Back in June, Flatbush Zombies didn’t give much warning before returning with a new EP. Announcing their new era with cryptic social media posts, the group consisting of Meechy Darko, Zombie Juice, and Erick the Architect released the 6-track EP Now, More Than Ever. Now, Flatbush Zombies gave a taste of their vibrant sound with an energetic NPR Tiny Desk concert.
Known for their stage antics, Flatbush Zombies still managed to make an at-home Tiny Desk performance interesting. Kicking off their set with their moving track “When I’m Gone,” the group picked up momentum with a rendition of “Palm Trees” and “Afterlife.”
The group opened their set seated on the ground but, of course, they couldn’t stay static for long. After introducing each member in their backup band with rowdy cheers thanks to Meechy Darko, Erick said: “I feel like that’s the energy we need. We gotta stand up now.” Erick grabbed a handheld camera to get close-and-personal for their last track, “Afterlife,” which was released just last week. “Got bored on ’em, got awards on ’em / Nowadays, they’re treatin’ music like tourism / What is pop, what is not? / What is different when you’re not,” Erick raps.
The Tiny Desk performance arrives shortly after the group shared an x-ray vision video to “Afterlife,” which had an unexpected collaborator. Flatbush Zombies linked up with James Blake to produce the song when the band discovered he was a big fan and met up with him in 2018.
You’d think President Trump would’ve learned by now not to start a fight with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez but here we are … another day, another Twitter beef.
Trump hopped on the phone with Fox News this morning to rant about some of his favorite topics: the U.S. Postal Service, Kamala Harris, and vegetarians, but in the midst of attacking Joe Biden’s campaign, he name-dropped another prominent Democratic party member: AOC. On Maria Bartiromo’s morning show the president claimed that AOC was a “poor student” and “not even a smart person” after suggesting Biden, if elected, would raise taxes to fund her Green New Deal.
Trump on AOC: “AOC was a poor student … this is not even a smart person, other than she’s got a good line of stuff. I mean, she goes out and she yaps.” pic.twitter.com/usijJRqlqK
AOC went to Boston University and graduated with degrees in Economics and International Relations. Trump went to Fordham University before transferring to the University of Pennsylvania with the help of his family’s connections. He graduated without honors and his niece, Mary Trump, recently alleged that Trump hired someone to take the SAT test for him in order to achieve the scores he needed to get into college.
All of this is easy to find with a quick Google search but it’s infinitely more fun to just check out AOC’s comeback to Trump’s diss on Twitter. The Congresswoman challenged the president to release his transcripts, promising she’d do the same and whoever scored better grades in school had to bail out the U.S. Postal Service.
Let’s make a deal, Mr. President:
You release your college transcript, I’ll release mine, and we’ll see who was the better student.
After his former lawyer Michael Cohen admitted Trump ordered him to send out threatening letters to all of his former alma maters, demanding that they not release any of his transcripts or information on his academic career, we guess the likelihood of ever seeing how Trump did in class is about as good as the chance we’ll ever see his elusive tax records.
Polo G was still two years away from being born when the classic sitcom Martin aired its final episode in May 1997, but that hasn’t stopped the 2020 XXL Freshman from being a fan. Following in the footsteps of fellow Midwesterner Big Sean, he reproduces his (and the internet’s) favorite scenes from Martin in his aptly-titled new single, “Martin & Gina.”
They’re all here too. There’s the iconic moment when Gina gets stuck from “Headin’ For Trouble”; there’s the infamous aftermath of Martin’s fight with Tommy “Hitman” Hearns from “Guard Your Grill”; and there’s the emotional rollercoaster of “The Break-Up,” all re-enacted by Polo G with Instagram comedian PrettyVee and directed by Reel Goats in a perfect reproduction of the apartment set from the classic sitcom. Stick around for the end of the video, which is loaded with behind-the-scenes moments and outtakes from the production of the endearing homage.
“Martin & Gina” is the fifth single from Polo’s star-making sophomore effort, The GOAT, which released in May and has been going strong ever since. Videos from the album include “Heartless,” “Go Stupid” with Stunna 4 Vegas and NLE Choppa, “DND,” and “Wishing For A Hero.”
