For once, the Warriors exhaled. No frantic flights. No back-to-backs. No prepping on the plane. Just four full days to breathe, stretch, and finally sleep.

After clawing their way through one of the NBA’s most unforgiving schedules, Golden State has something they haven’t had in months: time and rest. And for a team that lives in the playoff trenches, that pause might be more valuable than any play-in win. Their season didn’t just need a breather. It needed a lifeline.

“You realize we’ve been going for… six, seven months and the last two of it were really intense,” Stephen Curry said after Saturday’s practice. “So it was nice to just take a good pause.”

The lead-up to this moment? Brutal. Golden State wrapped the regular season with four games in six days—this after a 14-day road trip through a bunch of cities. Mix in a desperate scramble to escape the play-in and you’ve got a veteran squad that looked, at times, like they were running on fumes.

Head coach Steve Kerr didn’t sugarcoat it: “We desperately needed it…I’ve never seen a schedule like what we’ve faced, particularly with the stakes. Every game was meaningful. The two-week road trip followed by a back-to-back-to-back.”

Curry echoed that sentiment, but with a nuance that only a championship-caliber player would offer: “Rest is one thing, but not all rest is created equal… You have to be intentional about how you use the days. That doesn’t mean you’re not doing nothing. You’re priming yourself—weight room, mentally, skill-wise, getting your work in.”

Golden State is older. Wiser. But the hunger hasn’t dulled and Jimmy Butler keeps showing that in every game. GSW holds a 16-4 record in games where Butler plays. It was the jolt they needed—a gritty, defensive anchor who gets to the line, settles the tempo, and reminds everyone what playoff basketball feels like. His performance in GSW’s last play-in match is a case point where he dropped 38 points against Memphis.

Butler has not only taken pressure off Curry, he’s elevated everyone’s floor. Draymond Green can focus more on orchestrating and less on scoring. And young players like Jonathan Kuminga? They may not be seeing as much time, but the mentorship matters. Draymond said it best: “[Kuminga] will be meaningful for us in that series. I have zero doubt about that.”

And that’s the key. Golden State isn’t just trying to survive another postseason—it’s trying to extend a dynasty. However, to do that, they’ll have to go through a city that knows their story all too well. A city that’s changed faces, but not the chip on its shoulder. That’s where this all leads.

Playoff PTSD for the Houston Rockets: Will the Warriors wipe the floor again?

Four times. That’s how many times Houston has faced Golden State in the playoffs since 2015. Four times they’ve walked away empty. But this isn’t that Houston. And this definitely isn’t that Golden State. These Rockets are built differently—grittier, nastier, and coached by a defensive mind in Ime Udoka who has shaped them into one of the most physical units in the league. They led the NBA in offensive rebounding. They’re second in defensive rating. They turn every game into a bar fight. And they’re proud of it.

“This ain’t that team,” Fred VanVleet said, cutting off the past like dead weight.

And yet… the Warriors loom. The ghosts of playoff eliminations past don’t wear red jerseys—they wear black and gold. In fact. Houston may have new names, but the blueprint is eerily familiar. Ime Udoka’s system thrives on creating chaos, and against a team like Golden State, that can either blow games wide open—or backfire fast. But Curry has danced in the mud before. And now, he’s got Butler beside him to shoulder the weight. That gives Kerr more flexibility to work the chessboard. The Rockets may not remember the pain. But the Warriors remember how to inflict it.

Golden State will look to exploit the one thing Houston hasn’t proven: playoff poise. Yes, the Rockets are loaded with talent—Jalen Green’s flash, Dillon Brooks’ fire, Sengun’s footwork—but none of it has faced a seven-game war against a core that’s been through every possible permutation of postseason hell.

But Udoka’s game plan is sharp—blitz Curry, close out hard, flood the paint. But Steph has spent his entire career learning how to solve chaos. He thrives when teams over-help. He punishes doubles. And this time, he’s not doing it alone.

And don’t forget the drama that ensues when Draymond and Dillon Brooks are against each other on the court (or off). Fireworks are expected—but this isn’t their first rodeo. Who could forget the infamous 2023 dust-up when Brooks mocked Draymond’s podcast right after Memphis stole a regular-season win? Or the way Draymond clapped back in the playoffs with a signature defensive stand and vintage trash talk?

These two have been circling each other for years now. It’s not just beef—it’s baked-in, personal, and playoff-fueled. The physicality is guaranteed. The jawing is inevitable. And if either one gets ejected, no one will be surprised. But the real tension? It’s that neither man can afford to blink first—not when their teams are counting on them to set the tone.

Kuminga could definitely be the wild card. He cooked Houston in the regular season and has the athleticism to disrupt the Rockets’ rhythm. But will Kerr trust him when things tighten? That’s the question Dub Nation keeps asking. And the answer may tilt a game.

Because this series? It won’t be pretty. It’s going to be bruising, tactical, and emotional. And for the Warriors, it could be the start of one last, meaningful chapter—or the first page of the epilogue.

And maybe that’s why this pause mattered so much. Not just for tired legs or tactical film. But for clarity. For breathing room. For remembering how to write the story before letting someone else steal the ending. The Warriors didn’t just buy themselves time—they bought a chance. And that might be all they need.

Game 1 might not crown anyone. But it will show us who’s still holding the sword.