Draymond Green Reacts to NBA Playoffs Round 1 & Previews Conference Semifinals

What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Draymond Green Show. On today's show, we'll dive into all 3 first round Game 7s. Incredible to get 7, 3 Game 7s in the first round. That don't happen. We'll also break down the consequences for the losers and we'll look ahead to some of the conference semifinal matchups. We will also talk about a few people who, speaking, shouldn't have much to say. But anyway, let's just get into the playoffs. Those people also don't have much playoff experience. So we'll talk about the playoffs and then we'll talk about those people. Now let's get into it. If you're trying to keep up with the NBA playoffs right now, you already know, games are kind of everywhere. One night it's on ESPN, then the next game you wanna watch is on ABC or NBC. And suddenly you're bouncing between apps trying not to miss tip-off. It can get overwhelming fast. That's why I've been liking Sling. It's one of the most flexible live TV streaming services out there and it really lets you watch the playoffs your way. If you're mostly trying to catch the ESPN games, their passes are a great option. You can grab a 1, 3, or 7-day pass depending on what you need, which is perfect if you're following a specific matchup or just tuning in for a big weekend. And the best part is there are no long-term contracts, so you're not locked into anything. You can watch on your terms however you want. Learn more at Sling.com. 76ers complete the 3-1 comeback versus the Celtics with a Game 7 win in Boston. And this one is interesting because number one, shout out to Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey and BJ Escomb. Boys was ballin'. Joel Embiid in particular, to have the season that he's had, pretty much playing in 20, 25% of the games and pretty much be counted out by everyone. And to come back and play a series like that, you know, down the stretch, those last 3 wins that they needed to pick up, he was excellent in all 3 of them. And everyone else fell in line. Tyrese Maxey continued to play great. BJ Edgecomb seemed to, you know, I spoke earlier in the series about when Joel comes back, how it really affects BJ Edgecomb. And it really affects him because all of a sudden he turns into the third or fourth option on the team. And as I always try to tell you all, adjusting from a second option to a fourth option or a third option to a, it drastically changes everything. It changes how many plays you get, how many shots you get, the spots you get the ball in. It changes everything. And so I've always felt like, and I spoke about this, how I feel like when Joel comes back, it affects BJ Edgcomb the most. A, he's a rookie. You know, you don't wanna make many mistakes as a rookie. But B, it just completely changes the amount of the game that he has the ball in his hands or that he's allowed to play make. And I thought I saw him start to figure that out, uh, those last couple games of the series. He was more aggressive, but he picked and chooses— he was picking and choosing his spots better. Um, defensively, he was locked in on the defensive end, which is something you can always do for the young guys out there. Mm-hmm. You know, when your role change on offensive end, you can always defend, you can always go get a rebound, you can always make winning plays. It doesn't have to be all about scoring. And I saw VJ Escomb start to take on that as the series went on. And then ironically, his offense came back. You know, he started getting more opportunities on offensive end. He was able to capitalize on even limited opportunities on the offensive end. So I thought that was pretty impressive to watch. But again, none of this happens without Joel Embiid dominance. Uh, Joel Embiid's dominance was on full display. And I'll tell you what else was on full display. What else was on full display was Al Horford not being in Boston. Al Horford not being in Boston. Al has guarded Joel great in any time that they faced up in regular season and playoffs. And there's a large part of their dominance over the Sixers up until this point. You know, you get in there now, you're starting Luka Garza in game 7 of the NBA playoffs. I didn't quite have that on my bingo cards. Ron Harper Jr., who's turned out to be a solid player starting. I think he just got signed off a two-way this year. Bailey Shireman, who's a rookie, who didn't start a ton of games this year, also starts. In turn, the team shoot, that lives and dies by the three, shot 27% from the three. And all three of those guys combined, for 0 points. Now, I was a bit surprised by this starting lineup because I think it's a Game 7. I think you gotta go all out. And so for me, my starters would've been Peyton Pritchard, Derrick White, Jalen Brown, Keita, the big fella, Niama— Namias Keita. Namias Keita. And I may have butchered his first name. If I did, I apologize, but it would have been him and Sam Hauser. A, all 5 of these guys have experience in these type of situations. You essentially threw 3 guys out there that had zero experience in these situations. Now granted, Ron Harper Jr. played 4 minutes. Luca Garza played 9 minutes. Bayless Sharman played 22 minutes. So they aborted the mission really fast, but I just don't think you want to set that tone in a Game 7. You want to come out with your heavy hitters. There's no tomorrow. In their case, it's literal. There is no tomorrow now. But I think you got to go with your heavy hitters. Obviously JT was a late scratch. Um, but I just don't know how you roll this star lineup out there. It just sets a tone for the entire game. And although the game ended up close and you know, they seemingly recover from. It's a one-possession game, it's a two-possession game. And those one, two, three-possession games, those possessions matter in the first quarter. You essentially just rode it out there. You, you didn't give these guys much of a chance to be successful. They're going into Game 7, all of a sudden they're starting. They haven't started many games in their career. Now they're starting a Game 7 versus— Draymond Green. A Philly team that throughout this series has gotten hot, has gotten more confident, and more importantly, has gotten healthy. And I'm just not sure that going this route, I mean, Keita ends up playing 33 minutes and has 17 points and 12 rebounds. Sam Hauser ends up doing what he does. He has 11 points, 4 for 7 from the field, 3 for 6 from, from the 3. He ends up doing what he does in 30 minutes. I just don't know that The guys that they rolled out there, the starting 5, is the starting 5 that you wanna roll out with in an important game like that. You know, I, I found something very interesting that Tyrese Maxey said that most people don't understand. He said, once we found out JT was out, we felt like the game was gonna be even harder. And I know what he means by that. Uh, number 1, you've prepared for 6 games to face Jason Tatum, and now you're going into this 1-game series, which is Game 7. Mm-hmm. With not a real understanding of who they're going to start, what they're going to do, um, what type of offense are they going to run now, what will be their scheme to try to make up for Jayson Tatum not being out there. And so what Tyrese Maxey is saying is like, we, we thought the game would be harder because, hey, we just haven't faced this particular team that we're about to face now. We haven't faced for 6 games in a row. We've been preparing this team now for 6 games in a row, and now all of a sudden that whole thing changes because Jayson