During the Golden State Warriors’ Game 5 loss to the Houston Rockets, the Warriors broadcast claimed that Rockets forward Dillon Brooks was intentionally targeting Golden State superstar Stephen Curry’s injured right thumb while contesting a three-point attempt by the sharpshooter during the first quarter. It’s an allegation that Brooks didn’t exactly deny when asked about it following the Rockets’ 131-116 win on Wednesday.
Warriors coach Steve Kerr, when asked for his view on the situation, called on the NBA to make a rule change to prevent future injuries from occurring.
“So the rule in the NBA is once the shot has been released, you’re allowed to hit a guy’s arm,” Kerr said. “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.”
Here’s the rule Kerr is referring to, per the NBA’s official rulebook.
“Note that after the shooter releases the ball, contact with the shooter’s hand during the shooter’s follow thru can be deemed legal, provided that the contact is incidental, and it is not hostile, nor overly physical.”
Despite his assertion that defenders are more frequently outsmarting the rulebook, Kerr does believe the NBA is going to make a change to a rule he believes is “the dumbest thing he’s ever heard.’
“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 and that will probably happen this summer I would guess.”
Curry, who initially injured the thumb in January, was blunt in his assessment when asked about the Rockets’ closeouts on his shot attempts.
“You don’t think about it,” Curry said. “And if it’s a foul they should call it. If it’s a foul they should call it.”
In the meantime, a Rockets-Warriors series that has already featured several instances of physical play, as well as multiple scuffles, figures to be even more testy given the Rockets’ defensive strategy towards Curry.
Game 6 tips off on Friday at 9 p.m. ET.
