Rockets' Dillon Brooks makes Lakers forward look incredibly foolish

It's become the trendiest thing to do in the NBA world to criticize and slander Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks. This season, this has held true probably more than ever before, as Brooks has been perhaps the Rockets' most consistent player and has been a key ingredient in the Rockets' hot start.

However, we seem to hear more about him changing his name on Instagram to "Villain" than his averages of 13.7 points, 51.4 percent from the field, 51.2 percent from three, and an astronomical 64.8 percent true shooting.

Instead, we seem to hear more about him staring down opponents prior to facing them. Granted, Brooks isn't exactly innocent in all of this, as he likes barking and chirping at opponents throughout the game, however the slander tour has been insane to witness.

It's also been amusing to see Brooks start to quell the narratives this season. Case in point, the Memphis Grizzlies, who convinced the masses (and themselves) that Brooks was the sole reason for their inability to take a leap over the last handful of years. 

The Grizzlies let Brooks walk in free agency and have struggled mightily, as they've gone 3-10 this season and rank 16th in defensive efficiency. 

So much for Dillon being the problem.

Rockets forward Dillon Brooks makes Taurean Prince look silly.

Strangely, that hasn't even been Brooks' biggest source of vindication, as it's come in the form of Taurean Prince, who signed with the Los Angeles Lakers and couldn't understand why Brooks landed the $86 million contract that he did.

Prince was signed to a one-year deal worth $4.5 million and was expected to provide shooting for a Lakers team devoid of shooters. Instead, he's made just 28.3 percent from long-range, which is lower than Brooks has fared from three in any season.

Furthermore, Prince has made just 40.2 percent of his total shots, while shooting 50.1 percent true shooting.

When the two squared off against each other on Sunday, Price went 0-for-4 from three and 1-of-11 from the field, to the tune of two points. Prince was a -6 for the Lakers.

Brooks, on the other hand, was the Rockets' leading scorer, as he had 24 points on 6-of-11 from long-range and 9-of-21 from the floor, while posting a +3 plus/minus.

So while it may have been fun and popular for Prince to take shots at Brooks, the reality is that he's been far and away a better player than Prince. In fact, Lakers fans don't even want him on the roster anymore.

In other words, he's the overpaid one, even at a significantly lower number.