The Warriors went 13-for-55 on threes at New Orleans, so I get the angst from even our YouTube channel audience, which relatively speaking doesn’t really whine too badly when it comes to adversity.
But here’s the part that a lot of them didn’t pick up on: Pelicans head coach Willie Green’s game plan. He not only had one Wardell Stephen Curry top-locked, but he had weak-side help coming for Curry’s slip-cuts.
The result? A wide-open Moses Moody, for example, as Moody’s cover sold out to literally double-team Steph’s slip to the hoop.
Now, normally that’s crazy, to leave a Golden State starting wing open like that, but Green must have known Moses was mired in a slump. And it worked, as mind games often do, until it didn’t. You can see this play in this video:
And yet I was still a bit concerned heading into the fourth quarter as the bricks piled up. That’s when Steve Kerr had Buddy Hield as a decoy to get Draymond Green open at the cup, and then two more buckets of the two-point variety ensued and the Warriors finally shook free of the Pels.
As Draymond explained in a recent podcast about his teammates over-helping, Kerr will figure it out by the fourth quarter. I’ve learned that much now in the past week.
The other exciting thing about the game, despite all the missed threes: Quinten Post shot 9 from the arc. Kudos to Anthony Slater of The Athletic for asking Post on the podium, but you lookup QP’s three-point attempts on the normalized “per-36” front on bkref.com, you find him attempting 9.4 threes per game. That’s almost Klay Thompson-level volume (more than 10 per-36), which by the way is only like 20th in the league right now, which is crazy considering how many guys are shooting at a clip beyond Klay (I mean, you already knew this from the grapevine or casually watching NBA games — Anthony Edwards and Donovan Mitchell, for example).
Steph is still head of the class at beyond 12 per-36.
Don’t we want that? We want a second flame-thrower next to Curry, especially now that Klay is gone. One of these days, QP is gonna erupt and make 9 threes.
On that day, hopefully Warriors fans will show some gratitude for Kerr and how his ecosystem around Steph could enable a 52nd pick to “splash” joy to the fandom like that.
After all, Post started his G League stint uncomfortable with the idea of shooting that many threes:
I had never shot at this volume at Boston College. I was way more like a usage player where I was in the action, facilitating, scoring inside, so I didn’t really know that this was gonna be my role, a seven-foot spot-up shooter. So something like that, but yeah, I noticed this is just where, right now, I’m having a lot of success. Like I’ve said earlier, I feel like I’m doing the team at a disservice when I’m not being aggressive with my shot, so I mean, I knew that I was a good shooter, but I didn’t know that this was gonna be my role…
I’m telling the coaches, like, “Yo, I’m not used to shooting 9 threes, 10 threes, 8 threes. And then they’ve just told me, like, “Yeah, like this is just — it’s kind of what makes you, you. It’s kind of my niche, so just keep doing it.” I’ve never heard from anybody, don’t take that shot and now it’s paying off up here.
Ron Kroichick of the San Francisco Chronicle also said that he’d talked to Steve about Curry approaching 4,000 threes and the subject of Quinten came up. Steve said Post told SCW he was uncomfortable shooting so many threes and their response was, “Get comfortable.”
I had the opportunity to go down to Santa Cruz yesterday (for personal reasons I’m there about once per week) and ask Coach Nicholas Kerr about that conversation they had with QP. I’ll post that when the regular season is over.
The other thing is that the threes being generated are open ones. Here’s Steph on the podium:
First half, I think we shot 28 threes and we were talking in the locker room, I bet you 24 of ’em were in good shots and I think that’s three games in a row where, as a team, we haven’t shot the ball well, but we’re creating decent looks, so you can’t get down on yourself. You can’t start overthinking you and if you can continue to create those shots, keep shooting them. That’s what we talk about at the end of the day, like, that’s all that joke about the make-or-miss league. Like, it really is. It comes down to that at a certain point.
They’ll start going in, guys. Have faith in your GOAT and your team!
Miami behind-the-scenes, then interviews and transcripts from NOLA beyond that:
00:00 That fall, how, I mean, how scary was that?
00:06 STEPH CURRY: It just reminded me of ’21 when I fell into the stairs in Houston. Thankfully, I didn’t break anything or have any bone damage. It was mostly just a deep, serious contusion that I’ll feel it for a while, but I can play and I can’t make it worse as long as I don’t land on it again.
