Golden State Warriors: 3 takeaways from Game 6 vs. Rockets

1. The good, the bad and the OKC

From Finals MVP one year to potential goat the next, Durant’s two postseason runs with the Warriors have covered the full gamut.

Despite the polar opposition of those two reactions, they are not hypocritical. As excellent as Durant was in the 2017 Finals, he has struggled against tougher competition and increased pressure this series. It is why fans were yelling things such as “You’re not in OKC!” and “Give the ball to Steph!” during the first half of Game 6, according to sources in the building.

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Durant is not a selfish player. When he shot hunts, it is really wins he is hunting, not stats. He has been the best player on his team throughout his life, and when things appear to be wobbly, he believes that he needs to put the team on his slim, towering shoulders.

This is where the “OKC” insults come from. Durant infamously stopped trusting his Thunder teammates late in Games 5, 6 and 7 of the 2016 conference finals, and the Warriors’ defense was able to key in. It was a habit he had been more or less encouraged to form throughout his career under P.J. Carlesimo, Scott Brooks and Billy Donovan.

Meanwhile, after one-on-one play got the Warriors only so far under Mark Jackson, Steve Kerr’s introduction of trusting the pass, moving off ball and beating the defense as a unit led the team to 67 wins and a championship. It is a style forever ingrained in Curry, Green and even Thompson, who is more “selfish” but also more integrated into Golden State’s system than Durant.

Last year, the Warriors did not face a defense that put Durant’s trust of his teammates to the test. Sharing the ball is easy when things are going well, as is scoring at will. He did both en route to the title. Through five games against Houston this year, he had reverted back to his OKC ways, shooting 22.8 times per game and averaging just 2.0 assists. He also treated defense (0.2 steals, 0.4 blocks) and rebounding (5.6 boards) as secondary priorities.

Though his criticism has been fair, it was also wrong in Game 6.

Durant came out clearly looking to get others involved in the first half. He was finding teammates with his signature skip passes, as well as hitting cutters early rather than waiting until the defense stymied his drive and recovered to others, as was the case in prior games. He got to the line 14 times, a symptom of him trading stagnant jumpers for well-timed attacks as both an on-ball slasher and off-ball cutter. He locked in on defense after the first (as did his teammates), and had two huge offensive rebounds.

Had Golden State not come out so cold nor Houston so hot, the crowd would have likely appreciated the changed approach. Even after the Rockets cooled and the Warriors ignited, it looked as if the team won in spite of Durant. The Old Guard of Curry, Thompson and Green were the three best players on the court by far.

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If Durant gets hot from the outside and mid-range in Game 7, it will be a huge boon to the Warriors chances. He’s capable of doing so no matter his mentality. His mentality, however, is what will most swing the game to or away from Golden State.