Tatum is not out there. And I thought that was an interesting statement, but a very mature statement by Tyrese Maxey, because oftentimes what you see is guys go out and the team bombs when you're facing a team and an important guy go out, you lose the focus level. And so a very mature statement. Yeah. By Tyrese Maxey. Fortunately for Philly, they come out, they take care of business. Joel Embiid, 34 points, 12 rebounds, 6 assists. And I know a lot of people are saying like, yo, is this a legacy game for Joel Embiid? And I say no, hell no. Joel Embiid is a great player. Joel Embiid is an NBA MVP. Yeah. Joel Embiid is all of those things. Gold medalist, perennial All-Star, one of the best bigs in this league. Joel Embiid also for those same reasons is the reason that a game in the first round, I don't care if it's game 7 or game 2, game 2 or 7, doesn't matter because it's still a first round game. And we've seen Joel Embiid in the first round. In order for Joel Embiid to have legacy games, Joel Embiid has to get to the conference finals. And then Joel Embiid needs to help push that team to the NBA Finals. I don't think if you spoke to Joel Embiid, he would say, "Ah man, that game I had in round 1 this year versus Boston is a legacy game." Now you feel good about it. You feel great about it. You're moving on, right? All of those things. I know he is trolling on Instagram a little bit and all. Like, yeah, you feel great about it, but the job's not done. You know, if, if, if, if Philly goes out here and loses this series, no one's coming around this summer like, yeah, but Joel Embiid played a legacy, had a legacy game in that first round series. No one's talking about that. The talk is going to be Joel Embiid can't win again. Philly need to break the team up. Joel's gonna never be healthy, blah, blah. That's what the talk's gonna be. Yeah. So I hate when people try to set guys up like, "Oh man, this is a legacy game for Joel Embiid," only to set him up to try to tear him down in the weeks to come. I don't like stuff like that. There's no way a guy of Joel Embiid's stature can have a legacy game in round 1 and he still hasn't accomplished ultimately what he wants to accomplish. That is the conference finals, that is the NBA finals, and ultimately trying to win an NBA championship. You can't have a legacy game in the first round. When you're trying to accomplish those things, especially when you haven't done it before. Now, for guys who's done it before, you can have a legacy game in a situation like that because when people look at you, they know, I know he can do that on the biggest stage because I've seen him do that on the biggest stage. If you haven't done that on the biggest stage, then the only thing people are gonna say is the moment you lose, we knew he couldn't do it. We knew that game was fake because— Draymond Green. He couldn't do it on the big stage. So I would say let's stop with the setup, guys. Like, let's not try to build people up just to tear them down as everyone always does. Joel's incredible. Joel had a great series. It's great to see him out there healthy. Now here's the challenge. You need 12 more wins. Each wins get— each win gets tougher by the day. Each game gets more physical. As the series goes on, it gets more taxing. Joel, can he stay healthy, will be the ultimate question. You know, it seems like every game he's out there, he fall, he grabs something, and you're just like holding your breath. You're tense, right? Like, not again. And so what we ultimately need to see is Joel stay healthy. And if Joel can stay healthy, then what does this Philly team turn out to be? But— I'm sorry. They'll turn out to be nothing if Joel doesn't stay healthy. So I think that's what to watch for. We all know how talented Joel is, but ultimately, as these games get tougher, as the pace picks up more, as it gets more physical, will Joel's body end up being able to withstand the test that is the NBA playoffs on a run to a possible NBA Finals? Will his body ultimately be able to hold up? I'm crossing my fingers. I hope so. But that is the question. And like I said, stop the setup. Enough of the setups. It's sickening. Let's move on from those. Draymond Green went on his stream yesterday and called out Joel Embiid. Said flopping has ruined our league. Joel Embiid is one of the greatest players that has played basketball, but he flops and he knows it too. And I thought that was interesting because Joel definitely will embellish some calls a bit, you know, and Joel will play the get foul game a bit. And ultimately I think earlier in Joel's career is some of the reason why he struggled during the playoffs and his team struggled because normally they don't call any of that stuff in the playoffs. Now I've been watching the playoffs this year pretty intensely and I will say more things, and it's a game-to-game thing, right? Like you watch that, Toronto game yesterday, in which we'll talk about Toronto Cavs, and there wasn't much called at all. You watch some of these other games and there's ticky-tack fouls called. So I'm accustomed to the playoffs where you don't get much called at all. And if you're embellishing a foul, you know, you're trying to get a call, they usually don't call it. You fall down trying to get the call, it's a 5-on-4 break going the other way. That's usually how the playoffs are refereed. Yeah. She been a little different this year, I must say. However, as you all know, not a huge fan of calling the guy out once you lost. Um, I just don't love that because it comes off as excuse making, you know, like a lot of people are trying to say, oh man, Jalen Brown making an excuse when you in fact could be telling the dead honest truth. But because you lost, people are always going to say there's the excuse and they're going to make out what you're saying to be an excuse. So it ultimately doesn't hold weight. And I feel like you end up wasting one of your bullets because it doesn't hold weight anyway because you lost and people just charge it to, "Oh man, he only saying that because he lost. Would he have said that if he won?" Honestly, you don't know the answer because he didn't win. And so I'm always very skeptical about saying things like this after a loss just because people take it and they do what they want to do with the statement, make it out to be what they want it to be. And I'm not too fond of that. And so, you know, big question is what's next for this Boston team? Is it the end of the Draymond Green, Jayson Tatum era? And I would say no, I don't think it's the end of their era because look at the success they had this year with Jayson Tatum out most of the year and then Jayson Tatum coming back and them having success, ultimately getting ahead to a 3-1 lead. Obviously they squandered the lead away. But you got right where you want to be. Jason Tatum unfortunately not able to play in Game 7. And I think that's more of a bigger concern than them squandering away a 3-1 lead. You know, shit happens. Give Philly credit, they played well. But Jason Tatum's knee outta nowhere, it's hurting. Can't go in Game 7. Surprised. This is a guy who plays all the games, by the way. Obviously missed games this year due to the Achilles, but Jason Tatum plays and he plays through things. And so for him to sit out Game 7 was really worrisome to me because I'm like, man, it, it, it must be something more. And I know when you go into, you know, you're coming back from injury, you know, I saw even he mentioned, he said, yeah, well one of my legs is still way smaller than the other one. So I get to focus on that this summer