00:24 You did have more damage, that one on the stairs.
00:26 Yeah, that was like a hairline fracture situation, yeah.
00:30 How long do you expect this to, I mean, did it bother you tonight, like as you’re playing?
00:36 Nah, it didn’t bother, I was just aware of it and I don’t know how long it’ll take, but as long as I feel like I did tonight and don’t have any other incidences where I fall on it, I should be fine.
00:46 How’d you feel?
00:46 Just generally, felt good. I mean, a week off is great in one aspect ’cause you’re rested, but the timing, the endurance of getting through your regular minutes, that was a little bit of a challenge and down the stretch, just trying to manage a game and not do anything crazy, so all in all, it was a great night, obviously, nice to get to win. Second half was way better for our entire team and these are the games you have to win.
01:20 How generally fresh, I guess, physically and mentally do you feel after that week off for a real push here?
01:28 I felt good before it. I mean, I know there’s all that talk with the volume or the load that I’ve been through, but physically I felt well and felt good and had some juice every night. Mentally, I was away from the team for three days, which was kind of weird, but could fill the cup up a little bit and then thought I was gonna play in Miami and kind of went through the routine, but didn’t have — wasn’t able to go through the game, so it was another two days to kind of get my mind right and, to your point, I think it should be a good run, all the way to our last game. What is it? We got nine games left, so we gotta win as many we can.
02:14 You like the looks that you guys got collectively tonight as a team, from deep?
02:19 First half, I think we shot 28 threes and we were talking in the locker room, I bet you 24 of ’em were in good shots and I think that’s three games in a row where, as a team, we haven’t shot the ball well, but we’re creating decent looks, so you can’t get down on yourself. You can’t start overthinking you and if you can continue to create those shots, keep shooting them. That’s what we talk about at the end of the day, like, that’s all that joke about the make-or-miss league. Like, it really is. It comes down to that at a certain point. Miami had, what, a kind of record-breaking performance from three and those type of games, when it happens against you, it’s not great, but when you know you’re going through a little struggle, a window where shots aren’t falling, you have to do the other things to try to keep yourself in it and then just make enough where you can get over the hump. And that’s what tonight was about, but hopefully we shoot better as a whole, moving forward.
03:22 What do you like about the two-man game with Jonathan?
03:26 He’s a force when he gets into paint and get a mismatch or gets downhill, so if I can create some attention, like you say, get him in the pocket, he’s really gotten better at seeing the angles in the lane if he doesn’t have anything getting off of it. And it’s something we need to utilize, depending on matchups. I can get going off his pick-and-roll or I can get him in the pocket with an advantage and he can take over.
03:57 With the pelvic thing, do you feel it when you lift or is it explosive — an explosion thing or a side-to-side thing?
04:06 It’s pretty much everything, but again, it’s not at a level where I’m out there worried about it and, as long as I don’t fall on it, I’ll be fine.
04:14 How far are you guys from regaining — Steve talked about tonight, was trying to get the rhythm back type of thing. How far are you guys from that offensive and defensive rhythm that you guys need to have going into offense?
04:27 I don’t know how to articulate that as more than kind of the other answer of we created really good shots and none of ’em went in the first half and there were a couple possessions where we had a swing-swing turnover or we looked off somebody who was open. Those type of plays are on top of not shooting the ball or are tough to overcome, but I think our energy’s good. We’re flying around the last two games. Atlanta and Miami, there were stretches where we were the more aggressive team and more physical and got back into games, even though offensively we were struggling, so if we can just keep that energy and that spirit about us, you have to believe the shots will fall at a higher rate. And then that’s when the the dam can open on the basketball we were playing during that 16-2 stretch.
05:29 There was no real movement in the standings tonight, so you guys, the Clippers and the Wolves all won. Is that 6th seed still the goal and how important would it be to avoid the Play-in?
05:39 It’s extremely important. Guarantee a series and you get a week off, so nobody wants to be in in the Play-in if you can control the outcome, but I think we’re past worrying about looking at the standings every night. It’s just win as many games as possible. Worry about like each night as best that you can. It is fun to go back to your phone, look at the around-the-league scores and see what’s going on, but you can’t obsess over that or put too much pressure on yourself. Just play basketball, develop good habits and hopefully that takes care of itself.
