play for awhile, is the lack of timing.”

Most Golden State fans haven’t gotten a chance, other than in short spurts when NBA games have been decided, to see what Brooks brings to the table. The way he gets to the rim is a series of hesitation moves and long, deliberate strides, somewhat reminiscent of the driving ability of Atlanta Hawks great Steve Smith, although Smith is much more well-known for his shot.

Bazemore said that Kobe Bryant comes to mind.

“He plays with a tremendous tempo,” Bazemore said, “He’s not as fast — he is quick, but he doesn’t play as fast as everybody else. He’s very savvy, reminds me of a young Kobe Bryant. (Marshon) had 52 (for the Providence Friars in college). I was like, man, this dude going crazy. He got the long step. I watched him work out. I’ve taken a lot from his game. The guy can play. He can fill up the stat sheet.”

Despite the subpar individual performance, Brooks was ready to move on to the next “grind”.

“I worked off some rust. I got my second wind, felt like it worked out for the better,” Brooks said, “The guys are very physical, but sometimes that’s what you need when you don’t play for awhile. We don’t have too much practice time so when I get the opportunity to just go out there and play, it’s fun.”

“We’re working out a lot together since they brought him in,” Bazemore said, “We actually got 4-on-4 tomorrow (at the practice facility). We just gotta keep grinding.”

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