Larry Wilmore is getting a late-night show on Peacock (along with Uproxx favorite Amber Ruffin), which is excellent news for fans of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The PJs, The Bernie Mac Show, and Insecure, all of which he wrote for and/or created. Wilmore also appeared in two episodes of The Office (he was an executive producer, as well) as Diversity Today representative Mr. Brown, including season one’s “Diversity Day.”
It’s one of the more uncomfortable episodes of the show — although not as cringe-inducing as “Scott’s Tots” — as Michael Scott takes over a diversity training seminar by making everyone wear index cards on their foreheads with different races on them. The slap he receives from Kelly after doing an offensive Indian accent is well deserved.
“Diversity Day” is, as Wilmore told Collider, not an episode that “could be produced today and probably rightly so. In fact, I have outtakes from that scene with Steve Carell that I can’t even say what they are… But you never know. Things swing back and forth all the time, you know. And the culture is very malleable in that way.” He continued:
“The things that we find — it’s not so much the things that we can make fun of, but the things we find we can laugh at and it’s okay to laugh at… I have more things on my list than most people and I acknowledge that, you know. And it’s why I probably get in trouble sometimes. But I honestly think that the more we can laugh about tough things, I just think the better off we are.”
The complete “Diversity Day” is one cut, among many, that does not need to be released.
Jessie Reyez released her new album Before Love Came To Kill Us earlier this year, and the record earned the Canadian artist a coveted Polaris Prize nomination. It also got her a guest spot on The Tonight Show, as she appeared on the program last night to perform the album’s title track. For her performance of “Before Love Came To Kill Us” (which was previously titled just “Kill Us”), she was joined by an acoustic guitarist in a space decked out with greenery, making for an intimate and aesthetically lovely few minutes.
Although Reyez didn’t perform in the Tonight Show studio, Fallon is again welcoming musical guests to join him in person. On Tuesday’s episode, Phish leader Trey Anastasio appeared on the program and became US late-night TV’s first musician to perform in-studio since March.
Reyez previously spoke about the album’s meaning, telling the Associated Press, “It has a lot to do with spirituality, it has a lot to do with… with duality, it has a lot to do with life and death and where we go and switching the identity of both — so, how love can have such a positive connotation and death can have such a negative one, but in reality, if you look at it, it’s in reverse because the day you find the love of your life is the day you find the person who’s gonna hurt you the most.
Watch Reyez perform “Kill Us” on The Tonight Show above, and revisit our review of Before Love Came To Kill Ushere.
EA Sports decided to add a new wrinkle to its Madden series this year. In a similar manner to how FIFA added a new, playground-style game mode last year with VOLTA Football, Madden opted to get backyard football into its latest game, which is set to drop on Aug. 25 for current generation consoles.
The mode is called The Yard. It is extremely hard to play it and not see some extremely strong parallels between it and NFL Street, EA’s first foray into backyard football back in 2004. While not a full, standalone game, The Yard takes the general concept and puts it into Madden NFL 21, and the result is the kind of fun, exciting breath of fresh air that every sports game needs every few years in order to keep them exciting.
In The Yard, players are tasked with playing ironman football. Each position has a corresponding spot on the other side of the ball — quarterbacks and safeties, wide receivers and cornerbacks — and building a team requires a form of cost-benefit analysis. Do you take the All-Pro cornerback and lead to the weapons around your signal caller being a bit weaker, or do you take the stud receiver and make your passing defense a bit more leaky?
Over a collection of different stadiums that have different house rules, those who fire up The Yard then play 6-on-6 games that are somewhere between “pretty hectic” and “comically chaotic.” Games are fast and furious, Mississippis are counted before defenders can blitz, any offensive player can take the snap, double-passes are allowed behind the line of scrimmage, and laterals are so frequent that they make “The Play” look boring. The scoring system allows for bonus points — one if you pick off an opposing QB, one for a touchdown longer than 40 yards, two if a double pass or a lateral leads to a score — and PATs worth 1, 2, or 3.
