It's been a big and physical start to the 2025 NBA Playoffs, but things are about to get even more frantic for the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets after Game 3 of their first-round series on Saturday night.
The Warriors have been fortunate that there's been two days between Games 1 and Games 2, and particularly now between Games 2 and Game 3 given Jimmy Butler is doing his best to recover from a deep glute contusion that has the 6x All-Star questionable for Saturday's game at Chase Center.
Those extra 24 hours could be the difference between whether Butler plays or not, and therefore whether Golden State can emerge triumphant in Game 3. They won't be afforded such a luxury over the remainder of the series, with the two teams set to meet every other day from this point forward.
A win in Game 3 becomes even more important for the Warriors
Not only will the two days off help Butler's chances of appearing in Game 3, but also fellow veteran Gary Payton II who is questionable with a shoulder strain. It will also give Brandin Podziemski a chance to feel more like himself, having played just 14 minutes and failing to have an impact in Game 2 due to food poisioning.
Podziemski has since told Sam Gordon of The San Fransisco Chronicle that he ate on Thursday for the first time in 72 hours, with the second-year guard now off the injury report for Saturday's Game 3.
Playing every other day from here on will give far less recovery time for Butler and Payton if their injuries linger or are re-aggravated, and in general should aid the younger and fresher Rockets who didn't have to go through the Play-In tournament nor play with the same intensity over the final 20 games of the regular season.
Perhaps there's a slight chance it actually helps the battle-tested Warriors, but either way Saturday's game is an incredibly important one for the state of the series.
The Los Angeles Lakers lost their Game 3 against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday, now finding themselves down 2-1 with a Game 4 still to come at Target Center. The Lakers squandered a 38-point, 10-rebound performance from LeBron James in a 116-104 defeat, with the 40-year-old now needing to back up less than 48 hours later for Game 4 -- advantage Timberwolves given their spearheaded by a 23-year-old Anthony Edwards.
The Warriors have the benefit of having Games 3 and 4 at home, but led by a 37-year-old Stephen Curry -- and 35-year-olds in Butler and Draymond Green -- these two games are important in ensuring the series doesn't extend to six or seven games where the Rockets -- led by 22-year-old Alperun Sengun and 23-year-old Jalen Green -- could have the advantage of short turnarounds.