The NBA’s Point of Contact foul states, “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.”

Entering Game 5 of their playoff series, the Golden State Warriors knew Houston Rockets’ strategy– ‘Hit where it hurts. And repeat some more.’ However, while the rules allow it, seems like the Rockets are all set to bend them and use them to their advantage. Only, the case with Stephen Curry’s right thumb is getting worse. The star guard of the Dub Nation first injured himself back in January, in his words, “Every time it got better, it got hit again.” Later, he re-injured it in the second last game of the regular season after jamming it on Justin Minaya’s knee during the Blazers clash. Still, he has continued to be the offensive firepower for the Warriors. Fast forward to the playoffs, the sore thumb is becoming a point of pain for the entire team.

Recently, one photo of Curry entered the internet space while he was walking to the team’s airplane. In that, his right thumb was visibly sore, with a lump under his knuckle. He has been icing his right thumb after every game and keeping it in wraps throughout his time on the court. But the Rockets are only adding to their physical defense. Since the very first game, Curry has been the target of being ruthlessly face guarded, double-teamed, and physically defended by Rockets players. What makes it worse is the officiating crew ignoring it completely. But in Game 5, things elevated. And we have a culprit in the name of Dillon Brooks who Golden State might be targeting in the summer.

The Rockets are seemingly taking advantage of Steph’s weakness in this series. Even the on-air announcers pointed it out on live TV during tonight’s broadcast, “You can look at the last two games, every time Steph launches a 3 and Dillon Brooks is there, he’s whacking his right hand.” In a clip captured by a fan, as Stephen went for a 3-pointer, during the leap, Brooks tried to get to his right arm as soon as the ball was out of Steph’s hands. When he couldn’t make a contact, he tried another swipe at it. And then again. There is more such evidence.

In one key sequence from tonight’s game, Curry grimaced in pain after Dillon Brooks caught him on the hand during a shot contest. Steph looked to the officials for a whistle—nothing. And frustratingly, it turns out that silence was by the book. According to Steve Kerr, the tactic isn’t illegal under current NBA rules.

“So, the rule in the NBA 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, they’re gonna outsmart the rules. They know what they’re doing, so players all over the league are just taking shots at guys’ shooting hands after release. ‘Cause they know its not gonna be a foul. And I’m very confident the next year the league will fix it because its 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 are allowed to call a flagrant if they want, the refs could call a flagrant if a guy winds up and takes a shot. But 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.”

Though the Warriors can’t shield Curry from this strategy during the postseason, Kerr made it clear they won’t stay silent. He confirmed Golden State plans to file a formal complaint and push for the rule to be reviewed in the offseason. The Rockets might’ve targeted Curry’s weakness. But come summer, the league office could be forced to rethink how much contact a shooter’s hand should endure after the release.

However, as far as Steph is concerned, Kerr confirmed, “No, I don’t think its impacting him. Again, players are gonna do whatever they’re allowed to do. So, on every release, Steph’s getting hit. But its basically within the rules so that’s how the league wants it right now and I know we got 30 coaches who all think its just idiotic that we allow this.

“So, we’ll have to take it through the competition committee and all that stuff this summer. Eventually, we’ll get it fixed but right now this is how the league works, whatever the rules are, the players are all really really smart. And can’t blame them at all for doing whatever it takes to win the game. It’s the highest level of competition on earth and so it is what it is.”

Curry too is quite positive, accepting that playoff energy is of a different kind. When a reporter asked Steph in the postgame presser what the status of his thumb was, Curry jokingly replied, “Cold.” When the reporter pressed again, he said, “I don’t even know how to answer it. Something you are dealing with and keep it moving.” But when it came to whether it was impacting his game, smiling, he said, “No… No!”

He further added, “You don’t think about it. And if it’s a foul they should call it. If it’s a foul they should call it.” The superstar guard ended the night with 13 points and seven assists in 23 minutes in a 131-116 loss.

Although Kerr knows Steph is getting hit on almost every play, he is not putting the blame on Udoka’s squad for doing what they need to in order to move forward.

Steve Kerr reveals Stephen Curry’s true feelings as he credits the Rockets for doing “whatever it takes” to win

Throughout this series, Steph has played with his thumb completely taped. But the recently published image of it untaped raised major concern about his current state. The bulge under his knuckle, no doubt, is likely to get worse if he keeps getting hit by Rockets’ defenders.

Sure enough, Kerr understands how risky it is for players. However, knowing that it’s within the rules for now, Kerr does not have a problem with the Rockets using this strategy on Curry to gain an edge, “Can’t blame them at all for doing whatever it takes to win the game. It’s the highest level of competition on Earth and so it is what it is.”

When Dillon Brooks was asked about the accusation in his post-game presser, he simply said, “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.”

Even before the series began, Udoka made it clear that the Rockets will try every trick in the book to win. Even if it means bending a few rules here and there. That’s exactly what Dillon Brooks and Co. are doing by targeting Curry’s injured thumb. Do you think this rule should be changed next season?