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The 4-5 series in the Eastern Conference between the Philadelphia 76ers and Toronto Raptors has the potential to be one of the best of the postseason. In one corner, Philly enters with arguably the two-best players in the series with Joel Embiid and James Harden, but as we’ve seen on numerous occasions over the years, Toronto has the incredible ability to do whatever it takes — no matter how unconventional — to win games and advance in the postseason.

These two teams have squared off on the biggest stage before, with the Raptors famously beating the Sixers in seven games en route to an NBA championship in 2019. But with both teams undergoing radical transformations since then, here are three things that could decide which squad ends up moving on.

Can the Raptors slow down Joel Embiid at all?

The way the Raptors have built their team is legitimately quite fun. The team has 11 players between 6’7 and 6’9, and have eschewed having a more traditional big man. This has led to them being one of the most chaotic and flexible defenses in all of basketball — their defense is first in the league in turnover percentage, while they are ninth in defensive efficiency.

There are scant few teams in the league that have any sort of answer to this weird, funky, hilarious, and captivating defense that Nick Nurse has built. Unfortunately for them, Philadelphia has one of those guys in Joel Embiid. It is hard to guard Embiid under most circumstances, but that’s exacerbated when a team lacks a dude who can really battle with him physically, especially now that he’s able to respond to efforts to double and triple-team him by finding open teammates on the perimeter.

It’s possible that Toronto’s best plan is to accept that Embiid is going to torment them and hoping they can limit the damage he can cause until Paul Reed or, far more likely, DeAndre Jordan comes in, as the Sixers’ backup center position has once again been thrown into disarray due to their parting of ways with Andre Drummond in the James Harden trade. Or maybe Nurse, in his never-ending quest to try literally every single thing that has ever been done on a basketball court, can find one or two things that slow Embiid down — look for Toronto’s stellar transition offense to do whatever they can to turn games into track meets with the hopes of making the big fella winded and getting more backup 5 minutes than anyone anticipated.

Which James Harden shows up?

James Harden is really, really good. The issue is the Sixers don’t need him to be really, really good — they need him to be one of the best basketball players on earth. His 21 points per game on 40.2 percent shooting while connecting on 32.6 percent of his threes since coming to the City of Brotherly Love is simply not good enough, and his sudden inability to score at the rim raises serious questions about the health of his hamstring.

It stands to reason that some of the pessimism among basketball pundits heading into this series stems from the fact that Toronto’s army of stingy, switchy defenders is going to make Harden work for every single thing he’s going to try and get. When he gets into the lane, there is a chance he is going to be met by Scottie Barnes, whose aptitude as a free safety-like defender is rare for rookies.

Of course, while his reputation in the playoffs is not exactly sterling, Harden’s coming into the postseason with a week of rest and the kind of running mate in Embiid who can take a whole lot of pressure off of him, while Tyrese Maxey’s ability to make stuff happen with the ball in his hands means Harden won’t need to attack over and over. Perhaps that’s not a good thing, and Harden needs the ball as much as possible to find his rhythm, but if the Sixers get the guy they traded for earlier this year instead of the guy they’ve gotten so far, they’ll find themselves in a really good spot.

Can the Raptors carve up the Sixers’ perimeter defense?

Toronto’s half-court offense hasn’t always been stellar this year — Fred VanVleet and Pascal Siakam are a dangerous 1-2 punch, but the Raptors have been at their best when they can get out and run. To be clear, Philly’s transition defense is not particularly good, and it’s possible that Toronto’s plan is to get out and run as much as possible, but it’s equally possible that the Sixers respond to this by having Embiid and Harden embrace the art of the grift and take up permanent residency at the free throw line, mucking things up in such a way that no one has any fun watching them as they win games at the charity stripe.

