As the Golden State Warriors took a commanding 3-1 series lead over the Houston Rockets with a 109-106 victory in Game 4, the team looked to have gotten their rhythm back.
Jimmy Butler, having missed most of the last two games with a pelvic contusion, returned to the lineup, and, although he was evidently stiff and in pain throughout the night, played a major part offensively and grabbed the game-sealing rebound from the hands of behemoth Steven Adams.
Draymond Green, despite his five personal fouls, one technical foul, and one flagrant foul, came back into the game late after a prolonged absence in the second half, continuing his dominance of Rockets star Alperen Sengun.
Yet, one player, second-year guard Brandin Podziemski, showed up in a massive way for the Warriors in Game 4, showcasing his continued ascension into the status of a serious playoff threat for his team.
Podziemski's sophomore slump is officially over
Podziemski, 22, struggled at the beginning of this season following a stellar rookie campaign in the 2023-24 season.
While the team pushed for Podziemski to take the reigns of the starting shooting guard role, his decisiveness and shot-making were ultimately not where the team needed them to be, and those duties went, over time, to a combination of De'Anthony Melton, Buddy Hield and Dennis Schroder.
In the early days of the season, it seemed as though Podziemski's confidence took hit after hit, and Golden State suffered for its lack of a true secondary perimeter scoring threat.
However, following the Butler trade and Hield's continued shooting struggles, Podziemski was thrust back into the starting role, and, apart from a brief absence due to a back strain, has not looked back.
Over the final 14 games of the regular season, Podziemski was a major component in the Warriors' push for the playoffs, averaging 17.2 points, 5.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists on 31.9 minutes a night.
Yet, as Podziemski found his rhythm in the postseason, he was again stalled by a bad case of food poisoning that rendered him ineffective in Game 2 and limited him in Game 3 against the Rockets.
In Game 4 however, Podziemski exploded for 26 points, five rebounds and five assists, accompanied by a key block in the final minutes of the game that propelled the Warriors to a nail-biting win. On the night, Podziemski shot 6-for-11 from 3-point range, keeping the team afloat through their usual cold stretches.
Now, if Podziemski has truly emerged as Golden State's third scoring threat behind Butler and Stephen Curry, the Warriors have become a genuinely dangerous playoff team.
While it remains to be seen if and when Golden State will advance to the next round, this development is massive not only for this playoff run but also for Podziemski's confidence and career as a whole.