Steve Kerr could see what the Houston Rockets were trying to do when they faced them in the first round last season. “On every release, Steph’s getting hit,” he said about Stephen Curry, who at the time was nursing an injured thumb. The Rockets weren’t apologetic, nor did Kerr feel they should be. However, he also knew that coaches didn’t like the loophole within the rules. “Eventually we’ll get it fixed,” the Warriors head coach added.

And his appeal has been heard. Recently, NBA referees gathered in New York for a meeting. Tim Bontemps was there too, and he noted how they heavily addressed the “high five” rule. The committee agrees with Steve Kerr, and the NBA analyst thinks it won’t take long for the change to be implemented.

“I would say for fans, the biggest one to pay attention to is going to be that these high-five fouls and kind of excessive contact on them is going to be something that’s going to be called a lot. And so we’re in the year, I think probably for the first month or two, you’ll see more fouls on jump shooters, I would guess,” Bontemps added on Hoop Collective.

This is especially for any team’s marquee shooter, such as Stephen Curry for the Warriors. The high-five rule didn’t alter the shot taken. But it did impact the shooting ability of players such as Curry. Injured thumb or not, an impact with such intentional force is bound to hurt a player’s shooting hand. And teams were openly taking advantage of the same.

Dillon Brooks didn’t mind broadcasters calling him out. As a tenacious defender, he justified it saying, “If I had an injured ankle, I would attack that ankle every single time,”. But the NBA officials have recognized the grey area, and it should impact the way defenses treat jump shooters.

Defenders need some help, just like Stephen Curry

It is uplifting to see referees working together to fix certain errors within officiating. The new rule helps to potentially avoid extreme injuries, which Steve Kerr felt was very much possible. But for how long will only the offense get attention? The old era of NBA players balk at the fact that and-checking isn’t a concept anymore.

But it’s far worse than that.

In recent years, it’s become evident that offensive players can manipulate defenders. Notably, Shai Gilgous-Alexander has been heavily criticized for using such tactics. It’s only possible because the referees fail to recognize certain motions. Most importantly, when an offensive players hook a defender’s arm.

Michael Malone, the former Nuggets head coach, referenced SGA in this regard. “A lot of times offensive players like Shai will initiate the contact or hook his arm looking to draw that contact,” he said while also saying guarding the best players has become “impossible”. The action is far more complicated to recognize in comparison to the high-five rule.

For referees, it’s tough to see an offensive player hooking the arm in real time. But it’s also a pressing issue in the NBA that needs to be dealt with. Defenders are majorly handicapped in the modern era. It’s only fair that if rule changes are being considered, they happen on both sides.