Even beyond the gameplay itself, The Yard is a blast. Avatars are remarkably customizable, and players can be boosted via x-factors, abilities, and skill points. It just feels like you are acquiring a second video game within the normal Madden universe, one that has its own unique style that harkens back to the day of knocking on your friends’ doors, going into a grass lot, and playing some football.
Long story short, The Yard is the best thing to happen to Madden in years. It also has one very big fan in Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, who sat down with Uproxx Sports via Zoom to discuss the game mode, the sense of nostalgia it brings, and more.
I gave The Yard a spin a few days ago, have you gotten a chance to play it yet?
Oh yeah, man. The Yard is awesome, I love every bit of it. It’s kind of got the new wave in there with the new points and everything like that, all the cool tricks and everything you can do. But really, it’s old school football, man. Just get with your buddies, your boys, the homies, go out in the backyard, and play. I think that’s definitely the coolest part, is being able to swag your player out however you want to but meet up in one place and play with your guys.
Is that your favorite thing about the mode? That old-school … well, old school in terms of football, but also, I played a bunch of NFL Street back in the day, I don’t know about yourself.
Aw man, I’ve been trying not to compare it to the NFL Street. I absolutely loved NFL Street when it was out back in the day, and this is every bit, if not better, with all the tricks you can do, all the new points scoring system. It’s that and you can do a lot more in terms of making your player specifically on both sides of the ball, knowing that you’re playing iron man, you’re playing offense and defense, and you’re gonna need attributes for both.
My favorite thing about it was how it played like an arcade game. I loved how customizable it is and how it had that new wave football feel, but I just loved how it felt like an arcade game. What’d you think about the gameplay?
How fast it is, it’s a quick in-and-out game. So it’s non-stop, you’re competing against different people and the play is really fast. So it’s like, you get three opportunities to score for both teams and with that idea, you can play 100 games in an hour and be satisfied. The rate of play, how many times you can play, and the fact that you can get better as you’re playing it, I think it’s the ultimate prize, man.
How much fun have you had just tinkering with it, because how customizable it all is is a blast?
You gotta change the swag up every day. It looks like you’re just going to the closet and you switch it out, man. I’ve had a lot of fun just seeing all the unique and dope stuff that Madden‘s come up with in terms of what you can wear, from the visors, to the back plate, to having your jersey tucked in or folded up under the shoulder pads. You can customize everything single detail on your avatar, man. It’s dope.
You mentioned this a second ago, but can you speak to the sense of nostalgia that comes with this? I’m guessing you played a whole lot of backyard football during your childhood.
Oh yeah. Without a doubt, and that’s where it really hits home for me. I can hit up the guys I used to play backyard football with and be like, “Aye, yo, let’s get it going again.” See if we can relive some of the fun memories we used to have. That whole mentality of just meeting up with the guys to go out and play some football, now you can do it on Madden and you can do it in an individual and personal level where it’s literally your avatar, you’re playing both sides of the football with your guys. And I think that’s such a dope concept.
What was backyard football like in the Kelce household?
Always tackle. Wasn’t too much two-hand tag, man, maybe when you were running by the pavement on the edge of the grass but that was about it. Competitive household, just about every sport you can think of, so football wasn’t the only one. But I remember mostly hitting up all the friends my age, and we would go down to the church yard close to us, the Catholic church that was close to us, or big Courtland Oval down the street, all the Cleveland Heights guys know where that one is.
How much time would you say you spend playing Madden in a week?
EA Sports
Right now, not too much because of training camp. I would probably say I get on at least once or twice a week, have some fun, get on there and chop it up with a few friends. I got a few different other games I’m getting into right now, trying to get better at, but Madden is always a go-to.
And how popular is it, just, you walk into the locker room, are guys on the Chiefs just playing, chopping it up, trash talking?
Every single day someone’s trash talking another for later on. “Ayo, when I get home, I’ll hit you up, you better answer my call” type stuff. Just talking all the stuff up here at the locker room. But you’ll hear, maybe not a lot of banter, but you’ll hear guys go back-and-forth about what’s really going on in the Madden world.
It seems like you guys would be the perfect team to take some of the backyard stuff that we’ve seen in The Yard. Do you think this is gonna inspire Kansas City to adopt any open field laterals or stuff like that?
