The Golden State Warriors will enter Thursday's big matchup at Crypto. com Arena with a poor recent record against the Los Angeles Lakers.
While all three games earlier in the season were competitive, the Lakers came out on top on all three occasions which included two on the Warriors' home floor at Chase Center. In all three games, it felt as if superstar guard Stephen Curry had to battle against a much better equipped army on the other side.
Curry has already had 37 and 38-point outings against the Lakers this season, doing all he could to drag his team over the line against one of their biggest rivals. Yet even those scoring outputs weren't enough, leading to growing frustration among fans during that period over the lack of support for the 2x MVP.
The Warriors' new star duo are about to face their biggest test
In a huge game against the Memphis Grizzlies at FedExForum on Tuesday, a red-hot Curry had 11 threes and 45 points through the first three-quarters. Yet despite the 37-year-old's brilliance, the two teams entered the fourth tied at 103.
A previous version of Golden State may have wasted Curry's output and lost that game, but this iteration has Jimmy Butler who led all fourth-quarter scorers on Tuesday and ensured the visitors escaped with a 134-125 victory.
Now, the Curry and Butler pairing may face their biggest test when they head to Los Angeles and face arguably the most fearsome duo in the league -- LeBron James and Luka Doncic. It makes for a mouth-watering battle, and one that will tell us more about the credentials of both teams.
As the urgency levels rise for every team on the eve of the playoffs, the veteran stars play an even bigger factor in the results. We saw that on Tuesday as Curry went for 52, Butler had his highest scoring output in a Warrior jersey, Draymond Green had a triple-double, and Ja Morant had 36 points for the losing Grizzlies.
Thursday night's matchup may let us realize whether 'Playoff Jimmy' is about to gather steam. Can Butler be just as impactful as Curry, James and Doncic, or is the 6x All-Star a distant fourth when it comes to the current greatness of that quartet?
If Butler has a big game and helps Curry and the Warriors to another incredibly important road win, then it might be time to have a different conversation on just how far this team can go come the postseason.