if there's a silver lining, you know. Mm-hmm. But the bigger concern for me is, did Jayson Tatum do something more to that knee, right? Because you're definitely overcompensating coming back from an Achilles injury. That's just the natural course of, that's just the natural path forward, if you will. Like guys are going to overcompensate a bit. So I wonder, is the knee issue due to him overcompensating a bit and they finally just caught up with him? Like I said before, he obviously came back playing at a very, very high level. At a very high pace, right? And jump right into the fire. That worries me a bit. Uh, we'll have to see, you know, over the summer, something comes out from it. If, you know, he needs some corrections done to it, hopefully not, fingers crossed. Uh, but I do not think this is the end of their era. They still shown that they can compete. I do think they're gonna have to improve the team around them. Ultimately, the collapse that you saw, yes, Jason Tatum went out. Mm-hmm. But I think when you look at this Celtics roster, it's not the best roster and you can't expect it to be the best roster. Jrue Holiday's not there. Porzingis isn't there. Al Horford isn't there. When you start losing that amount of guys and you start filling the roster in with the Luka Garzas of the world, with the Ryan Harper Juniors of the world, Bayless Sharman's all getting playing time now, it changes everything. And so I think, you know, in keeping those guys, they're gonna have to take a deep look at their roster. How do they improve? Right? I know they were able to get under the tax to ultimately build back for this year. All right, so how do you improve the team now? That's what I think is most important. How do you build around Jayson and Jaylen? Because I, like I said, I don't think this is the end of their era. So how do you build out the rest of the team around those guys now that you've been out of the tax for a year? I think will be the biggest focus and biggest question mark around the Boston Celtics. Pistons beat the Magic 116-94 to advance to the second round and face the Cavs after being down 3-1 in the series. Now, my worry with this series is the same worry that I have with the next series, or last series, which is coming back from down 3-1, did you ultimately expend too much energy to get through those first round series having to fight back from 3-1 deficits? That is going to be the question for the Pistons. That is also a big question for who we just spoke about, the Philadelphia 76ers. I know when you come off emotional wins like that, hey, game 1 is usually tough. So if I'm the Cleveland Cavaliers, if I am the Philadelphia 76ers, obviously Cleveland had a 7-game series as well, but you're going on the road and you have a free swing. So let me tell you how this goes. Okay. Both of these teams have had one day to implement a playoff game plan. I'll just be straightforward with you. It won't be the most thorough playoff game plan. It's just impossible to think that guys can grasp that much in a day. It's not a realistic thing in the NBA to think that coaches have enough time to install everything that they need to install. It's too quick. And so that quick one-day turnaround, ultimately can work to the benefit of the away team because you're coming in with a free swing. Our game plan isn't all the way set the way it's gonna be throughout this series, but we got a free swing. We're supposed to lose this game. We're on one day rest coming off of a Game 7. We should lose. Let's go in, let's take a free swing. That has to be the mindset of the Cavs. That has to be the mindset of the Philadelphia 76ers. Yeah. That must be the mindset because you don't often get free swings in an NBA playoff series. In this Game 1, you having a completely free swing at the Detroit Pistons. You have a completely free swing at the New York Knicks if you're Philly. And I think you really gotta come in, try and take advantage of them, right? Like you really gotta do that. Because just like, also, also just like yourself, these teams have had one day to prepare. They could have prepared for two games, two, two different teams, you know, citing one or the other wins, but you still got one game to prepare. So I think this is both of those teams' chance to come in and steal a game one, which completely shifts the series wide away if they're able to do that. Now, Cade Cunningham and Tobias Harris put the Detroit Pistons on their backs. Cade Cunningham 32 and 12, Tobias Harris 30 and 9. I think, man, what, like Tobias on 61% shooting. Tobias stepped up in every way in that series from veteran leadership to making big buckets when they need to, to being the second scorer for those guys, to being that steady force throughout that entire series. Tobias stepped up. Coach JB Bickerstaff said after the game, nobody can say shit to me about Tobias Harris. Now what I warned Coach— Draymond Green. JB is. It's a first round series player and y'all the number one seed. Gonna need Jalen Duren to play better. But Tobias stepped up in Jalen Duren's absence, if you will. Now, you still gotta go do it again because again, y'all were down 3-1, make no mistake about it. But you're not supposed to be down 3-1 in the first round as the number one seed. So it's a hole that they dug themselves and they had to dig themselves out of it. Kudos to the Detroit Pistons that they dig, dig themselves out of it. However, we can't like just completely stamp guys after a round 1 series. Did what he's supposed to do. No question. Love how he was the steady force, but now you gotta go do it again because you're supposed to win the second round series. Right? So I need guys to go and prove this to me. Second round, conference finals, finals. When you're the number 1 seed, the expectations rise. Mm-hmm. This was last year. I roll with you on that one, JB. But you guys are the number one seed. I can't necessarily roll with that in the first round of playoffs and being the number one seed. Tip my hat to the guys though. They stepped up. But in order to win this next series, Jalen Dern is going to have to play better. They will not continue to get through the playoffs and their better players aren't playing good. Yeah. That's just not how this works. He's going to have to play better. Now, we'll get, we'll get into the keys of the next series later, but kudos to the Pistons. Way to battle back. Uh, in turn, they battle back. Orlando Magic, third consecutive first round playoff exit. And this morning, of course, Coach Jamal Mosley gets fired. And you have to ask yourself the question, what's next with this Orlando team? You got Jaylen Suggs making a boatload of money. A lot of people didn't feel like he played up to par. You know, at some point going into Game 7, he had missed 31 of his last 39 shots. What do you do with Jaylen Suggs? Is he back next year? Can you even trade that contract if you wanted to? What happens with that? A lot of people have thought over time that they needed to move on from either and choose between Franz or Paulo. And watching this playoff series before Franz went down, it didn't look like they needed to choose between those two guys. Now, things change when you lose. People see things differently. But I don't know that the answer is getting rid of one of those two guys with the way they played down the stretch. I think ultimately they're gonna have to try to find better offensive consistency, offensive flow. But man, did Paolo show y'all who he was. I've been raving about Paolo on this podcast since Paolo was at Duke. Did he come out and show y'all who the fuck he is? Yes, he did. He did all that he could to carry that team through. And he was frustrated as hell in that press conference afterwards. And I agree with him. Love how he didn't sugarcoat his answer. I wanna say we're good enough, but we've lost in the first round each of the last 3 seasons. So in saying that, no, the results will say we're not.