I hate to give you a hard time M.G. Siegler, but the second half of this post reveals a fundamental lack of understanding for why replacing Harrison Barnes with Kevin Durant in the Warriors starting 5 (and more importantly, small-ball death lineup) would solve THE problem created by the Cavs defensive strategy in the finals.

The Warriors learned in the Western Conference Finals and the Finals that when teams put length on Curry at the top of the key, switch aggressively, and play off of less effective shooters that can’t create their own shot (Harrison Barnes) that their offense becomes much less efficient. KD solves all of those problems because suddenly teams must respect him. For instance, J.R. Smith couldn’t stay glued to Iguodala and would have to play help defense, which would allow Iguodala extra freedom to move in space and slash to the rim, breaking down the defense and creating more open 3-pointers.

Certainly there would be times and lineups where KD would not play with Curry, Klay and Draymond, but it there is no chance KD comes off the bench for long periods like Iguodala does.

For a much more detailed explanation of why, listen to Zach Lowe’s excellent podcast: http://espn.go.com/espnradio/play?id=16397058