Remember when Rick and Morty took extra-long breaks between seasons? Those days are over. There has been a new episode of the hit Adult Swim animated series every year since 2019 — except for this year.
Rick and Morty season 7 (the first season without fired co-creator Justin Roiland) premiered and ended in 2023, and season 8 isn’t expected to debut until 2025. Perhaps sensing a gap in the schedule, Adult Swim is turning the viral Rick and Mortyanime-inspired shorts into a season-long show. Rick and Morty: The Anime is for the Toonami fans out there.
Here’s everything you should know about Rick and Morty: The Anime.
Plot
Following a number of well-received shorts (which you can watch on YouTube), Rick and Morty: The Anime will follow Rick as he “relaxes in a pseudo-world between multiverses,” according to the Adult Swim synopsis, while “Summer helps Space Beth fight the evil Galactic Federation, and Morty falls in love with a mysterious girl who happens to be an atemporal being.”
Also, Jerry does Jerry things.
Rick and Morty: The Anime is directed by Takashi Sano, who teased the dynamics of the 10-episode series. “The multiverse-straddling exploits of Rick and the gang pose challenges to the family bond, but they always rise to the occasion,” he explained in a statement. “It’s such a life affirming sight, and Jerry is no exception. I am honored to have been given an opportunity to tell a new story about this amazing family. I hope you enjoy their adventures!”
Sano’s goal is “to take all my favorite parts of watching Rick and Morty, compress the down to extract their essence, and then add a unique Japanese twist,” he said. “I’d like you to enjoy Rick and Morty’s adventures as they are wisked through time and space, tangled up in all sorts of chaos.”
It doesn’t appear the voice cast has been officially announced yet, but in the existing shorts, Rick and Morty are voiced by Yōhei Tadano and Keisuke Chiba, while the voices of Jerry, Beth, and Summer are provided by Manabu Muraji, Jun Irie, and Akiha Matsui, respectively. This could change, however, since the most recent short premiered in 2021, and the voices of Rick and Morty on the original series have changed since then for… reasons.
Release Date
Rick and Morty: The Anime doesn’t have an exact premiere date, but it will be “sometime this year” on Adult Swim and Max.
Trailer
Adult Swim released an early preview of Rick and Morty: The Anime on YouTube, which you can watch below.
What could be better than celebrating Memorial Day with a lineup of reggae and conscious hip-hop artists on the California coast while chiefin’ on some bud?
Slated to return this weekend, California Roots Music and Arts Festival — California’s first certified green event — will celebrate its 13th edition at the Monterey County Fair & Event Center with its most stacked lineup to date. For three days, attendees will able to sway to the ocean breeze and the beats of Ice Cube, Damian Marley, Stephen Marley, Ziggy Marley, Rebelution, E-40 & Too Short, Stick Figure, The Elovaters, Burning Spear, The Expendables, Xavier Rudd, Tropidelic, Pepper, and more.
Rooted in a genuine enthusiasm for stimulating the senses, Good Vibez Presents will host a weekend full of multi-layered education on all things music, cannabis medicine, and sustainability. Since the event’s inception, the festival has diverted over 600,000 single-use plastic cups and bottles through its Steel Pint & REVERB’s Rock n’ Refill Program, sold over 50,000 multi-use steel pint cups and Nalgene bottles, offset over 17 million pounds of carbon with TripZero, and parked almost 5,000 skateboards & bikes on its free, onsite Bike & Skate Valet.
Additionally, attendees will be treated to an immersive cannabis experience dubbed, “The Smoke Show.” Hosted by Embarc, a leader in California’s cannabis industry, this will be the first activation to introduce onsite cannabis sales and consumption at the renowned Monterey event. The activation will further push the festival and Embarc’s mission to destigmatize cannabis through safe, regulated experiences that allow consumers and the curious to learn about California’s diverse cannabis landscape.
To get you ready for all the vibes at this year’s Cali Roots, we asked some of this year’s artists what their festival essentials are as well as their favorite places to visit in the city of Monterey.
