The Warriors’ biggest strength isn’t their shooting. It’s their shot-blocking

The Golden State Warriors have been the first or second best defense in the league in two of the past three seasons. They are awesome on that end.

Yet they might be better than ever this year. They’re currently one-hundredth of a point behind the Celtics for first in points allowed per 100 possessions and have been steadily rising. Their 100.8 mark is their best since their first championship in 2014-15.

It’s tricky to figure that bold statement out for sure. How do you measure a team that knows it’s better than every team in the league? How do you grade players who are trying, but also saving a little bit for an expected fourth straight Finals run?

But these 2017-18 Warriors are devastating, and we saw it at full force on Monday. The Cleveland Cavaliers only managed 20 points in the paint while shooting 13-of-52 (25 percent) on two-pointers and just 8-of-32 in the restricted area. Over and over again, promising offensive possessions were snuffed out at the rim, often by Golden State’s two leading shot blockers.

Ever since Kevin Durant signed with the Warriors, he has emerged as a ruthless rim protector who is using his enormous wingspan to its fullest capacity. He is averaging 2.2 blocks per game, third-best in the league. On Monday, Durant extended his streak of multi-block games to nine.

Meanwhile, reigning Defensive Player of the Year Draymond Green averages 1.4 per game, 15th in the league. He’s still impossible to score on inside.

The thing that potentially makes the Warriors even better than years past is Jordan Bell. The second-round rookie is averaging another 1.1 blocks per game in 14 minutes per game. That’s 3.0 per 36 minutes, hilariously. THE BULLS GAVE THIS GUY AWAY FOR A COUPLE MILLION.

Bell’s still a rookie and best used in limited minutes, although he started Monday’s game since Zaza Pachulia is just returning from an injury. He showed us why with a terrific, energetic performance.

Still, in 79 minutes this season with Bell, Durant and Green, the Warriors have allowed just 82.7 points per 100 possessions and are demolishing teams.

The Warriors will always be associated with a high-scoring offense, but their defense is their backbone and their ability to protect the basket without a towering big man is the foundation of that backbone. Their Christmas Day victory against Cleveland -- a grind-it-out-win when the offense was sputtering without Stephen Curry — is the best evidence of that.

If the Cavaliers can’t score at the rim against this team, what chance does anyone else have?