— But I want to believe that we are. Results will say we aren't. I tip my hat to Paulo. Kudos to him. That's how you handle it. That's how you handle it. You don't run from it. Run straight to it. We lost. We fell short. Acknowledge it head on. Now what are you going to do about it this summer? So, you know, I found that very interesting. It'll be interesting to see if they feel that they need to move on from one of those two guys. I know they're very happy with the Desmond Bane trade. What happens with Jalen Suggs? You know, what's gonna happen with this roster? Wendell Carter had been on the block before, comes out and completely stifles Jalen Dern, who's an all-star center. Not sure you want to get off him at this point. Who's the next coach up? We've heard rumors about Tom Thibodeau. Is he the best fit for these guys? Right? I think, you know, one thing we know that Coach Tibbs is great. Right? And brings a winning culture to any team that he goes to. You know, is, is, is he the coach for this group? Every team he's gone to has gotten better. Is it, you know, for a team that needs and lacks offensive creativity? I love Coach Tibbs. I think he's gonna need to bring in an offensive mastermind with him and delegate some of that to make this roster fit together. Mm-hmm. If he was to take this Orlando job. So it'll be interesting to see what happens here. But, you know, overall, tip my hat to Cade Cunningham not folding under the pressure. Tip my hat to Tobias Harris. Also tip my cap to Isaiah Stewart. Isaiah Stewart was a dominant force in that series defensively. Yeah. Protecting the rim, bringing a level of physicality that you gotta bring to the game when you down 3-1, if you're gonna have a chance to come back. I tip my hat to Isaiah Stewart. Just getting it done by any means necessary. Being that force. You see the young fella struggling. It's all good, young fella. I got you. Watch this. Tip my hat to Isaiah Stewart. He was the X. Obviously Tobias did what Tobias needed to do. But the X factor in that series, for the Pistons was Isaiah Stewart. So I tipped my cap to him. Cavs beat the Raptors 114 to 102 to advance to the second round and face the Pistons. Jared Allen finally stepped up and had a huge game with 22 points, 19 rebounds, and 3 blocks. I guess he got over his fear of the lights being too bright. Started yelling to RJ Barrett in the final seconds, "Go home, go home." Like, I love to see guys on that type of time. And when you step up and have a game like that, Jared Allen, you can talk like that. You can show up like that. Problem is, Jared Allen, we've seen you can do it. We've seen the lights dim, dim for you a bit. Can you keep that going in the second round? Because guess what? Them lights get brighter and brighter as teams drop off. It's less teams now. It is 8 teams left in the, in the NBA playoffs, not 16. Can you do that again? Right? So I think that's, that's one of the keys for the Cavs. Can you get, You know, when, when James first got traded to the Cavaliers, it unlocked Jared Allen. And then he kind of went back down again. Saw James say yesterday, when he's playing with that type of force, we're a completely different team. And it's true. They're gonna need him or Evan Mobley to play at that level. Now, in an ideal world, you get both of those guys playing at that level. That hasn't quite been the case with this ball club, but getting those two, both of those guys playing at an extremely high level together, So you're gonna need the same Jared Allen. Obviously it won't be 22 and 19 every night, but the force he played with, how he was going to get them offensive rebounds, he just looked like he wanted the ball and he wanted it more than anyone else. So the excuse of the lights being too bright doesn't work anymore. You gotta use this and you gotta build on that. You've overcome that now unless you go back into that. But you gotta build on that. And it was great to see him come outta that shell, play a great game, and ultimately lead the Cleveland Cavaliers to the second round of the playoffs. 'Cause I think without his performance, there's no way that they get to the second round of the playoffs. So tip my hat to Jared Allen. Unfortunately, it's just the first round, big fella, and you're gonna have to do it again. Scottie Barnes had an incredible series averaging 24, 9 rebounds and 6 assists on 51% shooting. Mm-hmm. A lot of people was comparing his defense to mine, which I take as an honor. But I've told you all before, I think Scottie Barnes is an incredible defender. Just the way he cover up mistakes for people with his size and length and the way he can move. He can legitimately guard positions 1 through 5. And I think he showed that in this series. And it was beautiful to watch. Now I think the question's been answered. Can you build around Scottie Barnes? Now they really have to go take a look at this roster. Is Jakub Poertl best around Scottie Barnes? Or do you need to look at Scottie Barnes more like a Giannis, right? Do he need a shooting 5 as opposed to Jakub Poertl clogging the paint up? You know, so I think that's something to look at. Immanuel Quickley's on a large salary. You know, how does he fit with this team? How does he make this team better? You know, ultimately questions that you have to answer. I know my goal moving forward would be I need to put the best guys I can around Scottie Barnes, you know? And when I do that, we're gonna give ourselves chance to get back in contention. You know, Scottie Barnes did what he did this series, you know, missing Brandon Ingram, I think the last 3 games. And also B.I. had, you know, he didn't have his best series, right? And Scottie Barnes continued to play. And so, You know, with Brandon Ingram being ruled out, I think ultimately it definitely impacted the game because you, it's just another guy that you don't have to account for. And as I said before, I think Brandon Ingram is the one guy on their team that can just go get it for himself at any time in any way. And so I think it definitely impacted the outcome, but overall tip my cap to Scotty Barnes. Quick stat for you. Phoenix tourism is up 23%. 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The Essential Open Air Buds are the perfect addition to your everyday routine. Go to buyraycon.com/draymondopen to get 15% off. Thanks, Raycon, for sponsoring. Now we will move into these conference semifinals matchups, and that is the 76ers versus the Knicks. They split the season series 2-2. Knicks come in rested with their last game being Thursday. Ultimately, you always wonder, is it rest versus rust? And quite honestly, they play Thursday, playing again on Monday. That's not enough time to get rusty. It is enough time to get rested. And so I think that ultimately bodes well for the New York Knicks. Now, coming into this, into this series, You got to look at what matchups are going to be key in this series. Obviously you got Embiid versus KAT. They'll have to guard each other, um, unless you do something funky with the matchups, but more than likely they're going to have to guard each other. KAT is a tough matchup for Embiid because he's going to pull him out away from the rim. You got to be up on that trail 3. So with that being said, I'm not sure I'm putting Embiid on Cat. You may have to throw Paul George on him to start the game because him pulling Embiid out— like, you need Embiid healthy to have a chance to win this series. And him pulling Embiid out away from the basket, it just creates more torque on the body, creates more movement on his knees puts him in a vulnerable situation. I think, you know, having him chasing around Cat out on the open court. And so I don't know that that's a great matchup. When I look at that matchup, it's going to be very vital in this series. However, Cat can't guard Embiid either. Cannot guard him. Do you throw OG Anunoby on Embiid? But then who do you put Cat on if you do that, right? So it's going to be some interesting It's gonna be interesting to see which way Mike Brown and Nick Nurse go with these matchups. 