We’ll see, man. I know I had the one lateral last year and I didn’t plan on doing it ever again, it was a pretty risky decision. Once you see it in slow motion you don’t realize, in the game, how close it really was for me, in the fourth quarter, to really screw my team. I was fortunate that Shady was ready for it and got vertical and helped us out, but I think little stuff like that keeps the game fun, keeps it entertaining, and we’ll just have to see if it’s played out in the near-future in Kansas City.
I once asked JuJu Smith-Schuster about this and he said that playing Madden can help him a little with on the field stuff, he mentioned specifically reading a defense before a play happens. Are there any ways that playing has helped you on the field?
Without a doubt, and it’s pretty remarkable how basic it makes it feel, because from an eye in the sky, and you’re seeing a defensive coverage before the snap, it makes it feel pretty easy. And it’s like, “Why can’t I do this faster in a game?” It’s always just a little bit different on the field, but it’s good for basic knowledge of what coverage is the defense in and things like that, it’s definitely helped me feel confident in what I’m seeing, for sure.
My last question, back in 2017, you appeared on UpUpDownDown and said “I don’t think I’ve played this game as a different team since I’ve been in the NFL.” I know this isn’t always possible in The Yard but will you try to always load your team up with guys on the Chiefs?
Yeah, I probably will. I don’t see why not, man, we got everybody we need right here.
Yeah with you, with Pat, with all the speed, I feel like people are not gonna be allowed to pick Chiefs players because you guys are perfect for this.
Listen, man, we got guys that can go both ways. Pat played safety in college, I don’t know where we would hide him on the football field on defense. But I know a guy like Tyrann Mathieu is an all-around football player, he can do both sides of the football, all day. Same thing, Mecole Hardman, he was a big-time corner coming out of high school, and in college, he wanted to score touchdowns, so he moved his way to the offensive side of the field. So we’ve got some all-around football players, for sure.
Nashville rockers Bully are a consistent source of vibrant, fuzzy guitar rock. We’ve heard a handful of tracks from their forthcoming album Sugaregg, and the singles promise the band’s most polished and exciting work to date. It’s an album that was written during a chaotic period (something we are all familiar with at this point), when leader Alicia Bognanno turned to music as a method of finding clarity and pressing onward.
Ahead of the album’s release later this month, Bognanno sat down to talk playing Bonnaroo, A Tribe Called Quest, and Everclear in the latest Indie Mixtape 20 Q&A.
What are four words you would use to describe your music?
Spicy, Loud, Cathartic, sassy.
It’s 2050 and the world hasn’t ended and people are still listening to your music. How would you like it to be remembered?
Timeless I suppose.
What’s your favorite city in the world to perform?
Chicago, Minneapolis, Sydney.
Who’s the person who has most inspired your work, and why?
There’s not really one person that’s inspired most of my work. I would say it’s a combination of people and experiences that have made me angry or feel some type of way emotionally that has inspired the majority of my work.
Where did you eat the best meal of your life?
Truly Burger King, The impossible Burger. I’m only being honest.
Playing Bonnaroo was the first time I attended and being able to walk from stage to stage and watch huge acts perform after we were done playing was mind blowing. That whole experience in general was very motivating.
What is the best outfit for performing and why?
An outfit that you don’t have to think about. I like jeans and a T-shirt and some type of sneakers because I’m most comfortable in it and I never want to be distracted by what I’m wearing or worrying about my wardrobe while I’m on stage. Though it is badass when people are able to do both!
Who’s your favorite person to follow on Twitter and/or Instagram?
Where’s the weirdest place you’ve ever crashed while on tour?
Death By Audio when they were still running, it was like an adult playground.
What’s the story behind your first or favorite tattoo?
One year, one of my sisters gave me a collection of little things she said that reminded her of me for my birthday and the collection included a stick on tattoo of a frumpy elephant sitting in the water, it’s the elephant from the waist up sitting water like a human, I carried it around in my wallet forever (I still have it in there). A year or so later I went with my mom to get tattoos and I didn’t have anything planned so I just had them tattoo the elephant on my butt and then sent my little sister a picture of it.
What artists keep you from flipping the channel on the radio?
