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One of the bigger underlying storylines in the Golden State Warriors' and Houston Rockets' heated first-round series has been the health of Stephen Curry's left thumb.
The all-time Warriors sharpshooter reaggravated the nagging thumb injury at the end of the regular season. In the playoffs, he's been seen intermittently icing it and managing it as best as he can. Frankly, it's a marvel that Curry is still shooting just under 40 percent from the 3-point line even though it's clear his thumb is bothering him.
On Wednesday, with the Rockets fighting for their season down 3-1, it sure seemed like they were going out of their way to attack Curry's thumb. The strategy seemed to help in a blowout 131-116 Houston win, even though it drew the ire of Steve Kerr, who, after the game, said he wants to see a rule change in the offseason disincentivizing additional contact on shooters like Curry, who have already released the ball.
According to Kerr, "players around the league," not just the Rockets, are taking advantage of this apparent loophole to hit shooters' hands:
Yeah, I don't know about that one, man. Kerr just sounds irritated that the Rockets are targeting an injured player, which isn't necessarily against the rules.
Rockets forward Dillon Brooks was asked about Houston's apparent plan to go after Curry and his injury. Brooks didn't deny anything and essentially stated that going after a player's injury is simply part of the game:
Brooks makes a good point. Even if the Rockets were, perhaps, going a little out of bounds to hurt Curry, there's nothing in the NBA rules that says you can't target an injured player. Technically speaking, if an injured player chooses to play, they are effectively making themselves a potential sitting duck and a matchup issue for their opponent.
Needless to say, Curry's thumb will definitely be a huge storyline in this series as we look ahead to Friday night's Game 6 in San Francisco.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Dillon Brooks defended Rockets attacking Steph Curry's thumb amid Warriors' criticism
Continue reading...
The all-time Warriors sharpshooter reaggravated the nagging thumb injury at the end of the regular season. In the playoffs, he's been seen intermittently icing it and managing it as best as he can. Frankly, it's a marvel that Curry is still shooting just under 40 percent from the 3-point line even though it's clear his thumb is bothering him.
On Wednesday, with the Rockets fighting for their season down 3-1, it sure seemed like they were going out of their way to attack Curry's thumb. The strategy seemed to help in a blowout 131-116 Houston win, even though it drew the ire of Steve Kerr, who, after the game, said he wants to see a rule change in the offseason disincentivizing additional contact on shooters like Curry, who have already released the ball.
According to Kerr, "players around the league," not just the Rockets, are taking advantage of this apparent loophole to hit shooters' hands:
Yeah, I don't know about that one, man. Kerr just sounds irritated that the Rockets are targeting an injured player, which isn't necessarily against the rules.
Rockets forward Dillon Brooks was asked about Houston's apparent plan to go after Curry and his injury. Brooks didn't deny anything and essentially stated that going after a player's injury is simply part of the game:
Brooks makes a good point. Even if the Rockets were, perhaps, going a little out of bounds to hurt Curry, there's nothing in the NBA rules that says you can't target an injured player. Technically speaking, if an injured player chooses to play, they are effectively making themselves a potential sitting duck and a matchup issue for their opponent.
Needless to say, Curry's thumb will definitely be a huge storyline in this series as we look ahead to Friday night's Game 6 in San Francisco.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Dillon Brooks defended Rockets attacking Steph Curry's thumb amid Warriors' criticism
Continue reading...
