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Making a Point
Brooks impresses Rockets -- and his critics -- with his summer league play
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Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
LAS VEGAS -- Less than a month after being selected in the NBA Draft and signing his first contract, Aaron Brooks can comfortably say he's making progress.
He has, after all, already changed the mind of some skeptics who questioned why the Rockets would select him in the first round.
While the former Oregon point guard hasn't played a single minute in the NBA, Brooks altered some opinions with one dazzling week in the NBA summer league.
"I was never trying to prove anything to the doubters," Brooks said. "I'm here to work hard and play hard for the team that picked me. But I do think that I surprised some people."
Brooks, the No. 26 pick in last month's NBA Draft, certainly showed why the Rockets wanted him in the first round.
Blending his blazing speed and accurate shooting range, the Rockets' rookie put on a show in his first week as an NBA point guard.
Brooks guided Houston to a 4-1 record in the summer league, leading the team with 21.4 points and 5.2 assists. He was largely responsible for shouldering the offense when Houston slipped behind by double digits in several games.
While the summer league was supposed to be a showcase for NBA lottery picks like Seattle's Kevin Durant and Portland's Greg Oden, Brooks was the one named the top rookie of the event.
Along with answering his critics with such play, the 6-foot, 160-pound point guard received glowing reviews from the people who already knew what he was capable of.
"He did exactly what we hoped he would do," Rockets coach Rick Adelman said. "He's extremely quick in the open court. You just can't keep him in front of you. But what I think makes him different than other guys is he really shoots the three. He's going to have some problems against some guards size-wise, but they're also going to have problems with him."
The Rockets envision Brooks as a point guard who can change a game with his quickness. That's something that he had little trouble doing in Las Vegas. He routinely broke down defenses off the dribble and, on more than a handful of occasions, turned a routine in-bounds pass into a fast break.
"He's always looking to get up the floor," Rockets rookie forward Carl Landry said.
The biggest question heading into the NBA Draft -- aside from his size -- was whether Brooks could effectively run an NBA offense.
During his career at Oregon, Brooks was a combination guard who was more highly touted for his shooting than passing. That made some NBA scouts question whether he could be a point guard in the league. But by navigating the Rockets through the summer league, Brooks showed that he is capable of running a team.
Brooks said he got more comfortable running the point as the week went on.
"I got a feel for where the players are going to be and I got a feel for the offense," Brooks said. "That's probably the most important thing to come out of my time in the summer league."
Rockets assistant coach Elston Turner, who coached the summer league team, could see Brooks' progress on a nightly basis. After committing nine turnovers in a setback to Dallas in his second game, Brooks slowed himself down and did a better job of limiting his mistakes in the final three games.
"I could see him get into a comfort zone with what he was running," Turner said. "He started to pick it up and pick his spots -- when to make plays and use his speed. He wasn't all the way helter-skelter. He got us into stuff. That's what we needed from him. When we needed him to pick up the pace, he did exactly that. He actually played like he's been in the league before, like a veteran would play. That's a real good sign for a young guy."
Brooks expects his speed to become an asset to Adelman.
Since his days in Portland and Sacramento, the Rockets coach has preferred a quicker pace and no one on Houston's roster is quicker than Brooks.
Adelman was already envisioning how Brooks might fit into his lineup -- this season.
"I like the way he can change the game," Adelman said. "And when you're playing with Tracy (McGrady) and Yao (Ming) and you can knock down threes, that puts a lot of pressure on the other team. So I would not hesitate to play Aaron. I've always felt like a rookie can play. There's no reason he can't play. I think he's ready to step in and contribute because of his confidence and the way he plays."
Brooks certainly showed that he's capable of contributing after being named the top rookie in Las Vegas.
Still, the point guard has more to learn and he'll have to compete with two other point guards -- Rafer Alston and Mike James -- for playing time.
Brooks knows there is more progress to be made.
"I'm going to have a different role with the Rockets during the season than I had in the summer league," Brooks said. "I might bring the ball up sometimes or I might not since they got a great core. My attention will probably be on changing the pace of the game. I'm just going to play hard and whatever happens, happens."
