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

1. Can the “beautiful game” return?

While a monstrous individual effort from Durant may be enough to save the season for Golden State, there is reason to believe it may not be coming — namely, the 2016 Western Conference Finals, a series I’ve referenced throughout this column over the past week.

After going up 3-1 as a member of the Oklahoma City Thunder, Durant shot 39.5 percent over the final three games, taking 27.5 shots and averaging just 3.3 assists to 2.7 turnovers. As things got tight, the game appeared to speed up for Durant, and his defenders were able to predict exactly what he was going to do.

That’s the worrisome part for the Warriors. The encouraging part is that they were the team that beat those Thunder, and they did so by getting back to their brand of basketball.

More from Hoops Habit

• 7 Players the Miami Heat might replace Herro with by the trade deadline
• Meet Cooper Flagg: The best American prospect since LeBron James
• Are the Miami Heat laying the groundwork for their next super team?
• Sophomore Jump: 5 second-year NBA players bound to breakout
• NBA Trades: The Lakers bolster their frontcourt in this deal with the Pacers

Remember, the same things were being written midway through that series as I have written here. Oklahoma City was winning the battle of styles, forcing the action to be played on their terms and executing far better under those conditions.

The solution presented back then, however, was different. Rather than beating the Thunder at their own game — an impossibility with Durant on the other side — the Warriors had to get back to being themselves.

That meant moving the ball and moving away from it. Valuing possession, but passing with purpose. Trusting each other offensively and communicating on defense. It started with Green, the team’s emotional leader and keystone to their stylistic identity. Once he got going, Curry and Thompson had an easier time on both ends, leading to the two combining for 30 3-pointers over the final two games.

Durant’s presence does, in a way, make this approach more difficult. That familiarity with isolation basketball that makes him so dangerous also makes him somewhat antithetical to the old Warriors identity. He’s more malleable than your average superstar, but he’s never become fully integrated into the team’s preferred style. Curry thrives with Durant off the court, and the team in general does not miss a beat.

Of course, while we saw the beautiful game save the Warriors against OKC, it did not work one round later. The Cleveland Cavaliers dictated pace and style for the last three games of the 2016 Finals, and Golden State was simply the worse team in that environment.

A hobbled Curry and Andre Iguodala did not help matters then, and will not make things easier now. That’s why the Warriors signed Durant. It is also why Daryl Morey made the moves he did last summer. These Rockets are built to beat this iteration of the Warriors.

Next: 2018 NBA Mock Draft - Doncic still No. 1 in post-lottery edition

Down 3-2, it might take Golden State finally achieving its full form — the beautiful game and Durant thriving simultaneously — to stop that from happening.