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06:24 WILLIE GREEN: Offensively, you look at the numbers, pretty solid job. It was just the second-chance points and the points off turnovers, really. That was the factor in the ball game.
06:34 Yeah, I agree. I thought the guys really put forth a really good effort. They played hard, they competed, they played for each other, played together, but when you’re playing against a really good team, you have to try to do your best to sustain it for 48 minutes, be solid for 48 minutes. To your point, Graf (Todd Graffagnini), rebounding the ball, finishing possessions, our defense was solid. Now you gotta finish those possessions. They had 36 second-chance points and then offensively cutting down on the turnovers a bit. 16 turnovers, 23 points off our turnovers, so that’s the difference in the game, but the effort was there, the competitiveness was there, just came up short.
07:19 Hey Willie, just going back to the beginning of the game, Jose kind of did what Jose does, brought a lot of energy, but what does it say about him that he can just consistently do that no matter if it’s the beginning of the game or end of the game or just whatever you need?
07:30 Yeah, Jose’s been great, stepping into a bigger role right now with guys out, managing the team. We need him to do both: manage the team, but also pick spots where he can be aggressive and score. We need him to space the floor, so he’s been doing all of the things that — incorporating all the concepts. But we all know when he touches the floor, he’s gonna bring it. He brings energy, he competes, he’s a leader and he’ll continue to do that for the rest of the season, just step out there and take advantage of the opportunity.
08:08 23, I think it was, three-point attempts on the night.
08:11 Yeah.
08:11 And you had 22, I think, in the fourth game against Golden State. What is it about them that they limit your three-point shots so much?
08:17 They switch all your screens and teams that do that, it can stagnate your offense a bit. We gotta continue to move the ball, continue to drive, drive those switches, get to the paint, kick out and be willing to take some of those shots. I thought we passed up a few, but that’s what they do. They’re a good defense. They try to stagnate your offense by switching a ton of screens, forcing you to play one-on-one.
08:42 We talked about Jose’s energy and really your whole team’s, but Yves, in that first half really looked like he had one of the best halves, I think, in a Pelicans uniform so far. Did you see something similar?
08:52 Yeah, he started with a ton of energy, running the floor, setting screens, diving, rebounding the ball, really good energy from Yves and for our whole group. Now the next step for this young group is, it was about maybe three-and-a-half quarters. We gotta get closer to 48 minutes of sustaining that level of play.
09:14 Just wanna go back to the words switching stuff. They also forced you guys into 48 twos that were not at the rim, away from the rim, but not threes. Just what is it about the switching that also, I guess, stopped you guys from being able to get all the way to the rim if they were able to successfully push you off the line?
09:36 Well, I think the switching, number one, it forces you to — it is not a big advantage when teams switch on you, really good defensive teams switch on you, so that’s number one. Number two, you gotta try to drive the switches or swing the ball quickly and make quick decisions, whether that’s getting to the basket, swinging it to a teammate, or taking an open three. They do a good job of forcing you to shoot paint, contested twos. We fell into some. We gave into some, but that’s the growth for this group is don’t settle for those shots. (Steve) Nash dribble, we call it Nash Dribble. Continue to keep your dribble, kick it, re-space and let the other guy make a play for it, so area of growth for us. Alright, thanks.
00:00 What did you like about the way you guys played tonight?
00:05 QUINTEN POST: I think we started slow, but in the second half I thought we found our poise. First half, we also just weren’t making shots, open shots, but throughout the game I thought we were just creating good looks on offense and at the end, you see that we start making those and that kind of changes the game.
00:28 When you miss 17 of your first 20 threes as a team, do you need to change the way you play or is it hard to not change the way you play?
00:38 I think it’s pretty hard to change the way you play at that moment, right? If you’re creating good looks, then that’s kind of the difference between good teams and bad teams. Can you create as many good open looks as possible? And I do think we generated a lot of those and, in the second half, I thought a few more fell than in the first.
00:57 You’re shooting it pretty consistently and well over the course of your rookie season. Did you feel like you could come in, just from a shooting perspective, in the NBA at the volume you’re shooting and shoot the percentage you’re shooting?
