Grizzlies’ Brooks insists hit was ‘unintentional’ following $35,000 NBA fine for shoving Heat cameraman – The Denver Post

Following a $35,000 fine for what the NBA called “an unsportsmanlike act of shoving a cameraman” in Wednesday night’s loss to the Miami Heat at Miami-Dade Arena, the Memphis Grizzlies guard , Dillon Brooks, said the act was unintentional.

Addressing the incident for the first time when the Grizzlies hosted the Golden State Warriors on Saturday night, Brooks said he plans to contact the cameraman who is part of the Heat’s home games, working as an independent contractor for Bally Sports.

“It wasn’t intentional,” Brooks said of the incident that appeared otherwise, as he rushed unsuccessfully to the center sideline to prevent a ball from going out of bounds. “I was running at top speed. I didn’t want to hurt him in any way. I’m not that kind of person.

“I’m going to call him tomorrow to check on him and see how he’s doing.”

Brooks did not say if he would appeal the fine. Brooks, 27, is in the final year of a three-year, $35 million deal that earns $11.4 million this season.

“But, you know, it’s a bad situation,” Brooks said, “and everything the NBA has done is what they’ve done. But I’m not that kind of person. I play the hard game.

The Heat next play at home Wednesday night at Miami-Dade Arena against the New York Knicks, after completing a two-game road trip Sunday night against the Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena.

Incident cameraman Terry Swann declined to comment to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. A Bally Sports spokesperson declined to comment on the incident.

Following the NBA fine, Heat broadcaster Jason Jackson posted a rebuke to Brooks on Twitter.

“I rarely comment on these things,” Jackson said, “BUT this one is personal. Our veteran cameraman @BallyHeat has been injured and remains under evaluation.

“The fine was fair, but the maximum would have felt like a sliver of justice after another human’s scorn – an incredible one to boot.”

Brooks’ game came with 2:40 left in the second quarter of what turned into a 138-119 loss to the Grizzlies.

Defensive skid

In the wake of the Heat’s fall in the NBA’s defensive rankings since the All-Star break, coach Erik Spoelstra said it was the detail, not the personnel, that was lacking.

“We’re going to solidify all of that,” he said before the game against the Pistons. “That’s it. We’ll back it up. We’re capable of being much better defensively.

“It’s the same guys, the same people. I mean, we had a top-four defense before the All-Star break. It’s costly when you don’t defend with that kind of effort like we did in the second half [of Saturday night’s loss to the Chicago Bulls].”

The Heat’s major rotational move since the All-Star break has been inserting the acquisition of Kevin Love into the starting lineup and moving Caleb Martin to the bench.

Quality competition

Following the loss in Chicago, the Heat played down the lack of focus against teams with losing records.

“I think it’s the NBA, as a league. We have good teams,” forward Jimmy Butler said. “You can’t always look at somebody’s record and, ‘Wow, that team is supposed to beat them.’

“You can get beaten by anyone any night and we’ve shown it’s happened to us all year. But what can we do about it now? Let’s try to win as many games as possible to move forward.

Butler said there was no arrogance involved.

“I don’t think we’re better than anyone,” he said. “I think we have to be competitive, and when we deserve to win, we will win. If we don’t deserve to win, we won’t win.

Guard Max Strus said it was a matter of focus.

“In the end,” he said. “It’s the NBA and everyone has talent. Everyone is a good team when they shoot.

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