Following the Rockets‘ game 5 win over the Warriors, Steve Kerr voiced his concern over Dillon Brooks intentionally targeting Stephen Curry’s injured thumb. ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith seemed unhappy with Kerr’s approach to resolving this situation. On the First Take show, Smith made his feelings abundantly clear while talking about Steve Kerr with Jay Williams, Kendrick Perkins, and Molly Qerim.
“Y’all know, in case you don’t know, I think Steve Kerr is one of the top six greatest coaches in the history of basketball. I think he’s phenomenal, and I think he’s a good man, very conscientious. But sometimes, this goody two-shoes sanctimonious approach that he (uses), it really rakes my nerves. He’s so above the fray. This man is a champion. Champion in Chicago, champion in San Antonio, champion as a coach in Golden State, he knows what comes with it! If you got a hurt thumb, a hurt ankle, whatever debilitating issue you have, it’s going to be attacked! ‘Maybe the league will fix’, what do you mean the league’s fixing it? The man’s thumb is compromised, on his shooting hand. The greatest shooter that ever lived might be compromised, and somebody’s not going to exploit that? Stop!” he said.
What Happened In Game 5 Of The Rockets-Warriors Series?
Stephen Curry only played 23 minutes in Game 5 of the Rockets vs. Warriors series. Curry injured his right thumb in the second-to-last game of the regular season and has been struggling with it ever since. Warriors broadcasters observed during the game that the Rockets seemed to be intentionally targeting Curry’s injured right thumb. When the Rockets blew the game wide open, Kerr decided to bench the starters and mentally prepare for game 6. Curry exited the game with 13 points, 7 assists, and 3 rebounds.
After the game, Kerr spoke to the media and seemed fairly confident that the NBA would change its rules about allowing contact on the hand after a shot has been released.
“The rule in the NBA is, once the shot has been released, you’re allowed to hit the guy’s arm. So what’s happened in the league this year is, players are always gonna outsmart the rules, they know what they are doing. So players all over the league are just taking shots at guys’ shooting hands after release because they know it’s not going to be a foul. 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. But these are the rules,” said Kerr initially.
“I do believe they are allowed to call a flagrant if they want, if the guy winds up and takes a shot. But it’s been happening across the league all year long, and 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 would probably happen this summer, I guess”, he further added.
This is the response that triggered Stephen A. Smith, as well as some other analysts who felt that Dillon Brooks was not wrong in targeting Curry’s injury. In my opinion, Smith rightly said that teams would do anything to stop the greatest shooter to ever play the game. The Warriors will need to find a way around it and rely on other sources of offense, like Moses Moody or Brandin Podziemski. With Curry and Jimmy Butler both struggling with injuries, the Rockets stand a strong chance of making a comeback in this series after going down 3-1.
