The Warriors coach doesn't mind SGA's free-throw counts, but rather the NBA's rules that let players draw tons of fouls.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was on target to lead the Oklahoma City Thunder on Saturday evening for their 50th victory of the season.
The reigning league MVP delivered another impressive performance, finishing with 27 points, five rebounds and five assists in 35 minutes to lead OKC to a 104-97 win over the Golden State Warriors.
Interestingly, most of Gilgeous-Alexander's points came from the free-throw line. He apparently went 6-of-15 from the field, but nailed 14 of his 15 trips to the charity stripe.
While many might raise their eyebrows again at Gilgeous-Alexander's foul shots, Steve Kerr couldn't care less about it on the other hand. Particularly, the Warriors' coach is concerned about how the league allows the Thunder superstar to draw as many calls as he can.
"He's incredibly clever, and he knows exactly how to draw contact, and it's all within the rules. I don't have a problem with Shai," Kerr said in his postgame availability.
"I have a problem with the rules. I just think that we, as a league, allow too much off-arm. We hardly allow the defense to do anything guarding the ball. If you allow the offensive player to push off with the off arm to create space, it makes it really tough defensively because you can't put your arm in. If you put your arm in, everybody around the league will do what Shai does and what James Harden does—they'll hook your arm—and it's all part of the rules."
Previously, New York Knicks head coach Mike Brown offered a backhanded compliment to Gilgeous-Alexander's ability to draw fouls and earn whistles from the officials.
The Canadian sensation is second (9.2) in free-throw attempts this season. Los Angeles Lakers superstar Luka Doncic sits atop the leaderboard with 10.3 attempts per game.
"More power to all the individual players, but as a league, we need to adapt and adjust," Kerr argued. "The players, year after year, take advantage of the rules. They're smart and they know what they're doing."
Like what we are doing? Support us by becoming BN+ member.
If you like our content, please click here and add us as your preferred source. It helps us a lot, and we are committed to delivering you the very latest basketball news.