Steve Kerr Talks NBA Rules amid Dillon Brooks Controversy Around Steph Curry Injury
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr gave his thoughts Wednesday night on the NBA rule that allows for contact to be made after a shot is released.
During the Warriors' 131-116 road loss to the Houston Rockets in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday, Rockets forward Dillon Brooks contacted Warriors superstar guard Stephen Curry's right hand following a shot.
No foul was called, but it was significant since Curry has been nursing an injured right thumb for much of the season.
While speaking to reporters after the game, Kerr declined to say Brooks was purposely targeting Curry's thumb, but he did call for the NBA to make a rule change for next season, saying:
"So the rule is once the shot has been released, you're allowed to hit a guy's arm. And so what's happened in the league this year is, players always are, they're going to outsmart the rules. They know what they're doing. So players all over the league are just taking shots at guys' shooting hands after the release because they know it's not going to be a foul. And I'm very confident that next year the league will fix it because it's only a matter of time before somebody breaks a thumb or breaks a hand or whatever. But these are the rules.
"I do believe they're allowed to call a flagrant if they want. The refs can call flagrant if a guy winds up and takes a shot. But no, it's been happening across the league all year long. It's the dumbest thing I've ever heard, but we have to take it through the league process to get that changed."
Per ESPN's Ohm Youngmisuk, Curry first injured his thumb in January before aggravating it with two games remaining in the regular season.
Curry has had to play with a wrap around the thumb since then, making it a potential target for opponents.
A Warriors announcer expressed their belief during the broadcast that the Rockets were purposely taking shots at Curry's thumb in Games 4 and 5.
Brooks was dismissive of the criticism, saying: "I've been playing the game. If [someone] had an injured ankle, I would attack that ankle every single time. So, whatever they're saying on the broadcast, they can keep saying it."
It is fair to wonder if the thumb ailment has adversely impacted Curry during the playoffs, as three of his five performances have been well below his usual standards.
In Game 4, Curry finished with just 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting from the field and 2-of-8 shooting from beyond the arc, and he followed that up with 13 points on 4-of-12 shooting from the floor and 3-of-9 shooting from deep in Game 5.
Golden State still leads the series 3-2, but it will undoubtedly need more from Curry in order to close things out against the second-seeded Rockets in Game 6 or 7 regardless of his health.
