Ever since Stephen Curry’s 36-point performance in Game 3, the Rockets have found a way to silence him. In his last two appearances, the sharpshooter’s scoring average has dropped to 15 points. And he played his worst game of this series tonight, finishing with just 13 points on 4 of 12 shooting. Of course, a lot of his struggles have been because of Rockets’ highly physical defense, which is well within the rules. But Dillon Brooks and Co. might also be using a controversial tactic that puts Steph’s health at risk.

Well, Curry suffered a thumb injury toward the end of the regular season after jamming it on Justin Minaya’s knee during the Blazers clash. Although the blow did not put him out of action, he has been playing through the pain ever since. And 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.”

Every time Steph Curry rises for a shot, it’s become almost routine: a defender swipes at his injured shooting hand, hoping to disrupt his rhythm. 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,” Kerr explained postgame. “They know what they’re doing. So, players all over the league are just taking shots at guys’ shooting hands after release because they know it’s not gonna be a foul.”

Though the Warriors can’t shield Curry from this strategy during the postseason, Kerr made it clear they won’t stay silent. “It’s been happening across the league all year long,” he said. “It’s the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” He confirmed Golden State plans to file a formal complaint and push for the rule to be reviewed in the offseason. “We have to take it through the league process to get that changed—and that will probably happen this summer.”

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.

Kerr continued, “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.” Although he knows Steph is getting hit on almost every play, Kerr is not putting the blame on Udoka’s squad.

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 a recently published image of it untaped raised major concern about his current state. There was a golf ball sized bulge on his knuckle right below his thumb, and it is likely to get worse if he keeps getting hit by Rockets’ defenders.

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

Sure enough, Kerr understands how risky it is for players, “I’m very confident the 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.”

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.”

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?