In the case of LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers, there will be no comfort from seeing how the NBA Play-In Tournament has shaken out. Their path through the Western Conference just received a notable bump in the road.

The Lakers surely had to feel some level of comfort in seeing the Denver Nuggets, Oklahoma City Thunder, and Los Angeles Clippers all end up on the other side of the bracket. The guarantee that Los Angeles would only need to go through one of those teams in the Western Conference Playoffs offered a much more simplified path to making their first NBA Finals appearance since 2020.

However, like a cockroach that just won’t go away, one familiar face has emerged from the ashes of what was once considered a campaign that was spiraling. The chances of seeing that face in the second round of the NBA Playoffs are certainly not slim.

Curry stands as a challenger to LeBron, yet again

The demise of the Golden State Warriors was greatly exaggerated. The masterful move at the NBA trade deadline to acquire Jimmy Butler completely revived the Warriors’ 2024-25 season.

The full trade details of the five-team deal that brought Butler to the Bay Area are convoluted. They important part to focus on is that all the Warriors needed to surrender was Andrew Wiggins, Kyle Anderson, Dennis Schroder, Lindy Waters III, and draft capital. That is certainly not a big price to pay to save a season.

Make no mistake about it, Butler definitely did just that upon arrival in Golden State. The Warriors had a 23-7 record with the six-time All-Star in the lineup since his acquisition.

Despite slipping back into the Play-In Tournament standings once the regular season concluded, the value of Butler once again emerged in the competition. The Warriors star poured in a game-high 38 points, and added seven rebounds, six assists, plus three steals to perfectly aid Curry in the 121-116 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. That was the first Play-In victory for the franchise.

With the Warriors locking up the seventh seed, that puts them on a potential collision course with the Lakers in the second round. Los Angeles certainly wanted to be on this side of the bracket, hoping for a date with the inexperienced Houston Rockets. However, if the thought process was that the Lakers could exploit the Rockets’ youth, so can the Warriors.

Suddenly, the potential matchup becomes one against a team that had both a top 10 offensive rating (seventh) and defensive rating (first) since the All-Star break.

The Lakers certainly do not have to be reminded that their only meeting against this version of the Warriors was a competitive 123-116 loss on Apr. 3. Austin Reaves described JJ Redick as a ‘motivational speaker’ during the watch party for the Warriors-Grizzlies game.

Was it due to the fact that this Warriors team presents the biggest potential obstacle before the Western Conference Finals for the Lakers? That is unclear. However, once the job of beating the Minnesota Timberwolves is done, Los Angeles better treat them as such.