'Cause I think it's going to play a heavy, heavy, heavy role in the outcome of this series. You also got Brunson versus Maxey. Now these guys won't guard each other. They'll probably, if I had to guess, they'll put Vijay Escomb No, they'll probably pick Kelly Oubre on Jaylen Brunson to start the series. And if I'm the New York Knicks, they'll probably have Mikal Bridges on Tyrese Maxey to start the series. So you're putting length on both of those guys. Tyrese Maxey's fast. Jaylen Brunson, putting the type of length that Kelly Oubre on him. Think Jaylen Brunson's gonna have to get to his spots and use his body to create separation. But you know, I, I, what, what I also do love about this matchup for the Sixers is you can throw Kelly Oubre at Jaylen Brunson. You can throw VJ Edgecomb at Jaylen Brunson. You can throw Paul, Paul George at times against, on Jaylen Brunson. You can throw Quentin Grimes on Jaylen Brunson. So they have multiple guys that they'll be able to throw at Jaylen Brunson, which over the course of a series, can wear a guy down, you're seeing a fresh set of legs, you know, each and every game. Deuce McBride, I'm sure, will get some of the Tyrese Maxey matchup, um, along with Mikal Bridges. However, I don't think they have as many guys that they can throw at Maxey as the Knicks have as they can throw at Brunson. Now, I'm not saying those guys are gonna lock Brunson up. These are just fresh bodies giving them a different look, different types of defenders, making him have to think. If I'm Mike Brown, I'm going into this series like, yo, we putting this guy on him. To start here. Then when this, when, when Cat's off the floor, we wanna guard this. Like, I'm looking at that matchup with Jalen Brunson through several different lenses, and I'm throwing a different look at him to make him have to adjust all series long to the different guys that's being thrown at him. I think ultimately that's gonna be their best way to try to contain Jalen Brunson. The Knicks are heavy favorites, uh, heading into this series. And ultimately you ask yourself the question, How can the 76ers make it a competitive series? Again, Joel Embiid has to be healthy. If he is healthy, I think playing through him, making KAT guard him is the way to go. Because what we do know is KAT will get in foul trouble. KAT will get dumb fouls. KAT will reach. KAT get fouls that you think at this point in his career would be behind him. And so I'm going at him to start the game because if I can have him playing on the, from the bench because he's in foul trouble, that ultimately puts the 76ers in a much better place. Now, when you look at the series, who's going to be the swing players for both of these teams in this series? OG Anunoby. I'm gonna have to swing this series. Dark horse for swing player in this series, Jordan Clarkson coming off the bench. I think will be huge, can, can be huge in this series. They're gonna need Jordan Clarkson off the bench with his scoring ability. They're gonna need some of that because I think at times Nick Nurse is gonna throw some funky things at KAT, some funky things at Draymond Green, and you're gonna need a spark like Jordan Clarkson, Clarkson to come in and change some of these games. So I think when I look at that side, um, swing player, when I look at the— Yeah. The 76ers, how well can Kelly Oubre play? Can he swing the series for the 76ers? Quinn Grimes off the bench, can he swing the series for the 76ers? I think ultimately those are important. Andre Drummond off the bench, can he swing the series for the 76ers? Can he come in and neutralize Mitchell Robinson? Right now, I think you're gonna see a heavy dose of Mitchell Robinson in this series to guard Joel Embiid. Don't be surprised if you see some two-big lineups, right? You need to see some two-big lineups. Put KAT at the 4, put Mitchell Robinson at the 5. How does a smaller, how does a smaller 76er team combat that, right? I think we need to see some of that. But ultimately, winning this series The Knicks should win this series and ultimately I will pick to win this series, but the 76ers are more than capable. I don't think they'll have enough ultimately to beat the Knicks. So I'm gonna take the Knicks in this series and I'm gonna take the Knicks in 6. Next up we got the Timberwolves versus the Spurs. T-Wolves went 2-1 against the Spurs in the season series. A lot of talk around who will guard Wemby on the Timberwolves. And ultimately, I think to start this series, I go with Jaden McDaniels. Now, they need Jaden McDaniels to guard perimeter guys. They're gonna need Jaden McDaniels to guard Fox. They're gonna need Jaden McDaniels to possibly guard Stephon Castle some. But to start the series off, I wanna throw something different. And guess what we got? We got a free swing, ladies and gentlemen. So I wanna throw something funky at, at the Spurs. So what am I doing? I'm putting Jaden McDaniels on him. If he decides he's gonna dribble the ball up full court, you pick him up full court every time. You turn him, you don't go reaching for the ball so that you get beat. You turn him, you force him to put the ball in front of your face. But don't go looking thinking, "Oh man, the ball way out there, I can reach and get it." And now he's downhill. I think that's tough. Another reason I wanna put Jaden McDaniels on Wimby is because that leaves Rudy Gobert at the rim. And if we could leave Rudy Gobert at the rim, ultimately I like that. Now I'm gonna tell you something that could be a little funky that I may try in this first game. I may put Rudy Gobert on Stephon Castle. Hey Rudy, you gonna guard him when he has the ball? At the free throw line and below it. We're gonna guard him how the San Antonio Spurs guarded LeBron James in the NBA Finals in 2007. We're going under every ball screen. You're not picking him up above the 3-point line. And if he come out and he have one game where he hit 5 threes, tap him on the ass and say, we'll see you tomorrow. You gotta beat us like that again. Because ultimately, as much as, as great as Wimby is, I'm telling you all, the key to that team is Stephon Castle. How can we stifle Stephon Castle? So Rudy, you're below the free throw line. They set a ball screen on you, you're gonna, you're getting underneath that rim. Now Stephon Castle has a very good mid-range jump shot. If he's gonna beat us from the middy with a contest over Rudy, Go for it. But what he's not gonna do is get downhill and get fouled, get to the free throw line and allow them to set that daunting defense every play. Not gonna allow him to do that. So I think you need to throw some funky matchups at them to start this series. Maybe you get a game or two like that. Then you're gonna have to play it straight up, right? You may throw