Everclear.
What’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done for you?
I’ve volunteered at the women’s shelter for the past five or six years and one day I was in hermitage cafe (a diner in Nashville) at like 5 or 6 in the morning and saw one of the security guards from the shelter eating. I said hi to him and then went to eat my food. When I went to pay they said he had already paid for it and I’ll never forget it. He was so sweet, it wasn’t a creepy situation it was genuinely just an act of kindness.
What’s one piece of advice you’d go back in time to give to your 18-year-old self?
Stand up for yourself, if something feels wrong it probably is AND ALSO you can do anything if you work hard enough even if nobody believes in you and tries to talk you out of it! It’s corny but true gotta use that anger to fuel your drive, prove em wrong babbbyyy!!
What’s the last show you went to?
I truly don’t remember.
What movie can you not resist watching when it’s on TV?
Fleabag, PEN15, Broad City – those are some of the best shows out there I’ll tell you what.
What would you cook if Kanye were coming to your house for dinner?
Oooooh boy I dunno maybe some mozzarella sticks.
Sugaregg is out August 21 on Sub Pop. Pre-order here.
The best new hip-hop albums coming out this week include projects from 03 Greedo, Black Noi$e, Boldy James, Coi Leray, Dave East, and Young Dolph.
After last week was marked by releases from both former and upcoming XXL Freshmen like Amine, Lil Keed, and NLE Choppa, this week highlights a few under-the-radar artists who could very well end up on a future list with the right placement, as well as some persistent veterans who never needed the help in the first place.
Ironically, it’s also one of the very few weeks we’ve gotten this year without a deluxe edition album to remind us of the bounty of high-profile releases that have dominated the discourse over the past eight months. There’s still plenty to get into, and we’ll undoubtedly be running a few of this week’s releases back well after the weather has cooled — and maybe even once outside comes back, too.
03 Greedo & Ron-Ron The Producer — Load It Up, Vol. 1
At this point, being awed by the sheer volume of post-incarceration releases 03 Greedo has managed to put together is like being surprised by the heat in Arizona. You can go ahead and add new Greedo albums to the worldwide list of absolute certainties, right between “death” and “taxes.” This time around, he’s teamed up with one of his original benefactors, LA’s Ron-Ron The Producer, with whom Greedo helped engineer a whole new wave of ratchet, party-ready rap music. Check out lead single “Home Vlone” for a sample.
Black Noi$e — Oblivion
Detroit producer Black Noi$e has made a career of providing off-kilter backing tunes to the likes of rap weirdos such as Wiki and World’s Fair, preferring grungy, gritty beats to the flash and flair of the usual hip-hop instrumental. He brings that aesthetic to this complex compilation courtesy of Earl Sweatshirt‘s Tan Cressida imprint, with contributions from Earl himself and collaborators like BbyMutha, Danny Brown, MIKE, and Pink Siifu. This one’s for hip-hop fans who like it left of center and way under the radar, like the crate-digging iconoclasts who helped guide the underground movement of the late ’90s into the blog era and beyond.
Boldy James — Versace Tape
You would think Boldy James might be worried about over-saturating the market at this point. Opening 2020 with The Price Of Tea In China and collaborating with producer Sterling Toles on Manger On McNichols, Boldy’s got enough material on the market to last a couple of album cycles. But he’s now a working member of the grind-at-all-times Griselda Records collective, and he’s proving that he fits in with this latest project, with beats produced entirely by Instagram comedian-turned-crate-digging-sample-connoisseur Jay Versace — all executive produced by Griselda head man Westside Gunn.
Coi Leray — Now Or Never
One listen to Coi’s new EP presages a brand new, intriguing direction for the New Jersey product. Leaning more than ever on a gift for melody and upbeat, danceable tracks, Leray finds a singsong middle ground between R&B and rap, recruiting an impressive collection of her predecessors in combining genres which includes Gunna, Fetty Wap (!), Kiana Ledé, and Sevyn Streeter. Working her way into position as more of a pop star may wind up being a strong move for the budding artist, as her expanded repertoire sets her apart from the rapidly expanding pool of competition in hip-hop.
