Former NBA All-Star Jeff Teague has weighed in on the ongoing debate about Dillon Brooks targeting Stephen Curry’s hand injury.
The Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors are currently engaged in an excellent first-round playoff series, with plenty of talking points coming up.
The most prominent after the Rockets won Game 5 131-116 was to do with Curry’s right hand. He feels like his opposition are intentionally trying to make it worse.
Some have questioned whether this is unsportsmanlike, while others think it’s simply part of the game. Here’s what Teague believes…
Teague was a starting-caliber point guard in the NBA known for his scoring and playmaking more than his defending.
However, the 26-year-old was also solid on that side of the floor and, having guarded Curry many times in his career, can empathize with the Rockets guards in this series.
He fully supported Brooks’ attempts to hurt Curry’s hand for the simple fact that it gives his team a better chance of winning the game.
Teague explained on his podcast: “I like what Dillon Brooks is doing. Keep hitting that —–. It’s part of the game. If I was playing Steph I would grab his hand. Just grab it.
“I would grab his hand anytime he come near a screen I would just hold his thumb. That’s what you supposed to do.
“Anytime you about to go for a shot and got to reach, I’m going to swipe. If you don’t want to dribble with your left hand, guess what I’m going to make you do, go left.”
Curry’s hand can’t be impacting his game too much because he’s still putting up similar numbers in these playoffs to the regular season.
That being said, we’re accustomed to seeing the great players, like Curry, raise their games when the postseason comes around.
| Stats | MIN | PTS | FG% | 3P% | FT% | REB | AST |
| 2024-25 Regular Season | 32.2 | 24.5 | 44.8 | 39.7 | 93.3 | 4.4 | 6.0 |
| 2024-25 Playoffs | 36.0 | 23.4 | 48.8 | 39.6 | 90.0 | 4.8 | 6.2 |
The 37-year-old’s inability to do that thus far might have something to do with his discomfort, and also the Rockets’ solid defense.
Either way, it’s fair to expect Curry to improve on his 23 points per game in the remaining game/s of the series and in future rounds.
By comparison, he averaged 30.5 points in the 2022-23 season when the Warriors won the championship after beating the Boston Celtics in six games in the Finals.
