The Phoenix Suns (1-4) are coming off a 115-112 loss against the Golden State Warriors on Monday night.

One of the drivers in the victory was F Dillon Brooks, who scored 18 points in the back-and-forth game.

While the Oregon alum remains well-liked amongst the Suns fandom, he still carries a stigma from the outside that arguably affects how referees operate on a game-by-game basis.

The 30-year-old once again became the subject of controversy on Friday, when the second-year Sun was the subject of ejection due to a flagrant 2 foul in the third quarter of the loss to the Denver Nuggets. 

The Canada native remains in constant confusion when it comes to how referees operate around him (Duane Rankin).

“It just goes to what I've been saying for years and years that the refs have this mindset on me... That’s just weird to me and they went and looked back at it three times. So, it’s whatever. At least I’m not suspended.”

The 2018 second-round draft pick is a real threat to pick suspensions up on a yearly basis due to accumulation of technical fouls. Part of this is due to Brooks embracing his role as a "villain." Some of it is arguably due to the built-up reputation.

The debate on this topic is a constant one, and happenings in Monday night's game didn't put an end to it.

This notion came into play on Monday night - perhaps in a less-than-shocking manner. 

The altercation occurred at the 10:00 mark of the third quarter. Warriors F Draymond Green grabbed and threw Khaman Maluach to the floor. Brooks confronted Green and got tabbed for a technical foul in response.

He now owns three technicals on the season, which is pacing him well on the way to facing a single-game suspension due to reaching the threshold of 16. 

Why does this matter for the Suns' season?

It very much directly impacts Phoenix's trajectory this season, as Brooks' 20 last season cost some games he could've been active in during the team's push for the playoffs. The technical foul on Monday was just a small piece of the Suns losing extreme momentum they built up early in the game.

Whether Brooks is earning these calls or not is up for debate. However, conversations around balancing bringing toughness to the floor with inviting referees to make game-changing calls are necessary to have. 

The Suns have an off day on Nov. 3 before returning to action the following day. Brooks will receive an opportunity to exact revenge on the Portland Trail Blazers.