If that happens, though, Toronto can take some solace in knowing there are ways to attack Philadelphia’s perimeter defense. The team’s best perimeter defender, Matisse Thybulle, can only play home games due to his vaccine status. With him out, the Sixers will have some combination of Maxey, Harden, Danny Green, Shake Milton, and Furkan Korkmaz as its guards and wings. That’s not exactly the Bad Boys Pistons on that end of the floor, and while Embiid can cover up a whole lot of issues if they’re able to attack the rim, that is putting a whole heck of a lot on him. And if VanVleet or Siakam can penetrate and force the Sixer defense to scramble, they’re adept passers who can find open men on the perimeter.

Getting out in transition is going to be Toronto’s bread and butter — as it should be, both because they are quite good at it and because that might be their best way to wear Embiid down. But whether it’s someone attacking or the team zipping the ball around to guys like VanVleet, Gary Trent Jr., or OG Anunoby on the perimeter, they have the pieces to attack the Sixers in the half-court.

Anitta is having quite the big week. Just a few days ago, the Brazilian singer released her fifth album Versions Of Me. The project arrived three years after her fourth full-length effort Kisses. After celebrating the release of Versions Of Me, Anitta brought her talents to Coachella for a flavorful set with some special guests. She made her entrance to the stage with Snoop Dogg by her side and later on she brought out Saweetie so that they could do a brief performance of their collaboration, “Faking Love.” Elsewhere, Anitta’s backup dancers later got into a “funk battle” with Diplo who was spinning on the DJ booth.

Anitta’s Versions Of Me features her viral TikTok track, “Envolver,” which she also performed during her debut set at Coachella. Versions Of Me itself arrived with 15 songs and features from Ty Dolla Sign, Afro B, Khalid, Saweetie, YG, Cardi B, Myke Towers, and more. Anitta’s Coachella performance also comes after she and Saweetie stopped by The Late Late Show With James Corden to perform “Faking Love.”

You can watch a clip of Anitta’s Coachella set in the video above.

Versions Of Me is out now via Warner Records. You can stream it here.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Tucker Carlson doesn’t isn’t only one of Fox News’ most popular — and most Putin-friendly — hosts. He’s also occasionally a documentarian. That’s not to say that his non-fiction films contain facts. His Fox Nation series on the alleged FBI plot behind the Jan. 6 riots was so wrongheaded it infuriated his own colleagues. Now he has one on the alleged decline of masculinity, with a trailer that’s more homoerotic than the SNL classic “Schmitts Gay.”

In a preview of his forthcoming new season of “Tucker Carlson Originals,” the host promises to cover “one of the biggest stories of our lifetime,” namely “the total collapse of testosterone levels in American men.” What is he talking about? He’s almost certainly promising even more transphobia on the same station that recently hired Caitlyn Jenner. But the trailer for the doc also promises lots of shots of shirtless men with glistening six packs doing things like shooting guns, milking cows, and what appears to be tanning their testicles.

Carlson, who used to wear a bowtie in public, seems to be lamenting the dearth of old school masculinity. But he also appears to have been taken with some dubious practice called “red light tanning,” which involves tanning the balls in an attempt to redress what he describes as “falling testosterone.” As per The Daily Beast, he discussed this with one of Friday night’s guests, Kid Rock, who wasn’t sure how to respond. “I don’t know what the hell is going on in this world,” the pro-Trump rap-rocker responded, adding that “some days you just want to stop this planet and let me off.”

When a clip from the trailer went public, there were lots of jokes, addressing both its “homoerotic” overtones and its similarities to the work of Nazi filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, whose film of the 1936 Berlin Olympics fetishizes the male form.

Incredibly, the trailer doesn’t feature Madison Cawthorn beating up a tree.

See if you can keep up with Harry Styles tonight. The former One Direction star, who is now a bonafide solo star big enough on his own to headline Coachella, has been having quite a time at the celebrity-infused event. First, he kicked off his set with his brand new single, “As It Was,” debuting it live for the first time. Then, he started to dive into some new material that fans haven’t even heard recorded versions of yet. Debuting two new songs so far, “Boyfriends” and “Late Night Talking,” Harry had another surprise for fans in the works: A casual Shania Twain medley.

