The Golden State Warriors have been a defensive disaster throughout their first four games of the season, allowing 113.6 points against through the start of this new campaign. But among them is yet another candidate for Defensive Player of the Year — and no, it's not Draymond Green.

Kevin Durant is leading the league in defending shots in the restricted area this season, according to ESPN's Ben Alamar. His sheer length at the small forward spot allows him to get a major advantage against smaller opponents and a surprising one against bigger foes, resulting in ill-advised shots and occasionally in blocked shots.

“According to analysis by Second Spectrum, when guarded by Durant in the restricted area, opponents have a quantified Shooter Impact of -26% which means that opponents have an eFG% 26% points lower than an average player taking the same shots. Cousins is second at -23%.”

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Durant showed major improvement last season, averaging a career-high 1.6 blocks per game, building off of his previous best year defensively with the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Warriors have tapped even more into that well of potential, putting him in more situations where he can trail a driving player or weak-side-contest an incoming shot in the paint.

The lanky All-Star forward is nearly doubling his career-high average, blocking three shots per game thus far in the season, including a single-game career-high seven blocked shots against the New Orleans Pelicans (two with only one shoe on).

Durant's defensive prowess will once again prove of major importance to a team that relies on players' two-way flexibility to succeed, building off an already cemented reputation as one of the league's most versatile players.