Cali Roots has always been an incredibly grueling travel day for the Expendables. But being from Santa Cruz, it’s always exciting to pack the gear and make the 45-minute drive down the coast for the festival. Because it’s such a trek, I (Raul Bianchi) usually pack the sprinter, and my wife and I stay for the whole weekend before heading home.
What are your Cali Roots suitcase essentials?
Water and warm clothes because Monterey doesn’t seem to have a night without the fog rolling in. Everything else you need is a short walk away. And if you forget anything and are in a bind, Cali Roots is one big family get-together so people are always happy to help you out with whatever you may need.
Coming to Monterey for the first time, what’s one thing you don’t want to miss?
If it’s really your first time in Monterey, you have to check out the aquarium. We have one of the best aquariums around. It is unique and worth at least one visit. Also Cannery Row is amazing for food, beer, and wine
What are your Monterey musts?
Depends on what floats your boat. Monterey has a lot to offer. Speaking of boats, whale watching if it’s the right time of year. Check out a Monterey FC soccer game. Fine dining. Go to the beach. Also, Monterey has world-class golf. Other than that, I’d have to consult the locals.
The band and I (Nick Asta) will be traveling all the way from our home state of Massachusetts. We all live in Plymouth County which is close to beautiful Cape Cod. We have been flying in for shows and festivals all around the country over the past two months which gives us some time between shows to be at home with family and friends. For Cali Roots we will be trekking from Boston and we are definitely looking forward to that Monterey sunshine.
What are your Cali Roots suitcase essentials?
I’ll absolutely be packing some rugged sneakers because I’ll be exploring the festival grounds and walking back and forth from both stages, the food trucks and the merch areas. There is a lot to take in at Cali Roots and I wanna see it all. I also know during the day I’ll be in shorts and a T-shirt but the temperature can drop at night so I’ll be packing a hoodie and a jacket.
Coming to Monterey for the first time, what’s one thing you don’t want to miss?
The thing I look forward to most about coming to Cali Roots is the vibe and energy of the festival itself. It always feels so inviting and easy to navigate. At this point in our career, we know a lot of the fans and most of the bands. Everywhere I turn I seem to see someone that I haven’t seen for a little while and it’s a three-day reunion and celebration of music, art, and life. I’m stoked to catch the sets of other bands I love like Pepper, Little Stranger, Stick Figure and tons more.
What are your Monterey musts?
We have been to Monterey quite a few times and always enjoy coming back to Cali Roots to perform. A few of the guys in The Elovaters have been to the Monterey Aquarium and the waterfront area. The aquarium is one of the best in the country in my opinion. Last time I was here I saw tons of wildlife including seals sunning on the beach. Monterey is a naturally beautiful place between the shoreline and the trees. We love it here.
We’ll be flying in from Charleston SC. Google says that is 2,724.5 miles.
What are your Cali Roots suitcase essentials?
Ohh probably the tour usuals. One decent outfit and some melatonin. Definitely not a bag of mushrooms.
Coming to Monterey for the first time, what’s one thing you don’t want to miss?
We were only in Monterey once and it was brief. There was a great surf shop though that we definitely will be stopping by again to grab some new clothes, as we continuously seem to lose our clothes on the road.
A sweater because Monterey tends to get a little chilly. And my guitar, of course!
What are your Monterey musts?
The Monterey Bay Aquarium is my FAVORITE place!! It is so beautiful and educational. They do a really good job caring for their animals and the ocean plus there’s really yummy food and adult beverages, too.
Chicago will be a Latin music lover’s dream destination this weekend: On May 25 and 26, the 2024 edition of the Sueños is taking place. The 18+ event boasts a lineup featuring favorites like Bizarrap, Rauw Alejandro, Maluma, and Peso Pluma.
If you’d like to attend last-minute, unfortunately, passes are sold out. However, you could try getting one via the festival’s waitlist, which offers the chance to buy passes that have been returned.
Aside from the music, Sueños (now in its third year) features a bunch of locally sourced Latin foot vendors, dozens of bars, experiential activations, and plenty more. Basically, the Latin experience doesn’t end with what’s happening with the artists on the stage.
