Westbrook, Durant obliterating Warriors' 'Death Lineup'
The Golden State Warriors carried themselves with an air of invincibility because they always held the trump card.
No matter how hairy things got, the Warriors could always turn to the "Death Lineup" that obliterated opponents by 43.7 points per 100 possessions in the regular season. Nobody had an answer for Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes, Andre Iguodala, and Draymond Green.
But against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the defending champions' once-trusty unit has fallen flat on its face. The Death Lineup has been outscored by 41 points in 19 minutes over the last two games as they've finally met their match in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.
Durant has been a revelation on defense. He's moved up a position to play power forward and in doing so has completely neutralized Golden State's deadliest play: the Green-Curry pick-and-roll.
Boasting a rare combination of length and quickness, Durant has been able to bottle up both sides of the matchup by switching or trapping.
When faced with Curry, Durant has been able to challenge the jumper while also recording a handful of blocks on his drive. Durant has also made life miserable for the two-time MVP by swiping a few steals when trapping.
Curry has shot just 1-of-8 when guarded by Durant while committing four turnovers, according to ESPN Stats and Info.
As for Green, his results against Durant have been equally disastrous. He hasn't made a single basket against Durant in the series, going 0-of-11 from the field with five turnovers.
On the other end, Westbrook has thrived in the chaos that Golden State so ardently seek to create. Normally, it's the Warriors who capitalize on broken plays, but in this case, it's been Westbrook who's dominated.
The Warriors can get up and down the floor as quickly as any team, but they're struggling to keep pace with Westbrook. As soon as the Thunder recover possession, Westbrook sprints down the court to attack a recovering defense. He's made the Warriors pay through the nose for the 35 turnovers they've committed in the last two games.
Westbrook's hyper-aggression has also carried over in the halfcourt game. Thompson managed to lock down Westbrook in Games 1 and 2, but Westbrook has since elevated his game. Thompson found himself in early foul trouble trying to check Westbrook in Game 4, and that left the slender Curry to wall off a wrecking ball - which failed miserably.
The Warriors lack rim protection in their Death Lineup configuration, which makes it imperative they limit penetration. But no one has been able to hold down Westbrook, and he's repeatedly getting into the paint for easy scores, or forcing help and finding the open man.
The Thunder's supporting cast also deserves credit for finally stringing enough cohesiveness on defense to take advantage of their size and athleticism.
With Serge Ibaka, Andre Roberson, and Dion Waiters rounding out the unit around their two stars, the Thunder are bigger and faster at every position than what the Warriors offer with the Death Lineup. They're able to switch just about everything on defense, while also forcing turnovers and dominating the glass.
Golden State beat bigger teams in the Memphis Grizzlies and Cleveland Cavaliers en route to the title last season, but they weren't nearly as athletic, nor as potent offensively, as the Thunder. The Warriors aren't finding open shots, they're not scrambling the defense, and for once, their small-ball lineup is finally getting overrun by a bigger team.
But of course, none of it truly works without Durant and Westbrook playing like superstars. While Green and Curry have massively underperformed, the Thunder's duo have managed to elevate their games. That's why OKC sits in the driver's seat with a commanding 3-1 series lead.