Yes, that Shania Twain. I mean, when Harry Styles comes knocking, any pop star or country star is going to say yes to a guest appearance, but this one was definitely a surprise. Fans probably thought Stevie Nicks was more likely, given the friendship her and Harry have established, or even Kacey Musgraves, since they’ve toured together before. But Shania is definitely in line with the empowering, feminine music that Harry has expressed love for in the past. The pair performed Shania’s hits “Man, I Feel Like A Woman,” and “You’re Still The One,” check out footage of those below.

Daniel Caesar undertook quite a difficult task for this year’s Coachella — he performed right before Harry Styles took the stage. Now, Caesar is a very gifted artist in his own right, an incredibly poised performer, and definitely deserves a late set time at music’s most Insta-famous festival, but even given all that, preceding Harry is no mean feat. His fans are ultra passionate and he recently released a brand new single, “As It Was,” that listeners were keed up to hear live for the first time. With an upcoming album, Harry’s House, looming, and the fact that Kanye dropped out last minute, Harry’s set at the fest is a huge deal.

But, given his talents, it’s also unsurprising that Caesar pulled off the set with aplomb. And to get fans hype for the rest of the night, he even brought out a huge pop star of his own, none other than Justin Bieber. Of course, these two connected on the hit single, “Peaches,” off Justin’s last album, Justice, also accompanied by Giveon, and went all the way to No. 1 with the song. So it only makes sense that Caesar would be thrilled to incorporate it into his set at the festival. Check out some clips of Justin’s appearance up top.

Harry Styles is one of the biggest names on the Coachella bill this year, especially after Kanye West dropped out pretty last minute. Luckily for pop fans, both Harry and Billie Eilish will be holding down the fort in Indio this weekend, along with late addition, The Weeknd, who replaced Yeezy in the eleventh hour. Tonight, for the first night of the festival, it’s all about Harry, and since the release of his first new single, “As It Was” was a huge success, it’s likely going to be a fantastic show.

Then again, we already know all about Harry’s incredible live performances, spaces that become safe havens for his fans, and a place where he also expresses himself in a way he often holds back on social media and elsewhere. During his set tonight, listeners were all queued up to get the first live rendition of “As It Was,” and Mr. Styles did not disappoint. Check out footage of the song’s live debut up above, and keep an ear out for more from this set. There’s always the chance that friends like Stevie Nicks will show up, or that another new song from his upcoming album, Harry’s House, gets aired out.

Well, that was quick. After kicking off his set with a performance of the lead single off his upcoming album, Harry Styles went straight to new material. Yes, fans were thrilled to hear “As It Was,” and get a sense of the defining sound for Harry’s House, and hearing it live to kick off the first headliner of the festival just confirmed what we already knew: A brand new chapter is coming for Harry Styles. But then, almost immediately after, Harry launched into a brand new song, and another one that’s, presumably, off his new record.

“To boyfriends everywhere: f*ck you,” he reportedly said, before launching into the tune. Is it pandering, or does he really hate boyfriends? Lord knows, plenty of his fans are going to relate to this, whether thinking of exes or failures of current partners. This song illustrates that Harry is definitely on the side of women when boyfriends f*ck up. From the sounds of the snippet below, this one is a softer one that might reveal another layer to the sound of Harry’s House. Check out a brief snippet below and keep an ear out for more chances to hear the whole song likely coming very soon.

For the first time since 2018, the New Orleans Pelicans are headed to the NBA playoffs. The Pelicans took on the Paul George-less Los Angeles Clippers in the final Western Conference play-in game on Friday night, and in one of the most exciting games we’ve seen under the league’s nascent play-in format, New Orleans was able to walk into Crypto.com Arena and earn a 105-101 win that punched their ticket to the postseason.

