Preview: Warriors face a battle of culture, as much as skill

In a close series, the Warriors will need to be much better, in a lot of ways

It’s Friday, the end of the work week for most, the busiest night of the week for others. The Golden State Warriors are coming back home to Chase, with another chance to knock out the Houston Rockets. After a blistering defeat in Houston, will the return to home base be enough to push this series across the finish line - or head back to Houston with the season on the brink? This will not be a chill, relaxed game.

Across the other side of their current playoff bracket, the Warriors now know who they’ll face, should they advance. After beating the Lakers and LeBron James, it’s the surprising Minnesota Timberwolves that have advanced. The way the scheduling works, Golden State would do well to win tonight - a loss bumps their next game out far enough that whoever wins this series will turnaround for a back-to-back to open round two. Not ideal!

But the Warriors are a veteran team led by the best shooting the world has ever seen. There are some obvious adjustments needed, but Golden State has a wealth of options, and a long, long list of accomplishments. Plus, maybe some new options after some strong bench performances in game five?

---

GAME DETAILS

WHO: Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets

Warriors lead series, 3-2

WHEN: Friday, May 2nd, 2025; 6pm PDT

WATCH: ESPN

---

Put me on record: I don’t like Dillon Brooks

Walking out of my work today, I engaged in some friendly banter with a coworker. He’s a LeBron fan, and has been noisily talking all sorts of noise about how if our two teams met in the playoffs this year, it would be Lakers in five. So of course I had to say something, and of course he had to clap back.

This is sports entertainment at its absolute best. A ton of storylines lighting up against a looming background of old legacies being chased by young upstarts. I work in a fairly fancy office. There’s a dress code. And KPI. We have Tiger Teams, and we circle back and take things offline. So it was a slow dreadful awakening for me as I realized that I just held open the elevator on the way home in the afternoon, while a bemused (very professional) coworker looked on as me and this dude yelled at each other.

“Sport team! Go!” I said, awkwardly.

It got us into this whole conversation about fandom, and the Warriors. For her, she was an OG fan. Watching Monta Ellis and then the We Believe Era, the rise of the Dynasty… then drifting off a bit recently, but watching now. For me, I told her about how weird I was (and still am) in high school - how being good at basketball was my one “normie” thing. And finding GSOM, writing for Vox, helping found this community here. Sports are about so much more than just the actual competition part of it. Outside of being stuck in traffic together, it’s one of the few times our society truly unifies. This is our team.

But as I drove home, I went back to that conversation. The Warriors are the better team. A little grey in the beard, a bit slower than their peak, but skilled enough to cover any gaps. Stephen Curry and Draymond Green have been through countless battles¹ alongside coach Steve Kerr, and now with Jimmy Butler on board? Anything is possible. This is a solid crew. Talented and solid.

Dillon Brooks in particular - and the Rockets at large - have been actively targeting Steph Curry’s injured thumb. Swiping at it with extra intent, disguised as a shot block attempt. Asked about it during postgame availability, Brooks admitted that it was indeed a reality, unapologetically saying that it was like going after a sprained ankle.

"I've been playing the game," Brooks responded bluntly.

"If I had an injured ankle, I would attack that ankle every single time. So whatever they're saying on the broadcast, they can keep saying it."

His response only served to fuel the growing tensions between the two sides.

Gross, dude. Super lame.

A couple of things here:

First, that’s an outrageous take. You take advantage of a guy with an ankle injury by running around a lot, making extreme cuts and accelerating in the opposite direction then flipping around and going another way. You are certainly not allowed to intentionally kick at an opponent’s feet in the way that Brooks is attacking Curry’s hand.

But this is Rockets culture. Win at all costs. Spam the pick-and-roll if it’s working. Bait the refs. Harden gone? Well, time to smack at Curry’s injury and play physical defense to the point of illegality. Playoff basketball? Or shitty people being shitty?

This is part of the fun of sports though. I’m sure the Warriors have some extra-professional desire to beat the Rockets. To send Dillon Brooks packing once more. My kids were much younger back then, but we were in Hawaii on vacation during the playoffs. Shaun Livingston started for an injured Curry in game four (yeah, I did have to look it up) and went nuts - but our rooting interest was hating James Harden. I’d ask them either ,“James Harden?” Or, “Houston Rockets?” And my sweet little children would say “TRASH!” It was the little kid voice, but also, the simplicity of the message. We were extremely anti-Rockets. Sports team, go!

So here we are again. Time to take out the trash.

Will Kerr open up the rotation?

The Warriors’ starters were blown out early, which opened the door for the deep bench to get some playoff experience. Surprisingly, the reserves fared better than the starters. Seldom-used players like Pat Spencer² (11 points in 13 minutes, 2 assists and one steal) and Kevin Knox (14 points, 4 rebounds, 1 block) looked more comfortable than the starters. Moses Moody found his groove again (25 points on 18 shots). All of these players made a case for minutes in this pivotal game six.

Obviously Plan A will still be Curry. He’s rescued this franchise from much more trepidatious spots than this before. Jimmy Butler and Draymond Green have their own magic to summon. And it’s safe to assume that Kerr and his coaching staff have cooked up some sort of foil to thwart the grabby hands and quick athletes that the Rockets employ. At first, it was Buddy Hield and Brandin Podziemski that were the pressure relief valve, but I wonder if Kerr saw something in those hard-nosed minutes that Spencer, Moody, and Knox thrived in. The Warriors have always been a finesse team with a meathead or two. The full answer to this Rockets team probably isn’t just a better version of the status quo.

Whatever happens tonight, the Warriors are well aware of the stakes. Sure, this isn’t officially an elimination game, so not truly a “must win,” but as LeBron has just reminded the league, Father Time remains undefeated. At some point, Curry and Green will play their final playoff game at home. There’s some very real pressure to win tonight to ensure that tonight is not that night.

The Rockets ran out to a huge lead to open the game. A 27-13 lead to open the game as a series of friendly bounces and quick, athletic defenders flummoxed the Warriors on both ends of the court. It was feeling hopeless before halftime - or at least it was looking like mandatory miracle(s) weather in Houston.

Dillon Brooks, the Villain, outscored every single Golden State starter. The Rockets shot over 55% from the field as a team, and they hit just north of 43% of their threes. That isn’t something that can happen again. Golden State knows very well what they are up against, but it will be interesting to see what coach Kerr thinks gives this roster the best chance tonight if Plan A doesn’t pan out immediately.

Prediction

Oh, this is a win. It has to be. With a big physical series coming up, and a Rockets opponent that just went nuts at home, the Warriors know that they’re all out of slack. It’s time to shove the Rockets off the precipice and move on.

Whatever happens, nights like this are why we watch. Legacies, grudges, and one more run with a core that’s given us more than we ever had a right to expect. It might get messy. It might get magical. But it’ll mean something — and that’s the whole point.

Music Friday

If you’re still with me, I really hope you’ll check out this week’s entry. Great lyrics, a sort of surf punk vibe, and featuring a plethora of talented musicians! This is Dead To Me, and I’m going with my kid to go see them tomorrow at Punk in the Park. Check it out, have a good day, and we will lock in around 6pm or so.

1. Actually, tonight will be the 906th game that Curry and Green have played together - including both regular season and playoffs. That’s a lot.

2. Pat Spencer used to play lacrosse, in case you didn’t know.