Check out the full Sueños set times below.
Sueños Festival Set Times For Saturday, May 25, 2024
Red Bull Batalla — 12 to 12:30 (all times p.m. and PT)
Elena Rose — 12:45 to 1:05
Latin Mafia — 1:20 to 1:50
Alvaro Diaz — 2:05 to 2:30
Xavi — 2:45 to 3:!5
Sorry Papi — 3:15 to 3:45
Rels B — 3:45 to 4:30
Bizarrap — 5 to 5:45
Ivan Cornejo — 6:15 to 7
Young Miko — 7:30 to 8:15
Rauw Alejandro — 9 to 10
Sueños Festival Set Times For Sunday, May 26, 2024
Delilah — 12 to 12:20
Dani Flow — 12:30 to 12:50
Alexis y Fido — 1:05 to 1:35
Bad Gyal — 1:50 to 2:20
Gabito Ballesteros — 2:35 to 3:05
Manuel Turizo — 3:35 to 4:15
Jowell y Randy — 4:45 to 5:25
Mora — 5:55 to 6:35
Maluma — 7:15 to 8:15
Peso Pluma — 9 to 10
In her first five games as a pro with the Indiana Fever, Caitlin Clark has gone through the typical ups and downs of a rookie guard being tasked with running a new offense with new teammates — something that becomes even more difficult as a member of a team that wasn’t very good the prior year. The results have been mixed, with flashes of brilliance interspersed with youthful mistakes and difficulties with the increase in speed and physicality.
In a vacuum, it’s the kind of start to a career you’d expect from a young player. However, Clark exists in a space well beyond most rookies, carrying immense expectations that are now colliding with the reality of her situation as a young player that still has lots to learn and areas of her game that need to grow.
Numerous WNBA stars, past and present, said Clark would not be able to come into the league and simply pick up where she left off in college. Some felt they were hating or jealous of Clark’s popularity, but they were simply telling a general truth that exists across all sports: Young players, even future stars, usually endure some struggles as they adjust to the pro game, and the process of getting comfortable in that new environment takes time.
Time is something Clark is not being afforded by everyone. Clark entered the WNBA with more public attention than any prospect in league history. Her games have been broken TV records for women’s basketball for the past year, but the audience that was once treated to a veteran dominating her level of competition is watching a player at the very beginning of a new learning curve. That has led to inevitable discussion of whether Clark is overrated and overhyped, when her up-and-down start shouldn’t be a surprise or an indictment of what she can become.
Like most young guards in a professional league, the speed and physicality of the game have forced Clark to adapt on both ends of the court. Adding to that is the fact that she didn’t come into the league with a physical advantage in the form of elite size or speed, which Tim Legler pointed out means the process takes even longer for her to fully understand how to deploy her entire skill set at the pro level.
The space she could create to shoot off the bounce in college is more difficult to attain, and defenders are allowed a bit more physicality on the ball to disrupt her dribble. Rotations are crisper and passing windows close quicker, requiring a recalibration of what constitutes a passing lane. The attention defenses pay her hasn’t increased, but the skill of those defenders with eyes on her has, making it more difficult to get to her spots than it was in college. Defensively, she’s dealt with foul trouble in three of her five games, as she has to figure out how to match intensity and physicality without overcompensating and fouling.
On top of all of that, playing against Caitlin Clark means you are provided a fairly unique opportunity at this moment in the WNBA. Her first few games have already broken viewership records for ESPN and ABC. Folks tune in to watch Clark when the game starts, but opposing teams know they have a chance to become the headliners when the final buzzer sounds. That puts the Fever in a strange position, because teams typically aren’t getting up to make sure they have their A-game against an opponent at the bottom of the standings. But with a national stage and well over a million viewers most nights, the Fever’s opponent will find themselves with an opportunity to make quite the statement.