Dave East — Karma 3
Harlem hometown hero Dave East is a little under a year removed from his debut studio album Survival and it looks like he’s been using the intervening nine months doing what he does best — working. The 15 tracks here contain appearances from many of East’s compatriots in delivering gritty, hood-focused storytelling, including A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Benny The Butcher, Bino Rideaux, Doe Boy, Trouble, and Young Dolph, as well as appearances from Mary J. Blige, Popcaan, and Trey Songz. You know what to expect from this one: Bars, bars, and more bars, all laden with that signature, hard-nosed Uptown flair.
Young Dolph — Rich Slave
It seems the rumors of Dolph’s impending retirement were exaggerated. While earlier this year, he seemed content to let his rookie Key Glock run the plays, it appears that watching KG drop two albums back-to-back gave Dolph the itch to compete once again. In a press release, he explained the album’s title, writing: “You can have money, and you can be a benefactor and a leader in your community, but all people see is Black skin. All the bullsh*t I heard about as a kid, we still face in today’s time.” Truer words were never spoken, but if it looks like his new material will have more of a political bent, have no fear — he’s also giving away the 2018 Lamborghini Aventador S Roadster from the cover as part of the album’s promotion, showing he’s still more than willing to flex, too.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Sufjan Stevens’ two most recent songs, “America” and “My Rajneesh,” both ran for over ten minutes. That’s a format in which Stevens works well, but he also thrives in a more traditional runtime. He has proven so today with his latest single from The Ascension, “Video Game.”
Stevens says of the song, a synthy indie-pop track:
“It’s unfortunate that we live in a society where the value of people is quantified by likes, followers, listeners and views. So many people are seeking attention for the wrong reasons. I think we should all be doing our best work without looking for accolades or seeking reward.
The main takeaway of ‘Video Game’ for me is: your worth (invaluable) should never be based on other people’s approval (ephemeral). Just be yourself. Keep it real. Keep it moving. Do all things with absolute purity, love and joy. And always do your best.”
He went on to praise choreographer and video star Jalaiah Harmon (who is famous for creating the viral “Renegade” dance), saying, “Jalaiah epitomizes all of this and I’m truly inspired by her. So I thought, ‘what if we could get Jalaiah to star in a ‘dance video’ about not wanting to star in a ‘dance video?” I’m so honored she agreed. She clearly owns it, and her work here is beautiful, poignant and true. Her dance shows incredible energy, work-ethic and spirit. She is dancing for herself, not anyone else. Her choreography is sophisticated, nuanced, and fun. She is a star. She keeps it real. She keeps it moving. She keeps it true. What a blessing!”
Stevens described the goal of his upcoming “lush, editorial pop album,” saying, “My objective for this album was simple: Interrogate the world around you. Question anything that doesn’t hold water. Exterminate all bullsh*t. Be part of the solution or get out of the way. Keep it real. Keep it true. Keep it simple. Keep it moving.”
Watch the “Video Game” video above.
The Ascension is out 9/25 via Asthmatic Kitty Records. Pre-order it here.
The Orlando bubble is unlike just about anything we’ve seen in league history. But its unique circumstances have created opportunities for the NBA to experiment with unconventional ideas, similar to how the G-League acts as a testing ground for rule changes and other innovations that the league itself might adopt in the future.
One of the biggest novelties of the bubble, is its play-in format, as fringe playoff teams are currently being forced to battle it out for a postseason berth. The Wizards quickly rendered that a moot point in the East after losing six straight games in Orlando, but the situation in the West has remained loaded with intrigue right up to the finish line.
The three teams that had to win took care of business and kept their playoff hopes alive, with only the Grizzlies losing, dropping to a tie for ninth with Phoenix and San Antonio in the process and adding all sorts of drama to Thursday’s action. The standings currently look like this — with Memphis holding the tiebreaker over both Phoenix and San Antonio, and the Suns holding the tiebreaker with the Spurs.
8. Portland
9. Memphis (0.5 back)
10. Phoenix (0.5 back)
11. San Antonio (0.5 back)
As you can see, it’s still very much up for grabs, and all four are in action on Thursday. Here’s what’s at stake in each of those four matchups, with a brief primer for what each team needs to accomplish to secure a chance in the play-in game and a shot at the postseason.