Julius Randle at Wimby some. I don't necessarily love that matchup. Mm-hmm. But then you go to Rudy Gobert, right? Can Rudy guard Wemby? It's gonna be tough 'cause you're gonna be putting him in ball screens. They're gonna put Rudy in so many actions. And the thing about Wemby that makes him so tough is you can put him in pin downs, you can put him in the ball screen as a handler, you can put him in the ball screen as a screener. There's so many different things and spots on the court that you— and actions that you can put him into that I think ultimately will make it tough. Yeah. Uh, for Rudy to guard him. Now, that's his young fella, and how does that work out? I don't think Wimby gives a shit, and I think Wimby's gonna go at his neck. And so, I would love to see, uh, what happens with that on the defensive end. Now, obviously the biggest question is, will Ant-Man be able to play? As it is today, they're saying he was part of shootaround in a major way. Um, and it seems to be that he's trending towards playing. However, we've seen that in the last series where he plays, plays, then can't play and try to play and can't play. Will Ant be able to go through this series healthy enough to be a key factor in what Anthony Edwards would be? I think this is a good matchup for the Timberwolves. Um, but ultimately, can IU be a swing player? Yeah. In this series again for the Timberwolves? Can Terrence Shannon be a swing player in this series for the Timberwolves? Can Bones Hyland be a swing player for this series in the Timberwolves? And then ultimately who I don't view as a swing player but has to play great is Nas Reid. But can those 3 guys, can you get 1 or 2 of them to swing the series By the way, when we're talking swing players, I need you to swing one game in the series. Your job is to swing one game. Can those guys do that like they did last series? Ultimately, I think this is a great matchup for the Timberwolves. I think they'll pose a lot of problems for the Spurs. With Ant-Man's health, with Dante out, I don't know that I could pick them to win this series as if they were healthy. I may pick them. So ultimately, I'm going with the San Antonio Spurs and I think they get this one done in 6 max. Cavaliers versus the Pistons, split the season series 2 to 2. Donovan Mitchell versus Cade Cunningham. Not sure they'll be guarding each other. Donovan definitely won't be guarding Cade. Cade seems to take on more challenges from a defensive end. We'll see what happens there. Jalen Durant versus Evan Mobley and Jared Allen. Can Jalen Durant come alive? Can he be the player that he was in the regular season as opposed to the player that he was in the first round? Ultimately, I think the biggest question is, you have Asar Thompson. Who's Duncan Robinson guard? Okay, you're gonna put him on Max Struess. That leave Cade on Donovan Mitchell or James Harden. One thing Cade and the rest of the Pistons struggled with all series long versus the Magic was defending without foul. James Harden is one of the best at getting fouled and get to the free throw line. Donovan Mitchell, he gets fouled and get to the free throw line. So putting Cade on one of those guys to start and him possibly getting in foul trouble, Sucks. It'll be interesting to see, will Duncan Robinson get played off the floor in this series? And then who do you turn to if he gets played off the floor? This could be a big series. Caris LeVert's gonna have to try to be a swing guy in this series for the Pistons because Duncan Robinson may not be able to do it from a defensive perspective. And if he can't, where do you turn, right? I think Dennis Jenkins is too small to guard either one of those guys. One of the biggest swing players for the Cleveland Cavaliers, and who I think is a very vital piece to this series, it's Dennis Schroder. Dennis Schroder played with this team last year. He got relationships with these guys. Dennis Schroder is smart. Dennis Schroder plays mind games. Mm-hmm. Is Dennis Schroder gonna come out and play mind games and soften these guys up? The problem with Dennis Jenkins is I think Dennis Schroder's gonna come out and big bro him. And if Dennis Jenkins isn't willing to try to fight Dennis Schroder in game 1, Dennis Schroder's going to big bro him. The Pistons has to come out and show Dennis Schroder, we don't fuck with you. You're not our guy. What you came here and did last year with us is cool. We don't fuck with you. In playoff series with guys I don't mess with, I remember we played the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals. Love JT, that's my lil bro. Didn't say a word to him. Walk right past him every day, didn't speak to him. Why? Because I need you to know what type of time I'm on. I need you to know this ain't that right now. It can't be. We fighting for an NBA championship. Yeah. It was killing me to not talk to JT that series, to not say a word. It was killing me. But I had to do it. And that's the mindset these Pistons have to have with Dennis Schroeder. We don't fuck with you. You can't, you can't come over here. Because if not, Dennis Schroeder's going to swing this series. Yeah. He will swing the series for the Cleveland Cavaliers if the Detroit Pistons don't come out and essentially be ready to fight him. That's what it takes. That is what it takes. So are they going to do that? Ultimately, listen, Pistons are supposed to win this series. They don't have the experience that James Harden have in the playoffs. They don't have the experience that Donovan Mitchell have in the playoffs. Mm-hmm. However, getting over the hump of that first series, I think was huge. And it reminded me of our series versus Grizzlies in 2015 before we won our first championship. You had a very inexperienced, myself, Klay, Steph, we had been in the playoffs 2 years prior, lost in the second round, lost in the first round. You got Z-Bo who's been in the conference finals, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley, all these guys, like they, they, they've been joining for a while now. We had to overcome a 2-1 deficit. That's what the, what the Pistons just went through reminds me of. And you band together off that. And I think these Pistons are gonna band together off that. I think they'll come out there, have a great series. And ultimately I'm taking the Pistons in 6. Last but not least, we got the Lakers versus the Thunder. Thunder went 4-0 versus the Lakers and they were not close games. Throughout the season series, Thunder's coming in rested being that they played their last game last Monday. Again, rest versus rust. These are young guys in an organization like OKC that I know have kept them going. Uh, will they be a little rusty the first quarter? Possibly, but that's not changing anything. Um, most intriguing matchup I got in this series is who's going to guard Shay? Mm-hmm. For the Los Angeles Lakers. Uh, do you go with Marcus Smart to start the series? Well, let's see. You look at their starting 5. It's Marcus Smart, it's Austin Reeves, it's Bron, it's Rui, and it's DeAndre Ayton. So it has to be Marcus Smart to guard Shay to start the series. Ultimately, I think that matchup is important. Now you look at— Yeah. Who's guarding Chet? And if I'm the Lakers, I'm putting LeBron on Chet Holmgren. I need LeBron to take him out this series. Bron, I need you to be physical with him. And then if we can take Chet out of the series, if Bron can do that, we give ourselves a fighting chance to get one game. Because ultimately, I don't see how the Lakers can win this series now. I do think it's a very big deal that J Dub is out. I think