Steph Curry goes ice cold, clashes with Ime Udoka, and now I’m rethinking my Warriors to win the 2025 NBA Finals bet

Man, oh man. What happened to this Golden State Warriors team? I’ve been riding with the Warriors these last couple weeks like they were the 2016 version again. Steph Curry has been in full-blown Finals MVP mode. Jimmy Butler looked like the missing piece. They went into LeBron’s house and smacked the Lakers. They handled Jokic and the Nuggets like it was nothing.

I was so locked into this team I legit opened the BetMGM Sportsbook app and hovered over a Warriors to win the Finals futures bet. At the time, I was seeing (+1600 odds), which is a very solid bet to place right now. Like I almost pulled the trigger. Then last night happened, and the Dubs odds dropped to (+1800) to win the whole thing.

Tension Boils Over: Warriors Unravel as Steph Curry and Udoka Exchange Words

There was no Chef Curry in the kitchen Sunday night — just a cold stove, some trash talk, and Ime Udoka cooking up the defensive recipe to make Golden State miserable.

The Rockets walked into Chase Center and walked out with a 106-96 win over the Warriors, but the real story was the second quarter spice. After Fred VanVleet bricked two free throws right before the half, Draymond Green was his usual chaotic self — but it was Steph Curry who made the biggest noise, jawing with Rockets head coach Ime Udoka on the way to the locker room.

You know Steph Curry is frustrated if he’s going back and forth with an opposing coach.

Steph Curry and Ime Udoka exchange words…

Ime Udoka has words for Steph Curry 🤨 pic.twitter.com/N97nmBi32g

— HOOPS HIGHLIGHTS 🎥 (@_HoopsNation) April 7, 2025

Udoka brushed it off postgame as “just some friendly banter,” but the Rockets head coach has never exactly been a quiet bystander. This is the same guy who went toe-to-toe with LeBron last year and got tossed for it. You really think he’s going to let Steph Curry skate by without clapping back? Please.

If the chirping was supposed to motivate, it didn’t.

Steph Curry was suffocated all night, finishing 1-for-10 from the floor with just three points — all of which came in the first half. That’s it. No second-half buckets. No vintage three-point flurries. Just a superstar swallowed up by Houston’s defense and maybe his own frustration.

What Does This Mean for the West?

The West is like Call of Duty Warzone right now. The loss now has the Warriors spiraling a bit, tied in a four-way logjam with the Clippers, Wolves, and Grizzlies for the West’s No. 5 seed. And with Houston sitting comfortably in second? A first-round playoff clash between these two suddenly feels a whole lot spicier.

Meanwhile, the Rockets are somehow sitting at No. 2 in the conference and could end up meeting Golden State in Round 1. Based on what I just watched, that matchup would get ugly real quick.

I’ve been burned before. As a Sixers fan, I know pain, real pain. But watching this Warriors run? It felt different. Since adding Jimmy, the Warriors are 21-4. And I started convincing myself that Steph had one more deep playoff run in him. That Jimmy could be the glue. That this team had the grit to survive the West. They still may, but they just looked like they couldn’t hang with this Rockets team.

Only time will tell, but we are setup for a very intriguing NBA Playoffs this year.

Join The Chase