Stephen Curry is already feeling the dividends of the rule change.

In his third preseason game against the Trail Blazers, he took 13 free throws - the same total he took 64 games to reach last season.

Despite averaging in the top 15 in the league in breakaways last season, he averaged just 4.3 free throws per game, and the NBA's new rule prohibiting defenders from hitting a shooter's arm before or after the shot is taken will now result in a direct foul call for what used to be known as "hot stove contact.

No one can appreciate this change more than Stephen Curry, who for years suffered a collision on a jumper without getting a whistle. This time, the whistle is finally on his side, and defenses may be in for a long, hard season.