Steve Kerr Calls for NBA to Change These Rules Amid Unprecedented Scoring Bursts

The Warriors coach called for amended rules to give defenders a chance against some of the league’s best scorers.

Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr called for the NBA to modify rules for defenders amid the league’s historic scoring outbursts earlier this week.

On Monday night, Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid scored 70 points, while Minnesota Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns scored a franchise-record 62.

On Friday night, Dallas Mavericks guard Luka Dončić scored 73 points, while Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker dropped 62.

Kerr has seen enough.

“I think there are absolute changes [to be made],” Kerr said on Saturday, per The Mercury News. “You’re not going to make changes to the scheme. Where you’re going to make changes is with the defensive positioning rules that are in place.”

Kerr knows the game has changed quite a bit since he was a player, with the defender no longer being given the benefit of the doubt in today’s game. 

“I wish I could tell you the number of times a player wildly drove into us, ran into us, and I went to the ref and the red used the expression, ‘illegal guarding position,’” Kerr said. “The way we’re interpreting the rules is favoring the offense. Just as we did 20 years ago as a league, when we wanted to open up the game, we changed the interpretation. So we could easily go back and give leeway to the defense.”

There will certainly be plenty of discussion about the way defenders are officiated the rest of the season, but until something is done about the rules, offensive players will continue to get theirs.