Kirk Goldsberry

Toronto, I think, is fourth in the NBA in points in the paint per game.

They need to get to the rim to be effective on offense.

And if you can take that away, like this too big lineup in theory can do, and if you look at the numbers of Jared and Evan together, the defensive rating for Cleveland in those 41 games or 27-14, it's 639 minutes, Zach.

That defensive rating goes 108.2, which is about the best you're going to see out of a Cleveland team this season.

Jared Allen, to me, is the biggest X factor, not only for the series, but for these playoffs for Cleveland.

He hasn't been a great postseason player.

I think that's fair to say.

His health has been up and down.

But if he can snap into form and let Evan Mobley sort of roam around and be the...

free-range, free-safety type defender, I think Cleveland could be who they thought they were going to be at the beginning of the season and not only win this series pretty easily, but give teams in the second, maybe even third round, some trouble.

Yeah, I do too.

And they're a five seed.

They deserved it.

They held off some really ascendant teams at the end of the season, namely Atlanta, for that fifth position.

They were winning all year.

This isn't a seven seed.

This isn't an eight seed.

And the East is deeper than I think you or I thought it would be six months ago.

And when you have a five seed against the four seed,

I think it's that simple sometimes.