01:09 I had never shot at this volume at Boston College. I was way more like a usage player where I was in the action, facilitating, scoring inside, so I didn’t really know that this was gonna be my role, a seven-foot spot-up shooter. So something like that, but yeah, I noticed this is just where, right now, I’m having a lot of success. Like I’ve said earlier, I feel like I’m doing the team at a disservice when I’m not being aggressive with my shot, so I mean, I knew that I was a good shooter, but I didn’t know that this was gonna be my role.
01:47 From a — I mean, are you uncomfortable at all with the volume or is it easy for you, whereas some guys who hadn’t done it in the past might be?
01:54 I think this is kind of where the G League came in. I’ve had some struggles early on in the season in G League, shooting the ball where I’m telling the coaches, like, “Yo, I’m not used to shooting 9 threes, 10 threes, 8 threes. And then they’ve just told me, like, “Yeah, like this is just — it’s kind of what makes you, you. It’s kind of my niche, so just keep doing it.” I’ve never heard from anybody, don’t take that shot and now it’s paying off up here.
02:20 Did the three-point line at all — I mean, how much of an adjustment?
02:25 I mean, that goes all the way back to probably April before the draft, when I left school early, I started to work out with my agency and then the first few weeks you do have that adjustment where it feels like it really is a little farther, but the amount of reps that we put in, at some point it’s — right now, it just feels normal.
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02:45 How do you feel like you guys played?
02:48 DRAYMOND GREEN: I thought we had good stretches. Lose a couple games in a row is never gonna just be pretty, but I thought we stuck with it, got off to a slow start and once we found our footing, kind of start finding a rhythm in that second half, it really started to feel like us. So, not great. It can get a lot better, but I love the way the second half — I love the way we close the game.
03:12 How much of your guys’ kind of offensive struggles a little bit lately, just collectively you guys are not shooting it that well?
03:19 That definitely makes a difference. Shot 23% from three, 41 (percent) from the field. Helps to make shots, but we won by 16 shooting those numbers, so I like where our defense was. I think we did a pretty good job defending, holding them to 95 points is huge, but yeah, we gotta make shots and we haven’t as of late, but I’d rather it happen now. It’s a good time for it to happen than in a few weeks.
03:50 Just to follow up on that, how do you think the — how do you feel about the shots you guys are creating, just the quality of them?
03:56 I think we’re getting great looks. I think we missed, what, 20-some threes in the first half. 26, I think?
04:12 You shot 28, 6-for-28.
04:16 So we missed 22, I think, 29 — I mean, 19 — of ’em was great. Looks we just missed them, so I like the shots that we’re creating. I think the ball can hop a little bit more, sticking a little bit at times, but I think we’re creating good looks. We just gotta knock them down. I have no doubt that we will.
04:36 What do you think about the way Kuminga is playing and the way you guys have kind of — the way you’re acclimating him back into it?
04:46 He’s had a couple good games. He’s had a couple games where it was tough for him, but overall, I think we just need him to continue to find that rhythm, continue to get downhill, put pressure on the rim and be great on the defensive end.
04:58 Steve mentioned this was kind of like a trying-to-regain-your-rhythm type of game and he thinks that it’s putting you on the right path for Sunday. How far are you guys offensively from having that rhythm that you guys need?
05:12 I think we’re still figuring it out, figuring out the rhythm of it, but overall, I think we’re in a pretty good spot. Like I said, if we can continue to create the shots that we’re creating, I know the shots will go in, so I think on that end it’s good. And then defensively, I think our defense has been good all year, even when we struggle at times. I think our defense, for the most part, has been really good, so I like where we are defensively and we’re continuing to hone things in, figure that side of the ball out, but I like it.
05:44 Is there anything to the slow starts?
05:48 I don’t know. We definitely need to start better, though. It’s kind of becoming a thing, so we need to fix it fast.
05:59 Quinten was just in here talking about how at Boston College, he wouldn’t even shoot the type of volume that he’s shooting. This is kind of is gonna be his niche in the NBA, like a volume stretch-center. The fact that he’s getting up — it was 3-of-9 tonight — but he’s getting up 9 on semi-consistent basis, how big is that?
