Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 5 vs. Rockets

2. …And playing it worse

The pre-Kevin Durant Warriors dominated any and every team in the league when playing their style, but struggled against opponents who were built to play slow and able to impose their pace. In Durant, Golden State added a guy who played and thrived in isolation his entire career, and is better than just about any player ever at creating efficient looks against set defense.

He was added expressly for a series like this. Yet right now, he seems to be doing more harm than good to the Warriors’ offense.

In Game 5, Durant went 8-of-22 from the field. He got to the line 10 times and finished with a game-high 29 points as a result, but he also finished with zero assists. He’s only had 10 of them this series, and just one of those has come in Houston.

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Durant’s incandescence in Game 1 masked this problem. He had 37 points on 27 shots, and the Rockets were forced to commit extra defenders. Though Durant finished with just one dime, he had several hockey assists as the Warriors were able to get their typical ball movement despite an atypical initiation point.

It appeared that the Warriors were better than the Rockets at their own game, and many called the series early. In retrospect, this was all predicated on Durant’s hot shooting. As he’s struggled from the field for two straight games (he was just 9-of-24 in Game 4), Houston has gotten away with single coverage.

For reasons that are unclear, Kerr has not run anything to make these isos more favorable. There has been no hunting of Harden in the pick-and-roll like Houston does Curry, nor any use of Curry as a screener to cause confusion.

This could finally change in Game 6. Resigned to the notion that Houston has won the battle of styles, perhaps Kerr will adjust his offense to thrive in that context.

Or maybe Durant will catch fire and make none of it matter. A push from his coach would be nice, though.