Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets DFS Start ‘Em Sit ‘Em April 20, 2025

Now that the veteran Golden State Warriors team has survived the play-in (they were 0-3 going into Tuesday’s win over Memphis), they may have a much better matchup with the No. 2 seed Rockets than they would have had with the Lakers or Nuggets. Despite a glitch at he end of the season that saw the Warriors fall into the play-in, Golden State has rolled since the Jimmy Butler trade.

He molded right in with Steph Curry and Draymond Green and compiled a 23-7 record. Houston is young and inexperienced in the playoffs, having not made the playoffs since 2019-20. The Warriors are favored in the series.

Warriors vs. Rockets Start ‘Em

Steph Curry

This is an easy one. You never sit Curry unless he is hurt and might not play. He does have a bad thumb on his shooting hand – that has a soft cast on it – but it has not slowed him in the past two games. The extra rest from winning the first play-in game should help him by Sunday. He had 37 points and led the team with eight rebounds in the win over Memphis. He did have a moment when his thumb was caught in someone’s jersey, but it didn’t slow him down much.

Jimmy Butler III

“Playoff Jimmy” had 38 points in the win over Memphis. The best thing Butler has done for the Warriors is control the floor when Curry is on the bench. Golden State surged in both the first half and the second half while Curry was out. The Warriors have improved in every offensive category since Butler came on board. The Warriors were last in the league in free throws before Butler and first since the trade. Ironically, he missed six on Tuesday night. The win would have been pretty easy if he had made those. Of course, he took 18, so he knows how to get other teams in foul trouble.

Alperan Sengun

Houston‘s lone All-Star averaged 19.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game. The center is mean on the boards and plays tough defense in the paint. That is not good for a Warriors team that does not have a lot of size and routinely gets out-rebounded. Zach Edey had 17 rebounds for Memphis, 10 on defense.

Santi Adalma also had eight off the bench. So Sengun should be able to crush the boards and get a lot of easy layups. Butler’s defense will be even more important, and Sengun needs to make sure Butler doesn’t draw fouls from him. If he gets in foul trouble, the Rockets are in trouble.

Jalen Green

He led the Rockets with 21 points per game. He can be streaky, but he typically gives the Warriors fits. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard will have to spend a lot of time chasing Curry around, so that he may slow down his scoring. He has only averaged 12.6 points per game against the Warriors and has only made 25% of his three-pointers. However, he is one of the few solid veterans on this young team, so there will be plenty of shots for him.

Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets Sit ‘Em

Jonathan Kumenga

The 6-foot-7, 22-year-old was having a breakout season when he missed 31 games with a sprained ankle. During that time, the Warriors traded for Butler, and he took over the non-Curry minutes. The whole offense changed, and Kumenga has had a hard time fitting in. Part of the issue is that Kumenga and Butler are similar players, so they don’t complement each other well. Kumenga did not get off the bench in a key season-finale Sunday against the Clippers or Tuesday against Memphis. Coach Steve Kerr sat Kumenga for pretty much the whole playoffs two years ago.

Buddy Hield

He was brought on to fill the three-point void created when Klay Thompson left for Dallas. That has not been the case. He averaged 11.1 points per game on the season and quickly lost his go-to role. He can still get on a roll now and then, but with the 6th seed in the West on the line Sunday, Kerr picked Hield to make the tying shot, and he clanked a three-pointer. That has been the way it has gone by the Bay for Hield.

Dillon Brooks

He has averaged 12.4 points per game against the Warriors, but he has a playoff history with Golden State. He tends to try and rattle Curry as much as he can, and that usually leads to confrontations with Draymond Green. He scored 14 points per game this season, so if he can play that well, it will help. He is also a tough defender who could rattle Butler.

Fred VanVleet

He averaged 14.1 points per game, but averages only 8.8 points against Golden State and shoots only 22.4% from the floor. Add Butler into that, and it does not bode well for the point guard. He will also have to chase Curry, which will wear on him. On April 6, he had almost as many turnovers (two) as points (3) against the Warriors. He only shot 37.8 percent from the field overall for the season.

Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets Lock

Brandin Podziemski

The third-year guard will score 15 points per game and have at least five assists per game. He averaged just 11.7 per game this season, but has averaged 17.6 in his last 10 games, and he hits 40% of his shots from the field against Houston.

Golden State Warriors vs. Houston Rockets Fade

Ime Udoka

The Rockets’ Head Coach has taught his young team the importance of defense, and that sparked them to the No. 2 seed. The problem: Curry is Udoka’s worst nightmare. The last time he faced Curry in the playoffs was the 2022 Finals when he was coaching the Boston Celtics. He put in drop coverage to try and slow Curry on pick-and-rolls, and it totally backfired. Curry took over and the Warriors won in six games for Curry’s fourth title.