The Golden State Warriors are in familiar territory for all the wrong reasons in these NBA playoffs. The Warriors had the first round series against the Houston Rockets all locked up. Then they lost Game 5, and then Game 6. Now the Warriors are facing deja vu as they once held a 3-1 lead and now face elimination.
On Friday night, the Warriors lost 115-107 to the Rockets. Stephen Curry's 29 points (9-for-23 from the field) and Jimmy Butler's 27 points (7-for-17 on field goals) weren't enough to lead the Warriors to a win, thanks in part to a rough stretch of shooting in the game.
How could this happen again? Before LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavalier hoisted the franchise’s first NBA championship, no team had ever come back from down 3-1 in the NBA Finals. And now the Warriors are on the verge of it happening to them twice in the playoffs if they lose Game 7 in Houston.
If Steph Curry and Draymond Green can’t overcome a youthful Rockets team looking to put a stamp on their season and put the rest of the Western conference on notice, it will be the loss that mars their careers, which brought so many successes.
Steph Curry, Draymond Green face legacy-defining moment with pivotal Game 7 against the Houston Rockets
This game is significant for Curry and Green not just because it would keep their postseason alive after battling through the play-in tournament, but it will ultimately determine how people remember the duo.
They were the core of a 73-9 team that didn’t win a championship thanks to LeBron James and a 3-1 comeback not even filmmakers could have scripted. It happens once, whatever, somebody had to be the first.
If it happens again against a far more inferior team, it will be the one asterisks fans will talk about in regards to them two. They can’t let that happen again. Playoff experience is paramount. The Warriors are one of the most experienced teams in the field.
There’s no way they should lose to the Houston Rockets, who are making their first playoff appearance since 2020, also the last time they won a playoff series. That playoff team is vastly different than the one that’s currently facing a win-or-go-home scenario.
Maybe it's a little harsh to say their careers will be defined by this one game. Maybe it won't. But it will always be the one think everybody will bring up when talking about them. They could never win another championship and that won't matter. But losing two series in their career while being up 3-1 will carry significant weight.
Curry and Green don’t have many seasons left in the NBA. Winning a championship is hard as is and their window is narrower than ever. But a loss to the Rockets after being up 3-1 would be unacceptable. It would also leave a nasty stain on their careers because they aren’t supposed to be the team that lost while up 3-1 twice.