06:17 It’s huge and also he’s a great shooter and 3-of-9, two of them he might have quick-triggered it, but he has a quick trigger, so nobody’s ever complaining about his quick trigger. I thought he got great looks. A couple of ’em didn’t go in. I think he’s been playing more than he’s ever played and so you have to take some of that into account, just — just kind of recovery, from a recovery standpoint, making sure his legs are underneath him. He is figuring a lot out. It’s a lot that come at you, you get the opportunity to play as many minutes as he is as a rookie. But I’ll be screening for him off the ball like I’m screaming for Steph ’cause he shoots the lights off the ball and I think everybody’s looking for him to shoot the ball, so he just gotta keep taking them when he’s open, let it fly. If he halfway open, let it fly.
07:06 What kind of a difference is it between a stretch big who can hit a three and a stretch big that he’s taking it, like he’s taking?
07:14 Yeah, big difference. A guy who can hit a three, like, “Yo, he could hit him,” probably take one or two, but we ain’t overreacting to that. You take nine and you shoot the ball the way he shoot it, they reacting to it and so he’ll continue to figure it out, continue to figure out when to take this shot, when to put the ball on the floor. He’s a good — he can make the next play, so he has a lot — he’s built a lot of trust here, fast. It’s really good.
00:00 STEVE KERR, POSTGAME: I thought we played fine. I didn’t love the passing, especially in the first half, but we took care of the ball better in the second half. We missed some wide open shooters in the first half and didn’t pass them the ball and that disrupted our rhythm and kind of messed with the game a little bit, but overall, I thought we got really good shots. Second half was much better with the ball movement, the flow, and defense was good, so all in all positive outcome, positive effort and a night we’re clearly trying to get our rhythm back as a group and I think tonight will lead to that. I think we’ll be much better in San Antonio.
00:51 You guys did shoot in the 20% from three tonight. How much of, kind of, what y’all are going through right now offensively is just the fact that you seem like you’re kind of in a team-wide shooting slump?
01:01 Yeah, we are and it happens during the year and, like I said, I thought we had really good looks tonight that we didn’t knock down, but we can help our shooting with our passing. If we’re just unselfishly moving the ball and throwing it to the first open guy, that guy makes the next pass, the shot is more likely to go in. It’s a little more open, a little more in rhythm, so we still have to find some rhythm offensively, but like I said, second half, I think we only had two turnovers. Much better, side-to-side ball movement and much better looks. Most of them just didn’t go.
01:43 How do you think Steph looked, just from his first game back after missing a couple?
01:47 I thought he looked great. He was moving really well, took care of the ball. I thought Steph played an excellent game. He probably missed his last five or six threes, so the numbers don’t look great, but he looked like himself and I think the week off did him a lot of good.
02:05 What’d you make of Jonathan’s play tonight? Jonathan.
02:08 Jonathan? Jonathan was good. He gives us the attack to the rim. He got to the foul line eight times, rebounded well, so I thought he had a good night.
02:19 What kind of potential does that two-man game with him and Steph have?
02:23 Yeah, the dive to the rim, when JK sets that ball screen for Steph, puts a lot of pressure on the defense and that was really key tonight. The two of them connected for three or four of those and that was helpful.
02:42 Jimmy, I think, went 1-of-6 from three. It seemed like he was more aggressive taking the jumper tonight. How important is that for him take and, obviously — ?
02:50 Yeah. Yeah, we want Jimmy to attack and he’s never gonna be a guy who’s gonna just catch-and-shoot. I mean, he’s gonna catch and survey and make a play and get to the line and that’s what we love about him. That’s one of the reasons we’ve won so much since he’s been here, is that we’re playing through him and we want him to be himself, so whatever aggressive means for Jimmy, then that’s when he’s at his best, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s launching shots. It just means he’s attacking and creating shots. Thanks guys. That it?
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03:29 …and our guys know how often this happens, where guys are out on the other team and how well everyone else plays ’cause they’re getting an opportunity, so we know that’s what’s coming tonight. They’ll play with great energy and all the guys who are getting the minutes are gonna be excited about that, so it’s on us to, to bring our own energy and our own execution.
03:55 Do you know on Steph yet?
03:57 STEVE KERR, PREGAME: I expect him to play. What kind of balance are you looking for with regards to isolations with Jimmy and still movement actions and stuff, what kind of balance? What’s the right — how much — ?