The Pelicans boasted an eight-point lead at the end of the first quarter thanks in large part to the stellar play of Brandon Ingram. While the Clipper offense really struggled to get anything to fall — the team shot 36 percent from the floor and 9.1 percent from three in the opening 12 minutes — Ingram was outrageously good, scoring 16 points on 8-for-9 shooting with three rebounds and a pair of assists.

While Ingram was not quite able to continue his torrid form during the second quarter — he only had two points in the frame — the Pelicans didn’t ever seem particularly uncomfortable. Five unanswered points to end the quarter gave the Clippers a more manageable deficit at the half, but New Orleans still lead, 56-46. Ingram’s 18 led the way for the Pelicans, while Los Angeles got a combined 25 points over the first 24 minutes from Reggie Jackson and Marcus Morris.

Things changed dramatically at the start of the third. Los Angeles came out of the locker room and immediately went on a 7-0 run, with Jackson and Morris leading the way once more.

The Clipper offense just kept coming, as the team went small and started to give the Pelican defense headaches. Eventually, Jackson was able to give the team its first lead since the first half by beating C.J. McCollum off the bounce and getting to the rim.

Los Angeles just completely dominated New Orleans on both ends of the floor in the third, going on a 34-6 run and winning the quarter by 20 points. Once again, the stars of the show were Jackson and Morris, who both scored 11 points in the frame.

But the Pelicans did not relent. Early on in the fourth quarter, the team responded to the Clippers scoring the first three points by ripping off an 11-0 run to get themselves within two immediately upon Nic Batum, whose pesky defense gave them issues all night, heading to the bench. And after Robert Covington split a pair of free throws, McCollum pulled up from deep off of an offensive rebound to tie things up at 88.

Back and forth the two teams went down the stretch — if things weren’t shot-for-shot, everything that happened seemed to get an eventual response. With the game tied at 94, the Pelicans ripped off seven consecutive points … only for Los Angeles to respond by scoring five in a row and keeping things tight.

After a stretch in the final minute where the only points came at the free throw line for both teams, Larry Nance Jr. stepped to the charity stripe with the Pelicans holding onto a three-point lead with a hair under 20 seconds remaining, only to miss both of his attempts. New Orleans opted to foul right away once the Clippers got the ball out of a timeout, with Norman Powell splitting his shots. And after the Clippers tried to force a turnover instead of committing an immediate foul, Ingram found Jonas Valanciunas wide open under the hoop for the dagger.

Ingram’s 30 points, six rebounds, and six assists led the way for New Orleans, with McCollum adding 19 points and both Nance and Trey Murphy scoring 14 off the bench. Jackson and Morris each scored 27 for the Clippers, while Powell had 17 and Robert Covington provided 14.

The Pelicans will now advance to the playoffs, where they have quite the tall task awaiting them in the Phoenix Suns. Game 1 of their series tips off on Sunday night at 9 p.m. ET on TNT.

James Harden feels pretty good entering the 2022 NBA playoffs. While Harden’s recent play for the Philadelphia 76ers has led to some questions about whether or not he’s physically capable of being the kind of star alongside Joel Embiid who can help elevate the team to championship contender status, the former league MVP told the press on Thursday that he doesn’t feel any pressure ahead of his first postseason in Philly.

“Pressure, no. I feel good,” Harden said, per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I’m ready to hoop. There’s nothing to it.”

These comments did not sit particularly well with Charles Barkley. During halftime of TNT’s broadcast of the play-in game between the New Orleans Pelicans and Los Angeles Clippers, Barkley took a moment to stare directly into the camera and tell Harden that there is, indeed, a whole lot of pressure on him to perform.

“James Harden, you said you don’t feel no pressure?” Barkley asked. “Man, you better think again. Them people in Philadelphia ain’t gonna have you going out there and playing bad. So you can sit — I don’t wanna call it deflection or whatever — you got more pressure on you than any player in the playoffs. Good luck, now! Cause my Sixers, I love y’all Sixers and my Suns, but James, don’t tell that lie.”

