The greatest shooter in NBA history might be getting a bit of help from the league.
A new rule change that will go into effect this season should keep Steph Curry – and other 3-point shooters – from getting intentionally hit in their arms, and Warriors coach Steve Kerr made note of the changes on Thursday.
“The biggest one is the high-five rule, which the [NBA] Coaches Association was part of in collaboration with the league,” Kerr told reporters. “The last few years, we’ve really let defenders get away with fouling jump shooters on the hand. We call everything down low, but guys have been allowed to foul jump shooters and so they’re tweaking the rules on that.
“They’re not allowing as much contact. The shooter is now able to follow through. The reason for the high-five rule is, the guy’s shooting, they literally would get high-fived and that’s now going to be a foul.”
But that’s not the only tweak that’s being made by the league, as Kerr notes.
“The other one where you release the shot and the guy comes in and just hammers you on the wrist a full second after,” Kerr said. “That was a play that the players were just taking advantage of because of the rules and we’re not going to allow that anymore, which is great because I think there was a risk of players getting hurt, so protecting shooters seems to be the main theme.”
While Curry has proven that he doesn’t need help from officials while earning the NBA 3-pointers made record, Kerr believes the change will definitely give him an advantage he hasn’t had for years.
“I think it’ll help Steph every game because of the relaxed rules on that the last few years, everybody’s out there just trying to hammer him on the arm,” Kerr said. “It’s a good change for him, it’s a good change for everybody, I think it’s just, that’s a foul. To me it should have been called for the last few years, it just got away from everybody and I’m glad that the league addressed it.”
When the season starts, Curry and other shooters will not only be more safe when attempting jumpers, but they could reap the benefits of these new rule changes performance-wise, as well.
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