The result has been Clark averaging 17.1 points, 5.8 assists, and 4.6 rebounds a night on 40.3/32.6/91.3 shooting splits, with 5.8 turnovers per game through her first five games as a pro. For most rookies, no one would really bat an eye at those numbers, but they are a ways off from her preposterous senior year stat line at Iowa, averaging 31.6/8.9/7.4 on 45.5/37.8/86.0 splits. Four of those games coming against the Sun and Liberty, top-3 teams from a year ago, and while it’s been ugly at times, I think the early gauntlet (which will continue this weekend against the Aces) is a good thing for Clark. She is not someone I worry about losing confidence through early struggles, but instead, this is a very quick crash course in what needs to improve to play with the league’s very best and set off on the work needed to get there. At some point, it was going to happen, and getting that in the first two weeks should allow her and the Fever to get a very clear sense of where they need to get better.
That last part is also important to remember, because the adjustment process isn’t just a burden Clark has to shoulder alone. She is such a unique player, and her new teammates and coaches have to figure out how best to operate with her as the focal point. Fever head coach Christie Sides has faced criticism for how the team is operating, and she’ll have to adapt her coaching philosophies to match the skillset of her team to put them in the best places to succeed. On the floor, Clark’s teammates have to figure out new roles, how to space the floor better, where Clark is expecting them to be on sets, and when to cut and move off the ball.
Chief among them is Aliyah Boston, who the Fever hope can pair with Clark to be one of the WNBA’s best guard-big combos. Both she and Clark are learning how to play off of one another in real time, as neither has ever played with anyone like the other. For Clark, Boston is the most dynamic big she’s ever played with, and for all the potential positives that can bring, it forces Clark to learn where Boston wants the ball and make sure she is setting up Boston to get looks where she’s most comfortable. For Boston, she’s never played with a guard that plays like Clark. She has to learn how Clark wants her to roll, with Clark noting she wants Boston to operate out of the short roll more to prevent defenses from recovering and denying passes closer to the rim.
There’s also the need to figure out how to best screen for Clark to help with creating that space to shoot or drive and collapse a defense, with Indiana starting to set those screens higher up the floor to stretch the defense vertically and give Clark a longer runway into a shot or a drive. Those are things that take time with veterans, so it shouldn’t shock anyone that two young players playing with a brand new co-star archetype are not on the same page immediately.
It’s easy to forget this team has been together less than a month, so we’re watching this learning process in real time. There are tangible examples of improvement in all of these areas already in five games, as they’ve gone from getting run off the floor to being competitive, with the next step being learning how to finish off wins. Clark has started to find some comfort with Boston and others, continuing to better understand where her teammates are going to be on any given play and where they’re going to be best set up to succeed. That leads to her making the simple play, because the trust is starting to build. We saw that in her most recent game against the Seattle Storm, as things seem to be slowing down a bit for her, finding teammates early before windows close and forcing things less.
Clark shouldn’t be absolved of criticism simply because she’s young. She is supposed to be a face of the league sooner than later, and as such, it’s not unfair to have expectations for her to be better than most rookies. That said, we also have to be understanding of the context of her situation when discussing her play. She is dealing with new challenges being presented to her by more talented players. She is playing on a team that is not one of the league’s deepest with talent, and she is one month into her pro career after a lengthy college season.
As such, the mistakes and poor decisions aren’t damning evidence that she can’t hack it in the WNBA, but simply evidence of things that need to be cleaned up if she’s going to reach that truly elite level in the league. And despite what the discourse around her may lead you to believe, there’s plenty of time to get there.
Taylor Sheridan’s Yellowstone will soon be riding his flagship horse into the sunset, and that’s fine (really!). The spin offs can carry that torch, as can Sheridan’s enormous (other) stable of shows that can keep his screenwriting fires burning. That includes his third-most popular series, Tulsa King, starring Sylvester Stallone as the loyal mob capo who thought he’d be welcomed back with open arms after keeping his mouth shut in the slammer for 25 years. Instead, he got shipped off to Oklahoma, where he has been building a new kingdom amid a gathering of honky-tonk bars and cannabis dispensaries.
