Dillon Brooks’ entire NBA identity revolves around getting under opponents’ skin, so when the league’s self-proclaimed Villain began complaining about contact after Game 2, the irony was not lost on anyone. Following the Suns’ 120-107 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday at Paycom Centre, Brooks expressed his dissatisfaction with the officiating, claiming that the refs had not given Phoenix a fair shake and naming a specific target.

Brooks immediately shifted attention to officiating after the loss, questioning transparency and accountability in playoff games. Assigned to guard Thunder star Shai Gilgeous-Alexander for much of the night, the Suns forward didn’t mince words when asked about the matchup. “He’s a little frail, and that’s what the refs are going to call,” Brooks told reporters. “I got to be smarter about it, but this is the playoffs, a man’s game.”

Brooks didn’t stop at SGA. He widened the lens to indict what he sees as a structural flaw in how playoff basketball is being called, invoking past eras as the benchmark. “I used to watch this back when Michael Jordan was playing, or whoever else, when LeBron was younger, it’s just physical basketball,” he said. “I don’t get why all the dropping, and the flopping, and the flailing, and all this stuff is allowed to get to the playoffs. Leave that for the season, for the fans. Don’t decide the games on no free throws.”

The numbers give Brooks’ frustration some weight. Gilgeous-Alexander led all playoff scorers in free-throw attempts at 13.0 per game heading into Wednesday, and he made all nine of his attempts in Game 2 en route to a game-high 37 points. Brooks wasn’t the only Sun with a grievance. Devin Booker specifically called out referee James Williams by name, marking the first time in his 11-year career he had publicly criticized an official. Brooks, for his part, escalated the argument all the way to the commissioner’s office. “That’s why y’all should be interviewing them,” he said of the refs. “Let’s go to Adam Silver; accountability needs to be shown out there.”

SGA Fires Back at Brooks

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander addressed the back-and-forth directly during his own postgame availability, first recounting how he had laughed and pointed at Brooks after scoring over him in the first half. “He was just doing his usual antics. Then I scored on him. I let him hear it a little bit,” the Thunder star said. On Brooks’ flopping accusations, SGA was characteristically unbothered. “I can’t control what Dillon or anybody else on the other side is gonna complain about,” he said. “Dillon’s doing what he’s supposed to do.”

The debate over flopping versus skill, physicality versus modern craft, is real,  and it’s one the NBA hasn’t resolved. But with the Suns staring down a 3-0 series hole heading into Game 3 on Saturday in Phoenix, Dillon Brooks will need to stay on the floor to have any chance of making the argument matter on the scoreboard.