that's a very big deal. However, I think that's also combated with Luka being out. And I just don't know that you're beating the best team in the NBA without your best player. I don't foresee it. In most situations, Bron can take the ball and like control every possession. I don't know that he'll be able to do that versus this Thunder team. Mm-hmm. However, the Lakers will need great play from Rui Hachimura if they're gonna have a chance to win this series. They're gonna need outstanding play off the bench from Jarred Vanderbilt because they're gonna need to throw some extra bodies at Shea Gildress-Alexander. Jarred Vanderbilt with his length and his size, you know, you, you, you'd like to give him a chance. Fortunately, I think, unfortunately, I think Jarred Vanderbilt sometimes get too Tough is overly physical on the defensive end, and Sheik Gilgeous-Alexander uses that against his defenders better than anyone. And so it'll be a parade to the free throw line. But ultimately, I think that's who has to swing this series for the Los Angeles Lakers. I don't think OKC needs a guy to swing the series. I think OKC need to come out, be who you are, play your game. If anyone is going to swing the series for OKC, I think they're so dominant they don't need anyone to swing it. But if you need one, if you will, I think it's AJ Mitchell. He's gonna need to play great. And then also I think Lou Dort. Lou Dort has not played great as of late. They're gonna need a great series from him. In saying that, if none of those things happen, they win this in 5. If all of those things happen, get your brooms out. It's a sweep. So we'll see how that goes. These are fun matchups. Ultimately, I got the first 3 series going 6. I got the 4th series 5 max, really more than likely 4. And ultimately, the Thunder winning the series and headed back to the conference finals. 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These are experienced healthcare professionals, including nurses with years in the field, and they've already helped tens of thousands of people get better care. Go to solacehealth.com to see if you qualify. It takes about 2 minutes, and it's covered by insurance. That's solacehealth.com. Must be 18 or older. Advocates do not provide medical or legal advice. Now it's time for the Slingshot of the Night, brought to you by Sling TV, the most flexible live TV streaming service. Watch the NBA playoffs on ESPN with a Sling 1, 3, or 7-day pass starting at $4.99. Learn more at sling.com. Tyrese Maxey had two huge layups down the stretch of the Philadelphia 76ers win in Game 7 over the Boston Celtics. One, the first layup took the lead from 99 to 98 with just 2 minutes to go in the game. The next one took the lead from 101 to 98 to go up 5 with a minute and 15 left in the game. And you're talking to get a little breathing room to make it a, you know, they need a 3-pointer to tie the game up. And then ultimately, to make it a 2-possession game. 2 layups, 2 big, you know, that's what Maxey does. He gets downhill, he gets to the rim. And to come up with 2 big layups at that time to essentially put the Boston Celtics away, to kind of remove that curse that the Philadelphias have been facing, that is the Boston Celtics, and move forward and be on to the second round of the playoffs. I think you gotta tip your hat to Tyrese Maxey. Those are my slingshots. So tonight, They were the most impactful shots I think of the game to extend that lead right there. All of a sudden he don't get those layups. You leave Boston in a 1-point game. You know, we've always, you know, we, we, excuse me, not we all, we know how that can end. And on the flip side, who I, who, who should've been slingshot of the night but couldn't capitalize on the opportunity was Peyton Pritchard with a 99 to 98 lead. Jalen Brown hit him for a wide open corner 3 after he made the entire defense collapse. And he missed it badly. And I've seen that over and over again. You get guys who, you know, are great shooters and they get in these positions and all of a sudden, you know, money on the line, you all of a sudden are not great shooters anymore. So that should have been the Sling Shot of the Night. It wasn't. In turn, it became Tyrese Maxey getting to the cup. That was the Sling Shot of the Night brought to you by Sling TV. Sling puts the consumers in control with their flexible subscription options. Wanna watch one game or even a full series on ESPN? Grab a 1, 3, or 7-day pass starting at $4.99. If you wanna watch as many games as possible, get a monthly subscription with their combo package. Either way, Sling lets you watch the playoffs your way with no long-term contracts. Learn more at sling.com. This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. May is Mental Health Awareness Month, a reminder that whatever you're going through, you don't have to go through it alone. Life is a journey. Some days feel great, others feel overwhelming, and it's easy to feel like you have to figure it all out yourself. I've had nights where my thoughts won't slow down, but none of us have all the answers, and support can make a difference. BetterHelp connects you with licensed therapists who follow strict standards. They match you using a short questionnaire and their experience to find a fit, and you can switch anytime if needed. With over 30,000 therapists and 6 million users worldwide, it's the world's largest online therapy platform. Rated 4.9 from over 1.7 million reviews. You don't have to be on this journey alone. Find support and have someone with you in therapy. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com/draymond. That's betterhelp.com/draymond. And as I promised before we get out of here, uh, needed to touch on some people talking, or a person talking in particular. Saw what Kenny Smith and Stephen A. said. And you know, the interesting thing about, and Stephen A. hinted at it, the interesting thing about my comments last week about Coach Kerr's article in The New Yorker and what I shared, the interesting thing about it is it's about 3 minutes of me praising my coach, of me saying how I wouldn't be who I am without my coach, of me speaking on the things that my coach have done for me, of me sharing why I and we had the success that we've had. And then there's like maybe 15 seconds where I spoke about hindering my offense. Yeah. And now, you know, I don't like to get in these back and forths because quite honestly, you know, the guys that you usually get into the back and forths with, they become back and forths because there's like a weight that's like one of them like severely tips something this way and the other just like kind of so far down that it, kind of pulls you back a little bit. And so, you know, speaking of Austin Rivers, you know, I saw he said he's bewildered and it's ridiculous of what I said. And I just find it interesting that a guy who was the 10th pick in my draft— I was 35— who's on his second act— I'm still on act one— um, would say such things. He goes, Draymond Green has never been a scorer. Well, Austin, you and I averaged the same amount of points in high school when you were a scorer. You know, so I don't know what would qualify Austin Rivers to speak about scoring when in high school, me and you averaged the same amount of points. And I say high school because That's when you were at your best. That's when Austin Rivers was Austin Rivers in high school. And so that's why I point out the high school scoring because, you know, I wanna make it fair. I wanna speak about him when he was at his best and he was at his best at Winter Park, if I remember