This hasn’t turned out splendidly for Dwight “The General” Manfredi, given the events of the first season finale, but this show has turned out well for Stallone, who seems to be having a ball on TV and enjoying a nice departure from his decades of action movies. The dude had even declared himself done with his most famous role, Rocky Balboa, and whaddya know, Paramount TV King Taylor Sheridan had a role tailor made to pick up the next phase of his career.
Plot
The second season will build upon Dwight’s initial steps (in Paramount+’s words) of “slowly build[ing] a crew from a group of unlikely characters to help him establish a new criminal empire in a place that to him might as well be another planet.” However, some obvious questions are hanging in the air. As in, will Dwight — who was arrested during maneuverings by ATF Agent Stacy (Andrea Savage) — end up back in prison, which would really ruin that sweet celebratory turn that he was enjoying?
We have to assume that Stallone’s character will scramble to save his own butt, and in the second season, yes, he will be doing his best to remain an unincarcerated Tulsa King, so to speak. And although Taylor Sheridan hasn’t been talking about the upcoming plot, Stallone was happy to do so on his own. “I’m not supposed to be doing this,” he declared in a video via Instagram. “I didn’t get here by following the rules, if you know what I mean.” Of his character’s legal predicament, he revealed that there had been a courtroom scene because “I have to appeal my case, and I’m my own lawyer, so that could turn out [makes telling face] good or bad.” Oh boy.
Stallone also decided to tell the world, “We’re coming out in early fall.”
He further explained in a caption that he was breaking a rule with this post “because I’m proud of what we’re doing and the show is going to be fantastic TULSA KING SECOND SEASON.” And thank goodness for (TV) lawbreakers.
However, that criminal appeals case isn’t the only hurdle for the Tulsa King. There are contenders for the king’s crown, and that includes a Kansas City mobster, Bill Bevilaqua, who has “interests in Tulsa,” according to Deadline, which describes Frank Grillo’s incoming gangster as “a formidable new opponent.”
How does Grillo feel about this? Via his Instagram, he answered, “Taking one on the chin !! Sometimes in life we’re in exactly the place we’re supposed to be,with the person we’re supposed to be with. Working w the #GOAT.” Stallone posted the same photo while praising “my fellow movie gangster, the great Frank Grillo.”
Variety has additionally reported that Yellowstone actor Neil McDonough will also be a circling force as “Cal Thresher, a powerful and extremely territorial businessman in Tulsa.” Perhaps we’ll see some of McDonough’s same menacing airs that he gave us with a Justified third-season antagonist?
As if that wasn’t enough, Dwight’s character will also be sorting through emotional wreckage involved with becoming reacquainted with his estranged daughter, Tina (Tatiana Zappardino). Still, this series officially now holds the “comedy series” label, so don’t expect things to get too heavy for too long.
Behind the camera, previous showrunner Terence Winter (Boardwalk Empire) left his position, kind-of like the production left Oklahoma to replicate Tulsa sets in Atlanta. Winter, however, will still be on writers’ duties, and Craig Zisk (Weeds) is on board as a director and executive producer. As with several other Taylor Sheridan shows, Tulsa King will push forth without a showrunner, but it sounds like everything is under control.
Cast
Thanks to an Atlanta move, Stallone is back as Dwight “The General” Manfredi, whose estranged daughter, Tina (Tatiana Zappardino), will be around plenty this season (Tatiana has moved up to regular cast). Likewise for Annabella Sciorra, and as mentioned already, two mob competitors will be portrayed by Frank Grillo and Neil McDonough. The rest of the cast includes Andrea Savage, Garrett Hedlund, Max Casella, Martin Starr, Dana Delaney, Vincent Piazza, and Domenick Lombardozzi.
Release Date
Stallone said “early fall,” and you heard the man.
Trailer
What, no teaser trailer yet? Well, let’s watch Stallone get messy with a joint.
Morgan Spurlock, the director of Oscar-nominated documentary Super Size Me and concert film One Direction: This Is Us, has died due to complications of cancer, Variety has reported. He was 53 years old.
“It was a sad day, as we said goodbye to my brother Morgan,” his brother Craig Spurlock said in a statement. “Morgan gave so much through his art, ideas and generosity. Today the world has lost a true creative genius and a special man. I am so proud to have worked together with him.”
