In this episode of the Draymond Green Show, Draymond Green reviews Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals where the Boston Celtics defeated the Indiana Pacers 133‑128 in overtime. He highlights Al Horford’s inability to defend the pick‑and‑roll, drawing a parallel to the 2022 Warriors‑Celtics Finals that led to Steph Curry’s MVP run. Green argues that Horford’s age and lack of lateral quickness make him a liability, especially without Kristaps Porzingis to help guard the roll. He critiques the Celtics’ offensive reliance on Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown to create shots, noting that this creates predictability as the series progresses. For the Pacers, Green advises forcing Horford to his left hand, using left‑hand defenders, limiting turnovers, and playing aggressive, high‑energy basketball. He also mentions missed opportunities in the game (e.g., not fouling, timeout decisions) and stresses that the Pacers must capitalize on any chance to avoid a quick series loss. The segment ends with a sponsor read by Colin promoting the DraftKings Sportsbook app.
Chapters
Welcome to the brand new Draymond Green Show YouTube channel. Hit subscribe so you don't miss out on any of our content. We got the Celtics beating the Pacers. I don't know how that happened. 133 to 128 in overtime to take a 1-0 lead. Again, I don't know how that happened. JT, 36, 12, and 4. Jason, excuse me, Jaylen, 26, 7, and 5. Drew, 28, 8, and 7. Holly Burden had 25 and 10. Pascal, 24, 12, and 7. What is my biggest takeaway from this game? My biggest takeaways from this game, number one is Al Horford in the pick and roll. I've said it over and over again. I told you guys when we played Boston in the finals 2 years ago, It got to a point in the series where Steph literally said, yo, bring me him. And the rest is history. Steph Curry's Finals MVP, Golden State Warriors champion. Because Steph realized in that series that Al Horford couldn't guard the pick and roll. If he was in a drop, he didn't affect anything because Steph coming off, Steph can shoot, Steph can get downhill at him. It's not big enough and he's not blocking shots. If he switched, goodnight Irene. It's over. Curtains closed. Case closed. It's over. Because Al can't move to stay in front of Steph on the switch. So Steph literally said, bring me him, put him in the blender, and we went on to win a championship. Problem with that is Al Horford is 2 years older. Than he was then. And Father Time takes his course. And so he's not moving today as well as he was 2 years ago. And this is no disrespect or shots at Al Horford. This is just the reality. Without Porzingis, they really struggle to guard the pick and roll. Because you just bringing Al into the pick and roll and guys are taking their pick. Now I think what you have to do if you're Boston is when they bring Al into these pick and rolls with Holiday, just switch 'em. Holiday is not Steph Curry, is not missing as much as Steph Curry. And the goal should be just to get him to his left hand. Like Al, don't react to all of these crossovers. He gonna go left and then try to get back right. Don't overreact to that. Just send him left. A lot like we did Jalen and Marcus and Derek and JT in the finals. We sent them left. We sent them all left. Just get him to his left hand. Our help will be built in there. That may be what they have to do. But man, that's tough because what's the alternative? Luke Cornett. So they really need Porzingis back. And I know, you know, we can go on and on about it, like, can't, can't sit here and you can only hope for it that he, that he does make it back. And thing is, it may not catch you this series, it didn't catch you last series, but at some point it catches up to you. And so I think that's an issue. I think another issue is the Celtics offense. It's almost very, it's overrelying on Jayson to create a tough shot or a good shot or whatever shot. Jaylen to create a tough shot or a good shot or whatever shot. And Jrue or Derrick White, it's just create, their offense is built on guys creating shots and That gets tougher and tougher as these rounds go on. Now again, I don't think the Indiana Pacers can beat them, although they just let a golden opportunity get away. And it's stuff like that, that could be the difference in like a 6-game series or 7-game series and a 4 or 5-game series when you let games go like that and you're already not the better team. So that's a big issue for Indiana. To just let a golden opportunity go by the wayside on a game that you should have won. Now we can talk all the things, right? Like should have fouled up 3, should have taken the timeout and advanced the ball. You had Andrew Nembhard taking the ball out. Why didn't you put TJ McConnell in and let TJ McConnell take the ball out? We can go on all these things. Fact of the matter is they let a golden opportunity go to waste. Go to waste. And it's hard to make those opportunities up in the conference finals, especially when you're not the better team. And so if I'm the Indiana Pacers, I'm looking like, yeah man, we can really beat these guys. We obviously had 'em beat. We let one get away. You feel good about that. But you also know better. Like, ah, you know the real. You ain't gotta tell nobody, you know the real, but you know the real. And so I think, again, I think they have to overemphasize getting these guys to their left hands, making them take tough shots, playing boxes and elbows, not turning the ball over. I thought Indiana had a lot of unforced turnovers. Boston's running off those. You turn it over, they're getting a 2, probably 3. So you can't turn the ball over. But just like the Dallas and Timberwolves series, I think Dallas beat the Timberwolves at their own game last night. The Celtics actually beat the Pacers at their own game. 133 to 128 is a game that favors the Pacers. Celtics beat them at their own game. And so, like I said, if you're Indiana, you feel good about it. You ultimately know like, ah, We let one get away, but how much do they really believe? That'll show how they come out in game 2. Now they'll come out, they'll punch, and Boston got to be ready to take that first blow. Um, they'll punch again, Boston got to be ready for that, but you just got to stay the course. However, if I'm Boston though, I'm like, yo, we just got away with one, we got to come out and smack these boys. Like, we got to come out and make a statement, send a message. Because we really just like, we skated outta there with one that we shouldn't have. So now it's time for us to come back and play well and send a message. And that's gotta be the mindset for Boston. And if you Indiana, you still got nothing to lose. Yeah, you got away, you let one get away, but you got nothing to lose. So take your free swing. Everybody's expecting you to lose. Go play loose, go play free. We need guys getting shots up. We need guys playing with a lot of energy and we need to get these guys to their left hands. It's the conference finals now. This ain't the first round where guys still get away with a little bit. This ain't the second round where you get away with a little less. This is the conference finals now. We know what you're trying to do and our game plan should be tight as ever. Get these guys to their left hands. Let's see what they can do. As Bill Belichick say, make them play left-handed. Literally and figuratively. That's got to be the goal for Indiana. Come out swinging, play your game, get up and down, stop turning the ball over, and let the chips fall where they may.
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