The Golden State Warriors may be entering the playoffs as the seventh-seed heading into their first-round matchup against the Houston Rockets, but there is no way anyone is going to be underestimating what they're capable of. After all, they still have Stephen Curry leading the way and he now has Jimmy Butler as his self-declared sidekick — the “Robin” to Curry's “Batman”.

And it looks like one of Butler's former teammates on the Miami Heat, Udonis Haslem, is more bullish than most on the Warriors. After all, Haslem has Curry as the number-one playoff riser and Butler as the number-five man on his list.

Included as well in Haslem's top five primetime playoff players are Anthony Edwards, Luka Doncic, and Kawhi Leonard. Doncic and Leonard have a long history of producing under the bright lights of the playoffs, while there is reason to be optimistic that Edwards can be better in the postseason this time around after being gassed by the time the Western Conference Finals came along.

Curry has now established himself as a premier postseason performer; no one would soon forget how the Warriors fan dominated the opposition en route to winning his fourth championship ring in 2022. He might be 37 years of age already, but he can still run around the court and bend the opposition past their breaking point, which is what he'll be trying to do against the Rockets.

Meanwhile, Butler has proven himself to be an accomplished playoff performer in his own right. He's lifted an undertalented Heat to great heights in the past, even making the NBA Finals as the eighth-seed back in 2023. Playoff Jimmy is a real thing, and the Rockets will be acquainted with him firsthand when the series begins on Sunday night.

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Brief preview of Warriors-Rockets series

Golden State Warriors forward Jimmy Butler III (10) drives past Houston Rockets forward Tari Eason (17) in the second quarter at the Chase Center.
Cary Edmondson-Imagn Images

The upcoming first-round series between the Warriors and the Rockets is one that can go in any direction; Golden State has experience and shooting on their side, while the Rockets can overwhelm teams with their historic rebounding rate, athleticism, and swarming defense. In the most recent matchup between the two teams, the Rockets made life hell for Stephen Curry, with Amen Thompson holding him down to just three points on 1-10 shooting from the field.

Getting major contributions from the team's supporting cast will be key to the series for the Warriors, as the Rockets are as well-equipped as any team in the NBA to make life difficult for them.