Spurlock’s directorial debut Super Size Me, where he documented the changes to his physical and mental well-being after eating only McDonald’s food for 30 days straight (it later came out that he was drinking heavily at the time), was a surprise hit. It was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film at the Oscars and spawned a sequel, 2017’s Super Size Me 2: Holy Chicken!.
Spurlock’s other documentaries include Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? and Comic-Con Episode IV: A Fan’s Hope; he also followed boy band One Direction around during the Take Me Home Tour for One Direction: This Is Us, which made an impressive $68 million at the box office.
In 2017, Spurlock admitted to committing sexual misconduct, including “that he was accused of rape in college, settled a sexual harassment lawsuit and has cheated on all of his romantic partners, including both of his wives,” according to NBC News. “As I sit around watching hero after hero, man after man, fall at the realization of their past indiscretions, I don’t sit by and wonder ‘who will be next?’ I wonder, ‘when will they come for me?’ You see, I’ve come to understand after months of these revelations, that I am not some innocent bystander, I am also a part of the problem,” he wrote in a lengthy Twitter post.
“Beautiful Girls” singer Sean Kingston was arrested at Fort Irwin in California’s Mojave Desert yesterday (May 23), immediately after performing a concert there, on fraud and theft charges, TMZ reports.
A company named Ver Ver Entertainment filed a civil complaint against Kingston and attorney Dennis Card, who represents the company, alleged (via Local 10), “He basically has a sales pitch that he goes through to defraud people. He induces them into giving him really expensive things. We know that our property is inside this house right here, so as soon as the raid takes place we are going to have a crew of people in there to reassemble it and take it back to its rightful owner.”
In terms of the raid Card mentioned: Kingston’s arrest followed a SWAT raid on his Florida home, where his mother, Janice Turner, was arrested. She was taken into custody on “numerous fraud and theft charges.”
The complaint from Ver Ver claims Kingston used his celebrity status to scam people out of products and services: In one alleged example, he partially paid for a television and entertainment system, but never paid for it in full following installation.
Following his mother’s arrest, Kingston wrote in an Instagram Story post yesterday, “People love negative energy! I am good and so is my mother!.. my lawyers are handling everything as we speak.”
The Boston Celtics and the Indiana Pacers are currently going head-to-head to figure out which team will represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals this year. Boston was expected to be in this spot, but Indiana is a bit of a surprise, as their high-flying style of basketball completely wore down a pair of compromised teams in the first two rounds.
Those two teams, the Milwaukee Bucks and the New York Knicks, are now at home with a bad taste in their mouths. That’s the case for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, and Miami Heat, as well, as all of these squads made it to the playoffs but couldn’t reach the promised land. And today, we decided to look at all six of those teams and identify what they need to do next year if they want to go deeper in the postseason than they were able to go this time around.
New York Knicks: Be healthy
The Knicks are a pretty easy case. They were the second-best team in the Eastern Conference for some time and got derailed by, quite frankly, a shocking string of injuries. Losing just Julius Randle, or just Bojan Bogdanovic, or just Mitchell Robinson, or just OG Anunoby would have been bad enough. To not have any of the first three against the Indiana Pacers was a major problem, then Anunoby hurt his hamstring in Game 2 and played five minutes over the remaining five games. And then, to top it all off, Jalen Brunson was clearly hobbled for much of the series before leaving Game 7 with a broken hand.
New York has to figure out the futures of a few major contributors — Anunoby and Isaiah Hartenstein are free agents this summer, as are a pair of dudes (Alec Burks, Precious Achiuwa) who gave them good minutes in the playoffs. But above all else, they just need some R+R to heal up on the heels of a brutal stretch of injuries. If they can simply make it to the playoffs next year with the normal bumps and bruises teams have and not a catastrophic injury crisis, they’ll be one of the favorites to make it to the conference finals in 2025.