Harden joined the Sixers at the trade deadline in a move that saw a package headlined by Ben Simmons go to the Brooklyn Nets. While he’s flashed the ability to be one of the most lethal offensive players in the world, his ability to score has not quite been as consistent as anyone anticipated, with Harden scoring 21 points per game on 40.2 percent shooting from the field and 32.6 percent shooting for three.

The Sixers, which hold the 4-seed in the Eastern Conference, will take on the Toronto Raptors in the first round of the playoffs. Game 1 from Philadelphia will tip off at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday afternoon.

The Atlanta Hawks have punched their ticket to the 2022 NBA Playoffs. After taking down the Charlotte Hornets in the 9/10 play-in game earlier this week, Atlanta headed up to Cleveland to take on the Cavaliers, which found themselves licking their wounds after losing the 7/8 game against the Brooklyn Nets. While the Cavs led by as many as 14 points in front of their hometown fans, Trae Young put the Hawks on his back in the second half and led Atlanta to a 107-101 win for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Cavaliers came out on a mission in the first quarter. With the crowd at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse rocking and Jarrett Allen giving the team a boost due to his return from injury, Cleveland raced out to a 12-4 lead and responded to any attempt the Hawks made to close the gap. While their offense was stellar in the game’s first frame – 36 points on 54.2 percent shooting and six of the team’s nine attempts from three going down — it was their defense that seemed to flummox Atlanta the most.

During the game’s first 12 minutes, the Hawks only made one of their seven tries from three and turned the ball over seven times — four by way of Young — which the Cavaliers turned into 11 points.

While Cleveland extended its lead to as many as 14 points, the Hawks managed to make them a bit uncomfortable. This was thanks in part to the play of Bogdan Bogdanovic off the bench, who hit all five of his shots for 14 points in the first half and was instrumental in getting the Cavs’ lead down to three.

But despite the fact that this group is new to this stage and their opponents made it to the Eastern Conference Finals last year, Cleveland managed to weather that particular storm like a team of grizzled postseason veterans. By the time they went to the locker room for halftime, the team had a 61-51 lead thanks to 17 points by Lauri Markkanen and a 13-point, 5-assist, 3-rebounds half by Darius Garland.

To add insult to injury for Atlanta, the team learned in the locker room that Clint Capela would not be be able to play in the second half after hyperextending his right knee. And despite that, the Hawks spent the entirety of the third quarter slowly chipping away at Cleveland’s lead.

While he struggled for much of the first 24 minutes, Young came alive in the third, scoring 16 points in the frame with five assists. This included a pair of threes late the quarter to give Atlanta its first lead of the game.

Thanks to some shot making by Garland and Caris LeVert down the stretch, the Cavaliers were able to keep Young’s hot streak from burying them, and things were tied at 84 as the game entered the fourth. That torrid form for Young carried over to the final frame, as the All-NBA guard was in total control of things, particularly during the 11-0 run that let the Hawks open up a 95-86 lead.

Cleveland was able to keep things close, but Young’s monstrous second half generally kept them at bay. When they got the lead down to three, Young pulled up from the logo and hit a three that didn’t touch the net.

And yet the Cavaliers just kept coming. Every Young haymaker had a response, and with less than 30 seconds left, it looked like they were going to have a chance to tie things up while down by three. Markkanen forced a turnover, but decided to dribble into the corner and give himself a bad angle for a pass to Garland.

Kevin Huerter read the whole situation perfectly, and while Danilo Gallinari pestered Markkanen and forced a bad pass, Huerter jumped the lane, registered a steal, and got the ball to Young, who went to the charity stripe and pushed the lead to five.

Young finished the game with 38 points and nine assists, while four other players — led by Bogdanovic’s 19 — scored in double-digits. Markkanen led the way for Cleveland with 26 points and eight rebounds, while Garland had 21 points and nine assists, albeit on 9-for-27 shooting.

With the win, Atlanta earned a matchup with the 1-seed Miami Heat, against whom they are 1-3 this year. The series is slated to tip off on Sunday, April 17, at 1 p.m. ET.