Times have changed in the NBA. That is a fact Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr is well aware of. With the first round of the playoffs underway, Kerr took the opportunity to compare this team with Jimmy Butler and Stephen Curry to the teams led by the Splash Brothers.

Kerr compared the style of play of the two teams.

“The way we play is vastly different,” Kerr said via ESPN. “We don't have to generate as much off-ball movement now, and it's an incredible luxury because playoff defenses are so locked in and we've had plenty of series like Oklahoma City in '16, the Rockets with all their switching in '17 and '18 where teams have taken away a lot of our off-ball stuff. But with Jimmy, you don't need off-ball stuff.

“You can just get him the ball, get spaced and when you have to have a bucket, everyone's tired and the game's on the line, Jimmy is, to me, as good an option as anybody in the entire league. I'm talking LeBron [James], Luka [Doncic], Giannis [Antetokounmpo], I don't care, you name them, [Nikola] Jokic, the best players in the world. Jimmy is in that category and the fact that we can throw it to him without having to run eight different screens off ball for Steph or Klay [Thompson], it's given us a completely different dimension.”

The Warriors are looking to pick up one last title, even if their way of going about it is different.

What made the difference for the Warriors in Game 3?

Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) reacts after making a three point basket against the Houston Rockets during the fourth quarter of game three of first round for the 2024 NBA Playoffs at Chase Center.
Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Related Golden State Warriors NewsArticle continues below
Former Miami Heat player Dwyane Wade talks to Miami Heat forward Jimmy Butler (22) after the game against the New York Knicks at Miami-Dade Arena.
Jimmy Butler’s agent blasts Dwyane Wade’s criticism of Warriors star
Dwyane Wade looks on from the media bench during the first half between Canada and Greece during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.
Dwyane Wade puts Jimmy Butler on blast for Timberwolves series

The Golden State Warriors came out on top against the Rockets in Game Three. Stopping Jalen Green made the difference.

“We just let Jalen get going a little bit, and he got free to space,” Curry said via NBC Sports. “There’s no reason he should get up 18 threes. We gotta figure out a way to control where he is on the floor. Those are all momentum threes that kind of kept the separation. … We let him get loose.”

Draymond Green weighed in on the effort to limit Green.

“We just played with more force,” Draymond said. “He kind of roamed free in Houston the other day. So we just made sure to play with more force. Not just with Jalen, though, with everybody. Just made sure they felt us a little more on the defensive end.”

The Warriors will aim to replicate this strategy in Game Four.