Milwaukee Bucks: Get healthy and find trustworthy depth
The Bucks are in a similar boat to the Knicks, with the difference being that instead of a bevy of injuries killing them, they just found themselves with no shot due to Giannis Antetokounmpo missing the entire first round and Damian Lillard getting hurt as the series went on. In a bit of analysis you won’t find anywhere else: The Milwaukee Bucks are a better basketball team when those two play. Incredibly insightful, eh?
In all seriousness, the Bucks should take a step forward next year due to the mix of health and Doc Rivers having an offseason to plan and prepare the team. A problem, though, is they’re in a tricky spot from a roster-building perspective — Malik Beasley, Patrick Beverley, and Jae Crowder are all free agents, but six of their top-8 players in minutes per game last year are slated to be back. Do they look to package a veteran (say, Bobby Portis and Pat Connaughton) and the No. 23 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft for immediate help? Do they hope they can get lucky on the vet minimum market? Or do they bank on continuity helping a young guy like Chris Livingston or Andre Jackson Jr. break through?
Cleveland Cavaliers: Pick their core and build a more balanced roster around them
Now that J.B. Bickerstaff is gone, the Cavs face two big questions are:
1. What does the future hold for Donovan Mitchell (and, as a result, Darius Garland)?
2. Can you have Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley on the same team?
The team’s four best players might not be compatible with one another. The Cavs, essentially, have two guards who need the ball and two centers in their starting lineup. Things just always seemed to lack any sort of consistent rhythm when Garland and Mitchell were on the floor together, and there was never enough space when Allen and Mobley were out there at the same time. If Mitchell is willing to sign an extension, it makes sense to start making and taking calls on Garland — an awesome player who had a Murphy’s law year — but if Mitchell makes clear that he wants to test the free agent market, shopping him and trying to recoup as much as possible would be prudent.
No matter what, picking one of Allen or Mobley as your center to build around has to happen, as both are good NBA centers at a time when teams could really stand to have one on the roster. Cleveland has to start building out its team in a way that makes sense. Max Strus is a good player and Isaac Okoro took a nice step forward this year, but the team still needs more on the wing. Creating better floor balance figures to be the top priority no matter which of their core pieces end up on the trade block, and how well they manage to build a more well-rounded roster figures to determine their ability to raise their ceiling.
Orlando Magic: Add some offensive juice in the backcourt
The Magic, which had not won a playoff series since 2010, had the Cavs dead to rights in their own building. A road Game 7 usually causes young teams to wilt, but instead, Orlando led by as many as 18 points in the first half. And then, as was often the case for Orlando, the bottom fell out on their offense. They’d go on to score another 47 points over the remainder of the game, shot 25.6 percent from the field in the second half, and had their year officially end with a whimper. The worst part: This wasn’t a huge surprise, as the Magic’s offense was prone to go through spells where it was absolutely abysmal, and once again, that reared its ugly head at the worst possible time.
The good news for Orlando is that the team is under less pressure to win right now than any other playoff team — this was the first time in franchise history that they won at least 47 games without Shaquille O’Neal or Dwight Howard on the roster. Having said that, the offense is way too prone to cold spells, and they have to figure out how to fend those off. Paolo Banchero continuing to develop and Franz Wagner remembering how to shoot would help, but could the historically conservative Magic take a swing before those dudes are due big extensions and try to get a backcourt star who could help them become a, say, top-15 or so offense? We’ve seen plenty of teams bank on continuity and have it work, but it’s no guarantee that happens. There’s a real path for them to get a top-4 seed in the East next year, and it all revolves around sorting things out on the offensive end of the floor.
Philadelphia 76ers: Build intelligently
Joel Embiid is under contract next year, Paul Reed is on a non-guaranteed deal, and Tyrese Maxey is going to get a lot of money at some point this summer via an extension. Otherwise, the Sixers are a blank slate — they quite literally do not have anyone else under contract. This is Daryl Morey’s dream scenario, as he gets to build a team entirely around a pair of stars.
However, that create a lot of pressure. The team is flush with cap space to add another star on a max contract and/or picks they can use on the trade market, but they also will need to build out a full roster. Striking the balance between gathering high-level talent and creating the depth needed to be a contender is never easy, and the Sixers have to figure out the right answer based on what is available to them this summer.