Blazers-Nets (9 p.m. ET)
Since his tiff with Paul George, Pat Beverley, et. al, Damian Lillard has been a man possessed. He’s scored 111 points in the past two games — both wins — and put the Blazers firmly in control of their own destiny. If they win this game, they’ll secure the No. 8 seed, meaning they’ll only need to win one play-in game to make the playoffs.
If the Blazers lose, and any two of the Grizzlies, Spurs, or Suns also lose, they’ll get the No. 9 seed, meaning they’ll have to win two play-in games to make the playoffs. If Portland loses and any two of those other teams win on Thursday, they’ll be eliminated. Should they lose and all three other teams lose, then they hold onto eighth. On the other end, the East playoff picture is set, and the Nets are locked into the No. 7 seed, so they have nothing at stake in this game.
Depending on which pundit you ask, the Blazers are one of the biggest sleeper threats if they make it into the postseason, and after last weekend’s high-profile run-in with the Clippers, Dame is as motivated as ever. However, a postseason showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers would likely require a repeat of last season’s Cinderella run to the West Finals, a tall order for a team that is scrambling to qualify for the postseason but is certainly finding its rhythm with health now on their side.
Spurs-Jazz (6:30 p.m. ET)
The Spurs have to win, we know that. But there’s still a path to the postseason, however dwindling the odds. San Antonio can sneak into the No. 9 seed if they win and any two of the Suns, Blazers, and Grizzlies lose. The No. 8 seed is even more of a long shot, requiring both a win on their part, and losses by all three of the other teams. Crazier things have happened.
But it isn’t just a playoff berth that’s at stake for the Spurs. San Antonio has made the postseason for 22 straight years, which is both an NBA record and the longest active playoff streak in any of the major North American sports. For the Jazz, it no longer matters as they face Denver in the first round next week. After OKC beat the Heat on Wednesday — subsequently ensuring a showdown with the Rockets — and the Clippers beat Denver, the West standings above eight were set in stone.
Suns-Mavs (4 p.m. ET)
The Suns have been the feelgood story of Orlando, so far, and Devin Booker has led the charge with his phenomenal play. They moved to 7-0 in the bubble with a win against Philly to keep their playoff hopes alive, behind 35 points, nine rebounds, and seven assists from Book. If that wasn’t enough to win your hearts, the organization surprised the team before the game with adorable video introductions from their family members.
But as good as they’ve been, their path to the postseason is anything but clear. A loss on Thursday means they’re out. But if they win, and the Blazers and Grizzlies both lose, they can land the No. 8 spot. A win by them and a loss by one of the Grizzlies or Blazers would mean the No. 9 seed.
Grizzlies-Bucks (4 p.m. ET)
If you’re a Grizzlies fan, you can’t be too happy about how things have panned out in the bubble so far. They came into Orlando with a comfortable foothold on the No. 8 seed in the West, but have watched that evaporate as the losses (and injuries) quickly piled up during that brutal opening week, leading us to where we are now with the play-in series scramble for position.
Still, despite all of that, the Grizzlies control their destiny. Win and you’re in, but seeding matters a lot. Memphis can still snag the No. 8 spot, but it will take a win combined with a Blazers loss. They’ll end up in ninth if they and Portland both win, no matter what the Suns and Spurs do. They’ll be eliminated if they lose and either of the Suns or Spurs win.
For the Grizz and presumptive Rookie of the Year Ja Morant, this was supposed to be something of a coming out party, the first of many playoff appearances to come for one of the league’s up-and-coming darlings. But with the way they’ve stumbled out of the gate, combined with a devastating knee injury to Jaren Jackson Jr., they’ll be fortunate to get in at all and would likely be first-round fodder for the Lakers anyway.
The Bucks, for their part, don’t have anything to lose here. They’re locked into the No. 1 seed in the East and could potentially choose to dial this one in and avoid risking injury to their star players. They’ll also be without Giannis, after his headbutt on Moe Wagner earned him a one-game suspension, which is at least a minor blessing for a Memphis team that could desperately use a good break in Orlando.
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