The Rockets didnt have an answer for Kevin Durant in the opening games of the Western Conference finals. After leading the way for the Warriors with 37 points in Game 1, the nine-time All-Star scored 38 points in Game 2, giving him a total of 75 points through two games of Gunner Olszewski Jersey the series.The next highest scorer for the Warriors in those games was Klay Thompson with 36 points, followed by Stephen Curry with 34. Outside of them, nobody on Golden States roster combined to score more than 16 points in Games 1 and 2.Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had nothing but praise for Durant after his Game 1 performance, saying he is the . Durants teammates then credited him with being the , when Houston tied the series at 1-1 by blowing Golden State out by 22 points.Even so, how Durant scored all of those points was decidedly un-Warriors-like. Not only would his37.5 points per game be the most he has averaged in a series since moving to Oakland surpa sing the 2017 NBA Finals, when he outplayed LeBron James to win Finals Jalen Mills Jersey MVP Durants usage ratehas never been higher, not even when the Warriors were without Curry in their first round matchup with the Spurs in these playoffs.Its resulted in Durant taking 24.5 shots per game, up from 20.7in the first two rounds and 18.0 in the regular season.SituationUsage RatePPGFGMFGAFG%2016-17 Regular Season27.6%25.18.916.553.92017 Conference Quarterfinals28.0%21.08.013.559.32017 Conference Semifinals28.5%24.58.817.550.32017 Conference Finals27.3%28.09.515.860.12017 NBA Finals28.5%35.212.021.655.62017-18 Regular Season29.9%26.49.318.051.72018 Conference Quarterfinals33.5%28.29.620.048.02018 Conference Semifinals28.9%27.810.821.450.52018 Conference Finals37.9%37.513.524.555.1While the Rockets are much better equipped to defend Durant, hes still generating a lot of his scoring against mismatches. With the amount the Rockets switch on defense the Warriors didnt even in the regular season Durant has already taken at least .James Harden and Trevor Ariza have been on the receiving end of most of those shot attempts, but PJ Tucker, Clint Capela and Chris Paul have each found themselves on an island with Durant on a number of occasions. Durants previous career-high in usage came in the 2016 playoffs, when he used of the Thunders plays during his time on the floor against a Mavericks team that didnt have the size to match up with him.Three of those defenders have something Durant can easily exploit in isolation. The Warriors are wise to attack Harden, the most limited defender of the group, at every opportunity po sible to prevent him from conserving his energy for offense. Paul is a much better all-around defender than Harden, though being a foot shorter makes it almost impo sible for him to effectively contest Durants jump shot. Capela has the opposite problem, being long enough to get a hand in Durants face but New England Patriots Jersey notquick enough to keep Durant in front of him off the dribble.Its why the Warriors have been comfortable clearing the floor for Durant whenever one of them switches onto him, giving the four-time scoring champion the space he needs to create a shot for himself in isolation.Of greater Justin Bethel Jersey concern for the Rockets is everyone else on the court. Knowing theres nothing that can be done to stop Durant, theyve shifted their focus not letting Curry and Thompson get open looks by helping le s than they normally would against a dominant isolation scorer.It comes at a cost 37.5 efficient points per game but Durant hasnt created many scoring opportunities for his teammates, having handed out only in two games.Watch Durants post-up against Paul from Game 2, and youll notice Ariza and Harden face-guarding Curry and Thompson, not honed in on theobvious mismatch several feet away from the basket:That wasnt an isolated incident, either. Just look at where Gerald Green is on this po se sion from Game 1:And how locked in Tucker and Capela are compared to Paul and Ariza, defending the two weakest shooters in the Hamptons Five lineup, here:It didnt end up mattering in Game 1, when the Warriors got 37 points out of Durant and 46 points out of Thompson and Curry, but the Rockets suffered far le sdefensive breakdowns in Game 2,so much so that it took the Warriors out of their normal free-flowing offense.In addition to Durant's pa sing numbers being low, the Warriors are averaging as a team against the Rockets, down from in the regular season., Game 1 was the first time Nelson Agholor Jersey the Warriors won a gamein these playoffs while completing le s than 300 pa ses.If the Rockets can hold them to that number again, they might be able to make this series interesting, even if it means Durant continues to average close to 40 points per game. As crazy as letting one of the best scorers in NBA history cook sounds, it might just be crazy enough to work, as we saw in Game 2.