There is, of course, no guarantee this plan works out. Even if Morey knocks this offseason out of the park, Philly is in a situation where Embiid’s health is the ever-present elephant in the room — the alternative answer to this might be “money that they can give the NBA so Embiid can be on a load management plan that keeps him healthy in the face of fines.” But between the start of free agency and Maxey putting pen to paper on a max extension, Philly has to put together a championship-level roster around its two building blocks. Embiid is in his 30s already, and even though he has a star running mate in Maxey, he’s not likely going to be one of the best players on the planet for too much longer. As such, the Sixers need to nail this offseason — there cannot be another major financial albatross like the Tobias Harris contract — and use it to create a real runway to a championship.
Miami Heat: Swing for the fences
Put a microphone in front of Pat Riley and something is gonna happen. Riley obliged in his postseason media availability where he, uh, said a lot of stuff! Chief among them: Riley made very clear he wants Jimmy Butler (and Tyler Herro) to play more often, and he doesn’t have a whole lot of urgency to come to terms on an extension with his star player, who turns 35 in September and can hit free agency next summer.
Regardless of what happens with Butler, the Heat as presently constructed are just not good enough to go on a run that doesn’t include insane shot making that drives every Celtics fan you know insane. The good news, based on another thing Riley said, is that the lack of a championship over the last few years is surely eating away at him, and if there’s one team you just know will be looking to go for broke this offseason, it’s the Heat. They’re a franchise built around occasionally striking out while swinging for the fences, because they’d rather hit a homer than string together a few singles. They need to add another big time player who can serve as a running mate with Bam Adebayo as Butler starts to age out of stardom. Who that is, however, remains to be seen, but if Miami runs back essentially this same team next year, it’s more than likely that they’ll be a Play-In squad once again.
Earlier this week, Anthony Michael Hall revealed to Cinema Blend that fan-favorite bad guy Paulie will be played in season 3 of Prime Video’s Reacher by Olivier Richters, the “tallest actor and bodybuilder in the world.”
Get a load of this guy, who goes by The Dutch Giant.
“He reminds me of, do you remember when we were kids? The Spy Who Loved Me, the Jaws character that Richard Kiel played? He was a literal giant, like seven foot two. That character [Paulie] does live in the show, and they have an epic battle,” Michael Hall shared. “I don’t want to give it away, but yeah, they definitely meet as they do in the book… You know, Reacher and Paulie colliding – there’s something Marvel about that, right? They’re like two superhero-sized guys, so it’s kind of cool.”
7′ 2″ Richters is already on set taunting puny 6′ 3″ Ritchson:
I instantly regret even jokingly calling goon-whomping Ritchson “puny.” Please do not pick me up with one hand and throw me out of a building.
Reacher season 3 premieres on Prime Video at some point in 2025.
The most recent album we got from Lady Gaga is 2020’s Chromatica (she and Tony Bennett released Love For Sale in 2021, too). There’s still no word about when Gaga’s next album is dropping, but the artist has just offered an enticing update about it.
Last night (May 23), during a Q&A at the Los Angeles premiere of her Chromatica Ball concert film (as Rolling Stone reports), Gaga said she’s been “in the studio every single day” and continued, “I have written so many songs, I’ve been producing so many songs, and it’s nothing like anything that I’ve ever made before. I love to break genre and I love to explore music. There’s something really beautiful about knowing that you will be loved no matter what you do.”
Gaga also explained her current creative process that started taking shape during the Chromatica Ball Tour in 2022, saying, “Something I’m definitely exploring right now is sort of the art of intensity and I think that the art of intensity actually began during this tour, but I’m not done with it yet.”
She also said of the tour more broadly, “This tour went on during a time that people didn’t think that you could tour [during the COVID-19 pandemic] and stadiums were packed all over the world and they were sold out, all dressed up and dancing and singing. I’m just so excited for you all to see what we made up close.”
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Cookie settingsACCEPT
Privacy & Cookies Policy
Privacy Overview
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these cookies, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may have an effect on your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
