Announced! NBA steps in to protect! Curry receives an epic boost

The NBA referees officially declared: "After a player shoots, any contact or secondary contact by the defender on the shooter’s palm, arm, or wrist will be called as a foul or even a flagrant foul, unless the action is very minimal.”

Previously, the “high five” defensive contact significantly affected shooters, but now that it is being taken seriously, it’s obvious many players’ shooting percentages will improve in the new season. Especially 37-year-old Curry, who can finally enjoy the league’s “protection,” helping him maintain his competitive form.

Warriors head coach Kerr commented on this,stating that the new rule will benefit Curry and complained that previously, due to looser officiating, many defenders would aggressively hit his arms.

This NBA all-time great superstar averaged 24.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 1.1 steals per game in last season’s regular season, shooting 39.7% from three with 4.4 made threes per game; in the playoffs, he averaged 22.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 1 steal, hitting 4 threes per game at 40% accuracy.

In the new season, Curry has several new teammates, such as NBA champion and All-Star big man Al Horford, his own brother Seth Curry, as well as veterans Butler, Draymond Green, and Kuminga. However, the aging Warriors roster is not favored to stand out in the extremely competitive Western Conference, where teams like the Thunder, Nuggets, and Rockets have stronger squads.

Notably, according to US media data, Curry’s chances of winning MVP in the 25-26 season are only 0.4%... To put it bluntly, he’s not even considered in MVP discussions, despite already holding two MVP awards, including the unanimous MVP in the 15-16 season (the first in NBA history).

Talking about the NBA preseason,the opening game saw the Knicks defeat a Philadelphia team missing George and Embiid, 99-84.

Both teams struggled with shooting: one made 8 of 39 threes, the other 3 of 35, showing they were all resting heavily during the long offseason.

Such preseason games, meant for preparing for the regular season, are usually quite dull and mainly focus on individual performances.

The 25th overall pick VJ Echikson (Philadelphia) made his NBA preseason debut in this game, starting as a shooting guard and playing the most minutes on the court at about 31. He shot 4 of 13, including 1 of 6 from three, made all 5 free throws, and contributed 14 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, with a plus-minus of +1.His physical talents are truly impressive, but his shooting still has a lot of room for improvement.

This guy averaged 21.5 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.5 blocks in this year’s NBA Summer League, with shooting percentages of 41.5%, 15.4%, and 77.8%. Standing 1.96 meters tall with a 2.02-meter wingspan, he shows strong aggression on both ends of the floor at the guard position. However, to evolve into an All-Star caliber player, he must develop a consistent and explosive shooting ability.

As for what Chinese fans are most excited about in the NBA preseason, it’s definitely the October 9th matchup between the Trail Blazers and Warriors, featuring a showdown between Yang Hansheng and Curry. This hype alone is enough to draw massive attention.

Well, actually when Yang Hansheng faces the Warriors, he will mainly have to deal with the combined defense of Horford and Draymond Green, both seasoned veteran interior defenders. As a rookie, he is likely to get schooled by these two defensive experts.