Preview: Crunch time

Lakers, Nuggets back-to-back! Rockets on Sunday

What makes a regular-season game unforgettable? When two of the NBA's most iconic figures—LeBron James and Stephen Curry—face off, the stakes are never just about the score. How will the Warriors respond if the Lakers defense manages to lock Curry down?

There’s a few random games throughout the season where the chat lights up with a bunch of “that’s why I watch every game.” But tonight’s battle between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers is one of those that gets circled early in the season. This is, of course, a new wrinkle in the Stephen Curry vs. LeBron James multi-staged battle that has been the defining storyline of the NBA over the past decade or so.

Both sides have new looks, new weapons. Luka Doncic adds another primary ball handler at the right time for LeBron’s twilight era, and on the Warriors’ side, they’ve gotten indescribably tougher with the addition of Jimmy Butler. It’s already an interesting game just for the chance of seeing the fifth seeded Warriors take on the fourth seeded Lakers, but looking at the context of this matchup and the broader importance of this weekend’s games is that extra pinch of seasoning that makes a dish perfect.

Let’s go!

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GAME DETAILS

WHO: Golden State Warriors (44-31) at Los Angeles Lakers (46-29)

WHEN: Thursday, April 3rd, 2025; 7pm PDT

WATCH: TNT

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Steph Curry is a psychopath

It’s so cliche to talk about it like this, but hard to articulate the singularity that is Curry without hyperbole. Anyways, I can’t help but thinking about what happens when Curry runs over the flashing Mario star. We were just treated to another example of the magic in Golden State’s last game - where Curry went absolutely nuclear with his 52-point performance.

Curry ended up getting those 52 points on 16-of-31 shooting; along with 10 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 steals. The Warriors needed every bit of it - the scoring, and the efficiency. What stands out after the fact is that Curry doesn’t really have a playoff- or scenario-based nickname. He’s just always cooking. You don’t need to wait for the Chef, he’s in the kitchen all the time.

However far Golden State manages to go, it will be Curry that leads the charge. Thankfully though, one of the other extremely cool things about this franchise is that they’re not one-dimensional. It’s going to be important this weekend (yes, I’m rounding up Thursday night and Friday into some sort of pre-weekend rounding error).

In our last preview, we talked about Quintin Post and the team’s X-factors, and I think I may have undersold the impact that Jimmy Butler has. This matchup against Luka, LeBron (why do they both get first name nicknames?) and the Lakers is one of the more visceral that the Warriors will bump into. It’s the floppiness and skill of prime Harden and his Rockets. The Lakers aren’t just scrappy, they’re legitimately good, and it’s going to be an extremely high pressure environment tonight as both teams squeeze each other to see who breaks first.

Let’s explore that new Luka and Butler dynamic though. LeBron’s teams have a bit more sophistry, an adroit on-ball player that would have potentially caused some strategic issues on previous teams but find himself added to the waning years of James’ career, when a little extra playmaking is welcome without qualification.

Butler for Wiggins was a difficult trade to make, but as the games begin to provide perspective, it’s becoming more clear why they Warriors pulled the trigger. Butler isn’t necessarily better - though that’s certainly arguable - but there’s no doubt that he’s a much more gritty player. If there’s one edge that LeBron has continually sought to exploit over Curry and the Warriors, it’s this one. Well, now the Warriors might be the harder, more abrasive team.

What’s crazy is the Steph might not care about anyyyyyy of this. Literally.

Sure, these are professionals playing every level of physical and psychological warfare, but I am firmly convinced that this was Curry’s legitimate answer, when asked about what he thought about his follow up to the last game against Memphis - where the team got scorched by 51 points and Curry didn’t convert a single field goal: no worries. Another win.

Curry fired up 3-pointers throughout the game, connecting on a dozen from long range on the way to a 52-point performance as the Warriors beat the Grizzlies 134-125.

"I had actually forgotten," Curry said when asked if the teams' previous game was motivation. "I was just kind of more focused on how big this game was for us."

Whew.

Let’s go.

Prediction

This is going to be another game for the ages. I find myself extremely thankful for the journey. Warriors win. Jimmy and Luka take each other’s approach to basketball personally, setting up a drama filled showdown in the playoffs.

Music Friday

Hey, last time (maybe). But violating the Music Friday norms because I may not post that day. Thanks for your involvement and messages. We have a winner for the free tickets to a show, and I will see you there on Friday!

In the meantime, one last bump for Destroy Boys, and a huge thanks to the fine folks at UC Theatre for keeping the music scene going strong!

asd