1 Factor the Rockets should fear the most in matchup with Warriors

The Houston Rockets are finally back in the NBA playoffs.

For hoops heads, this is the best time of the year. The stakes are high. The games finally matter. Every possession feels like a life-or-death scenario.

Some players rise to the occasion. Others seem to shrink under the bright lights. The Rockets will be eager to find out which of their young players are "playoff risers".

The playoff riser. A near-mythological creature in the NBA. Some will argue that the concept is fallacious. They'll say that noisy data accounts for changes in a player's performance. It's possible, but it certainly does feel like some players rise to the occasion.

Perhaps none have personified the playoff riser as perfectly as Jimmy Butler. When the stakes are high, he delivers.

It just so happens the Rockets have to deal with him in the first round.

Rockets face playoff legend in opening round

Let's look at Butler in the 2021-22 NBA season.

He had a strong regular season. Butler averaged 21.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game with a Box Plus/Minus (BPM) of 6.3. That's a great year, but it didn't have Butler in "Best in the World" conversations.

The postseason was a different story.

Butler averaged 27.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.6 assists per game with an outrageous BPM of 11.8. He morphed into one of the NBA's best players.

He has a habit of doing that.

The next season was the same story. Butler's numbers didn't rise as egregiously, but they were substantially better. More significantly, Butler dragged an overachieving Heat team from the play-in tournament to the NBA Finals.

Granted, that was then, and this is now. Butler is 35. That said, he was out of his athletic prime in 2021-22. Butler's game was never contingent on outlier athleticism. It's skilled shotmaking and relentless competitiveness that drive him to success. Now, he's bringing those qualities to a team featuring Steph Curry.

Just how scared should the Rockets be?

Rockets need to contain Butler

Fairly?

Look - the Rockets need to test their mettle. Ultimately, if they can't beat these Warriors, they weren't going to win an NBA title this year anyway. The team should see this as an opportunity to see how good they are.

Still, playoff Butler alongside Steph Curry will make for a formidable challenge. The Rockets are the second seed, but they'll feel like underdogs heading into this series. Butler and his propensity for rising to the occasion are one of the major reasons.

To beat him, the Rockets will need to find their own playoff riser.