John Collins grabs Dillon Brooks by throat in Suns-Pistons preseason dustup

It’s the preseason. Apparently, nobody told John Collins and Dillon Brooks.

The Pistons and Suns forwards got into a heated exchange less than five minutes into Monday night’s exhibition in Detroit, with Collins eventually grabbing Brooks around the neck before teammates separated them, as detailed by ClickOnDetroit.

So, yeah. That escalated quickly. The trouble began while the two were battling for a rebound. Brooks committed a hard foul, Collins took exception and the two exchanged words before things became considerably more physical.

Brooks received a technical foul. Collins was assessed a flagrant foul.

It’s worth remembering that this was the first preseason game for both teams. The standings weren’t at stake. Neither was anything else, really.

But Brooks has built an NBA career in part on getting under opponents’ skin, and that part of his game is already in regular-season form.

Collins, meanwhile, is entering his first season with Detroit after being acquired as part of the Pistons’ offseason reshaping.

They’ll both presumably have more important moments once the games count.

They may not have many more eventful ones.