The Golden State Warriors finally put their Play-In Tournament woes behind them on Tuesday night, overcoming the Memphis Grizzlies 121-116 at Chase Center and securing the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference.
The Warriors will now face the No. 2-seeded Houston Rockets in the first round, a team Golden State went 3-1 against during the regular season. However, the Rockets will not only have home-court advantage in the series, but also won the most recent matchup on April 6 with a 106-96 victory on Golden State’s home floor.
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Ime Udoka will have to figure out how to slow down Stephen Curry and Jimmy Butler, who combined for 75 points in the Warriors’ Play-In win over the Grizzlies. But the Rockets enter the postseason with the third-best defensive rating (109.6) in the league, and led the NBA in rebounding during the regular season, averaging 48.7 boards per game.
On the latest episode of “The Athletic NBA Daily,” Dave DuFour and Es Baraheni were joined by The Athletic’s Marcus Thompson to break down Butler’s big night in Golden State’s win, the Warriors giving up a 20-point lead to make it close down the stretch, how Butler’s ability to get to the line changes the dynamic of Golden State’s offense, and how well the Warriors matchup against the Rockets in the first round.
Watch the full episode of “NBA Daily” below or on the YouTube channel, or via the “NBA Daily” podcast feed on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
(Top Photo: Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
