How Warriors Play-in Win over Grizzlies Changes the 2025 NBA Playoff Picture

The Golden State Warriors survived a ferocious effort from the Memphis Grizzlies in Tuesday's 7-8 play-in game.

After falling down by 19 points in the first half, Memphis clawed all the way back to take the lead in the fourth. Then, Stephen Curry unleashed a three-point barrage reminiscent of his games for Team USA in Paris, and Golden State escaped 121-116.

Before the heroics from "Batman," as Jimmy Butler called him after the game, the Warriors' new star wing kept the team in the hunt. Butler finished with 38, while Curry had 37 of his own.

Now, as the Grizzlies await the winner of the 9-10 game between the Sacramento Kings and Dallas Mavericks, Golden State moves on as the 7 seed to face the Houston Rockets.

And the Warriors having that spot instead of Memphis could send ripples through the rest of the postseason.

Houston certainly earned its second-place finish in the loaded Western Conference, but there's a reason Golden State has opened as a relatively comfortable favorite to win this series.

Fred VanVleet, Dillon Brooks and Steven Adams certainly have some playoff scars (and in VanVleet's case, ultimate triumphs), but Curry and Draymond Green led a dynasty. Butler led two of the most unexpected Finals runs in recent memory for the Miami Heat.

Golden State relies on contributions from a handful of younger players, but it undoubtedly has the edge in experience. Curry, Butler and Green have combined for 15,450 playoff minutes. Alperen Şengün, Jalen Green and Amen Thompson have combined for, well, zero.

And that difference in experience level is going to be on vivid display in this series. Almost invariably, in the NBA, it takes a few years of failure before a team understands how to win in the postseason. Houston simply hasn't had those years yet.

Add to that Curry's ability to author late-game, jaw-dropping takeovers and the fact that we just saw Playoff Jimmy activated and it's really not that difficult to talk yourself into the Warriors winning this series.

LeBron James and Stephen Curry have been the faces of the NBA for over a decade. For LeBron, it's been nearly two. And throughout the years, we've seen a number of grueling matchups, especially in the playoffs, between these two superstars.

With Golden State winning on Tuesday, we're a lot likelier to get another one.

Beating Memphis put the Warriors in the Los Angeles Lakers' section of the playoff bracket. If they upset Houston and L.A. beats the Minnesota Timberwolves, Curry and LeBron will meet in the second round.

Had Golden State been forced into the eighth seed, an upset against the Oklahoma City Thunder wouldn't have been impossible, but it sure would've been less likely. Both teams would've had to win two rounds instead of one to meet each other, too.

Yep, we got the smoother path to a potential Warriors-Lakers series, and the league has to be giddy.

Earlier this month, these two teams matched up and generated one of the highest TV ratings of the regular season. Curry dropped 37 and LeBron had 33 of his own in the Warriors' win.

Though both are in or near the final chapters in their legendary careers, they're still as captivating as any stars in the league, and one more series between the two would be a blessing from the basketball gods.

Again, Golden State could beat OKC, but it would've been a pretty massive upset. Instead of facing them in the first round, they now get the completely untested Rockets.

If they prevail there, they face L.A. or the Minnesota Timberwolves, which should be preferable to facing the Denver Nuggets and Nikola Jokić (who's dominated the Warriors in recent years) or the red-hot Los Angeles Clippers.

And if they get past the second round, even if the Warriors have to face OKC in the conference finals, that'd be after the Thunder had to get through L.A. or Denver. There's at least a chance they'll be softened up by then.

In other words, this is just a much better path to a potential Finals appearance for Curry, Butler, Green and Golden State.

And if they can get there, a fifth title that would tie Curry with Kobe Bryant, Magic Johnson would be just four wins away.

Yes, there are a lot of hypotheticals there. And the Warriors are still far from favorites to win it all, but we've seen Curry smash expectations on plenty of previous expectations. And beating Memphis already checked one box.

Whether it was the Warriors or any of the other possibilities for the eighth seed, the Thunder were going to be overwhelming series favorites, but there has to at least be a small sigh of relief after Tuesday's game.

Having to deal with Curry's game-changing shooting, Playoff Jimmy and the wealth of experience Golden State has in the first round would've been far more taxing than the Grizzlies, Kings or Mavericks.

And in the gauntlet that is the Western Conference playoffs, teams should relish every break and favorable matchup they get.