The Golden State Warriors put the finishing touch on the second half of their season on Tuesday night by beating the Memphis Grizzlies in the Western Conference play-in tournament. The win secures the seventh seed for the Warriors while the Grizzlies will play for their playoff lives in the final game of the play-in tournament.The Golden State Warriors’ record doesn’t tell the full story after they brought in Jimmy Butler from the Miami Heat at the trade deadline. Since acquiring Butler, who led the Warriors with 38 points in their game against the Grizzlies, the Warriors are 23-7. Over the course of a full season, that pace would have had them comfortably within the top six in the Western Conference.Jimmy Butler’s arrival served as a wake-up call for the Warriors since walking through the door. The six time All-Star has made life easier for both Steph Curry and Draymond Green on both ends of the floor, helping to fill the void left by Klay Thompson’s exit in the offseason.Counting their play-in win, the Warriors have won eight of their last 11 games despite heart-breaking losses to the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Clippers. While missing the top six spots in the Western Conference leaves a sour taste in their mouths, the Warriors were able to evade the Oklahoma City Thunder in the first round.Defining Statistic: Three-point volumeAny team that has Steph Curry and Buddy Hield on the same roster will be near the top in the league in three-point attempts, and the Warriors shoot the second-most number of threes this season behind only the Boston Celtics. However, the presence of Jimmy Butler, Draymond Green and Jonathan Kuminga presents lineup problems, especially when Kevon Looney plays.Steve Kerr has turned towards smaller lineups featuring Green at center to solve this issue, and it has worked down the stretch of the season. However, Butler has been shooting the ball better as of late, making two of his four three-point attempts against the Grizzlies. Curry presents such a threat from three-point range that all his teammates need to do is keep the defense honest to space the floor.The Golden State Warriors are the team that most closely emulates what the Boston Celtics have tried to do over the last few years. However, they shoot six less threes per game while shooting largely the same percentage from deep. While the Celtics have proven that their strategy works in the postseason, the Warriors could end up shooting themselves out of a game or two along the way.Playoff X-Factor: Draymond GreenA lot has been said about Jimmy Butler’s impact on the Golden State Warriors since he arrived in February. On the defensive end, though, the Warriors have been one of the stingier squads in the league for the second half of the season, largely thanks to Draymond Green. The former All-Star forward will be in consideration to win his second Defensive Player of the Year.In the playoffs, the Golden State Warriors will face off against an elite big man in every one of their series unless they run into the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. Alperen Sengun, Nikola Jokic, Chet Holmgren and others have had their way against the Warriors this season, and Kerr will look to Draymond Green to be a deterrent on the interior.Draymond Green and Steph Curry have formed one of the best two-man games the NBA has ever seen. If the Warriors want to make it back to the NBA Finals, though, Green’s main focus needs to be on shoring up the Golden State defense. Jimmy Butler gives Green a teammate capable of leading the perimeter defense, but Green will still quarterback the Warriors’ effort on that end of the floor.First round preview: How do the Golden State Warriors stack up against the Houston Rockets?As the season approached its conclusion, the Golden State Warriors were considered one of the dark horse teams to make a run in the Western Conference. However, there were concerns about them having to play the Thunder or Lakers in what would be a challenging first round series. However, the Warriors paved their way to a matchup against the Houston Rockets.Despite the Rockets having the higher seed and home court advantage in the series, the Golden State Warriors will be given a good chance to advance simply because Houston’s roster lacks a lot of playoff experience outside of Fred Vanvleet and Dillon Brooks. That being said, the Warriors might not play a better defense in the postseason.Amen Thompson, who will garner All-Defensive Team consideration, has been as good as anyone guarding Steph Curry this season, and the Rockets’ roster is full of capable defenders. Whichever team loses this series will see their season end sooner than expected, sending them into the offseason with more questions than answers.