correctly. He had ESPN games. Like, that's when he was at his best, when he was faster than everybody and can just put his head down and drive right and get to the rim. And then in college, you know, he was still good. He was very featured at Duke and, you know, had a very big moment, you know, where he hit the 3 on the wing. Like, you know, you gotta give him credit. That's when he was at his best, you know? Well, in college. Draymond Green averaged almost 17 points a game in the Big Ten. Very limited possessions. You know, so I only wanna speak about, you know, Austin at his best because NBA careers, like, should he really talk about my NBA career? I don't know. That that's the case. I'm still with my first team. He was gone from his first team in 2 years. And so I just like, sometimes you just should like not say something. You know, like always isn't the time to, everything isn't something you should speak on. And I don't think that was really one for Austin Rivers to be bewildered about and like say it's ridiculous because like the guy received the biggest bailout in U.S. history prior to President Trump bailing out the airlines when they needed it. Austin Rivers received the biggest bailout in NBA history. Excuse me, in world history, in U.S. history, received the biggest bailout in U.S. history. When his dad gave him $42 million. And I tip my hat to Doc. I pray that one day, you know, I mean, it won't be $42 million then because NBA's gone up so much. But I pray that I can give DJ $200 million or give Deuce $250 million. I pray that I can do that one day. So I tip my hat to Doc and his incredible bailout of his son. And putting good money in his pocket, man. Like, I really tip my cap to him. But, you know, if you listen to the whole thing, the whole 3 minutes of what I spoke about, what a competent basketball mind would have heard was, man, this guy, who wanted to do this, who thought he was this, changed his game and then still became this because that's what worked best for the team. Never shared those gripes because they didn't matter. And by the way, still don't matter because guess what? I don't care. I'm totally fine. Mm-hmm. My career's been great. So I found it interesting for people who need things to speak on to make it out as if I'm sitting here complaining about my career has been so bad. No, my career has been great. Possibly Hall of Fame worthy. I got nothing to sit and complain about. But if you go listen to the context of what I said, I said all of these great things about the coach that's helped me incredible, like an incredibly large amount. Like who I said, man, not sure where I'd be if he wasn't my coach. And I love how people just go take the 15 seconds that they wanna take and make it a headline. But I really enjoyed watching Austin Rivers be bewildered. Mm-hmm. By a statement of a guy who was drafted after him, still doing it after he's done, long after he's done, at a higher level right now today than he ever did it. Right now today, more impactful, bar none. Now, had Austin Rivers taken a page outta my book and said, "Man, these people really don't need me to score. Let me go do something else." Probably doesn't need to bail out. 'Cause then you go defend, you go be the backup, better backup point guard than what he ultimately was. Like you carve out a nice niche for yourself. So what I can teach you about is carving out a niche for yourself since you're bewildered about my comments. I could have taught him to be, carve out a niche as I did. So what you should go show kids is, man, here's a guy who was a National Player of the Year in college. Was a Big Ten Player of the Year that got to the league actually because he could score in all these different ways. He could shoot the 3, he could get you off the dribble, he could take you to the block. That's how he got to the league. And shown at times that he could score in the league, but that just wasn't the path. So look, he went and did this. But by the way, To act as if— and here was my problem with Kenny, uh, Kenny Smith. It's not a problem, but for all the people out there, to act— you can talk to any basketball player in the world, they're going to have a gripe about their coach. Some gripe, you know, all things could be great, they're going to say one thing negative about the coach. Not negative, but just like something that they felt could be better for them. That's every player in the world. You go ask LeBron James about each coach he's played for, I guarantee you he has some gripe about that coach when he played for him. That's basketball. That's what we— that's the sport. That's what we're in. There's going to be a gripe. Every player— you go talk to Steph Curry right now, who He's never had a bad negative thing to say about Steve. And if you talk to him, and obviously in private, I guarantee you he's gonna have some gripe because that's every basketball player in the world. If you talk to Coach Kerr about playing for Phil Jackson, about playing for Coach, he's going to have some gripe. That is basketball. So I was, I'm a little bewildered that I could say all of these great things And the one thing that I say that was my small gripe, it's like, oh my God, it's world news. Thankful for the voice that moves the landscape. Great, I appreciate that. But when you get guys like Austin Rivers, who again received the biggest bailout in US history, to say something like that, I was bewildered. I'm still bewildered because— I'm still bewildered. Man, you just gotta know, like, sometimes it ain't— and I may feel this way, but sometimes I may not be the right person to say this, you know. And so, you know, um, I think it's best that, you know, you, you had more— the voice would have been a lot— was louder when you was, uh, arguing with the one-on-one guys, not Nas. The voice, you know, we heard your voice more then because again We get it, you know, you possibly can speak a little bit more to that. So, you know, you got these guys calling you out and you don't want to go play against them and all, like, you should focus on that more and the 24-hour fitness runs that you want to go get your shit off in. Like, those are like, you should come and speak about those because you accomplished enough to be able to speak about those. Unfortunately. Accomplished enough to like to do that. It's crazy. I was shocked. So, you know, I wish him well in this one-on-one matchup if he decide to take on that challenge. I hope he don't take on that challenge 'cause I've been, I've watched some of that one-on-one stuff and he's smart. Don't go play Nas. Nah. They gonna body him like crazy. So don't go play him, but stay in your lane. I wanna thank y'all again for tuning in to the Draymond Green Show. Until next time, get into these playoffs and enjoy. Deuces. If you're rocking with the Draymond Green Show, be sure to click follow on your favorite podcast app. And while you're there, go ahead and drop 5-star rating and leave a review. I wanna hear what you think, and it would also mean a ton to me if you share it with a friend that you think would enjoy it. Let's keep this thing growing. The Draymond Green Show is presented by Audacy and executive produced in conjunction with The New Media. Our executive producers are Leah Reese Dennis, Danny Friesinger, and Greg Holtzman. Video production and creative design by Curt Courtney, Tim Meekle, Lauren Vieira, and Evan O'Brien. Special thanks to the team at The New Media and the team at Odyssey. Maura Curran, Josephina Francis, Hillary Shuff, Eric Donnelly, Kate Rose, Colin Gaynor, and Jake Gally. [FOREIGN LANGUAGE]