04:10 The game should dictate that, but we should have counters to whatever the defenses are doing and so we’ve gotta figure out what defenses are doing and then respond accordingly, both as a staff, but also the guys on the court understanding if we have a mismatch with Jimmy, great. Let’s go to him, let’s spread the floor, but let’s not abandon our movement, our flow and we’ve generally done a good job of that, so we’ll get back to that tonight, I’m sure.
04:49 The Taylor Jenkins news broke during shootaround this morning. Have you been able to gather your thoughts and a reaction to that?
04:57 It’s shocking, really. I mean, Taylor’s a great coach. He’s done an amazing job with Memphis, so it came out of nowhere for — I mean, for us, we’re not in involved, obviously, but just from afar, it’s shocking and nine games left in the season. Yeah, so it doesn’t doesn’t add up if you’re on the outside looking in. I’m also well aware that every team’s gotta handle their own business and this is the league, this is what we all sign up for and it’s probably — we’re all probably getting that knock on our door at some point, but it is a strange one, for sure.
05:44 What’s been the biggest difference that you’ve seen in your defense, since adding — being able to have Jimmy and Draymond out there?
05:52 Just the IQ, the IQ and the brute strength of Jimmy. He and Draymond are a lot alike in that regard, strong, maybe not traditionally explosive athletes, but really quick on their feet and in their brains and long, active, anticipatory. They’re brilliant players. They’re brilliant thinkers of the game and working in tandem behind the play. It’s really impressive watching them.
06:29 Putting your memory on the spot, no pressure if you can’t recall, with the Memphis situation — anything similar where it didn’t seem to be, in all your years in basketball, where you saw someone relieved and it didn’t really seem to be generally performance?
06:42 I’m sorry, can you repeat that?
06:44 Yeah, just all your years in basketball, can you recall anything similar that stands out where you had a coach who seemed to be performing well, generally, and then — but still surprisingly was relieved in a — ?
06:59 I’m sure if I gave it some thought, there’d be cases of that, but I don’t remember this ever happening with nine games left. That’s what makes it very strange and unique.
07:14 Coach, just can you talk about your team’s depth? As you talk about with the Pelicans and they’re struggling with their depth and the injuries this season, you’ve gone through these periods of yourself over the last several years and building depth with this team. What do you like about where you are with your second unit and the guys who’ve had to play extended minutes while some of the players were out?
07:33 Well, we’ve had a deep roster all year and it was almost too deep until the Jimmy trade and then we make that trade and it sort of more clearly defined our totem pole, so to speak. And so it gave us an idea of clearly defined roles, but I’m very comfortable going deeper into the roster. I mean, Trayce Jackson-Davis has been a starter for us. He’s been out of the loop the last month or two. I’m very confident, if and when I put him back in, that he’ll do well, so — Gui Santos has been great all year every time we’ve given him a chance, Pat Spencer, rock-solid. I mean, I think we have a very deep roster, very capable of withstanding injury.
08:33 Hey Coach, how have you seen Willie Green grow as a coach since you’ve had him in Golden State? I know you don’t work with him every day, but basically when you’re going up against him, have you seen any kind of growth over these last few years?
08:44 I don’t really notice that, to be honest with you. I mean, I think anytime you talk about growth with a coach, that’s something you see internally, every day behind the scenes what the coach is doing, what the staff is doing, so I can’t really comment on that. I just know that Willie is a wonderful friend and human being and somebody that, if you’re a player, you want to play for. If you’re in management, you wanna work with. He’s an amazing guy and, obviously, has been dealt a really tough hand this year with all the injuries, but he’s got the right temperament, the right collaborative nature to be a great coach in this league.
09:31 Have you had a chance to talk to Willie much during the season as he’s gone through all these injuries and, if so, what’s your message to a coach — ?
09:38 No, we haven’t talked much. We’ve touched base a couple of times. He sent a really nice message a couple weeks ago when I broke Al Attles’ record for the team wins. Willie was really — it was really nice, what he did for our video postgame and so I texted him and thanked him for that and I always ask him about Mason and his family. And we don’t touch on the basketball stuff very often and we tend to see each other more in the off-season, than in the season.
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