Category: Trending

The dominant conversation about the NBA seemingly every summer since 2010 has been about superteams and star trade requests. There is a very defined difference in how players from the past and current players view a star’s relationship with a team and city, as many of the stars of yesteryear feel loyalty is something of a lost trait in this generation.

There’s also the reality that in today’s NBA there is far more money on the line for everyone, and the conversation about players has shifted further and further towards only caring about championships. As such, players think much earlier about their legacy and know winning a title sits above all else, and are less willing to be patient with a team that’s struggling to build a contender around them. The truth is there’s lots of nuance that tends to get lost in these conversations, but it is fascinating to see the disgust some of the game’s all-time greats have for players pushing their way out. The latest to voice those opinions is Julius Erving, who said the trend has “not helped the game.”

In a recent conversation with Joy De’Angela, Dr. J made clear that he isn’t a fan of the trend of star players asking out at the first sign of trouble. Erving noted he understands Damian Lillard’s request after being in Portland for years, but takes more of an issue with guys like Kevin Durant “hopping around” throughout his career.

Durant in particular tends to be a lightning rod for these conversations, as his move to Golden State in particular irked many. He’s gone back-and-forth with Charles Barkley about this for years over Chuck’s “bus rider” comments about his championships in the Bay, and now he’s got Dr. J calling out his constant movement from team to team. Durant has remained defiant about his choices, making clear he doesn’t feel the need to explain his decisions to anyone. As for the generational divide among NBA stars past and present, it doesn’t seem like it’s going to ever really get resolved when it comes to the issue of trade requests and stars teaming up in a constant pursuit of a title.

Every time a new Mission: Impossible movie comes out, director and writer Christopher McQuarrie sits down for a lengthy chat with Empire. The first episode in the Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One episode (all 3.5 hours of it) just dropped, and there’s a lot of good stuff, including how the cast risked their lives for a scene that was ultimately cut from the film.

“It was supposed to be something we did with a resettable rig where everything could be very predictable, and nothing we did worked, and ultimately the actors had to risk their lives and do it practically,” McQuarrie said. He didn’t reveal what the stunt entailed, other than it was going to be during the thrilling third-act train sequence:

“With the train, I kept thinking, ‘Is this the shot?’ And we kept pulling and we kept getting the note, and eventually we identified what it was… The work that went into what was holding back the sequence was extraordinary – it was days, and it was a struggle, and it was very, very risky. We took it out, and the scene just sang.”

Tom Cruise would have fought for the scene to be kept in, but it was only “very, very risky,” not “very, very, very risky.” That’s more his style.

You can listen to the podcast (which requires a subscription) here.

(Via Empire)

As director Justin Simien started to promote Haunted Mansion, based on the popular Disney World theme park attraction, he was inevitably asked about the status of Lando. Simien was attached to develop the Disney+ series, which would see the return of Donald Glover‘s take on the character from Solo: A Star Wars Story.

Unfortunately, Simien didn’t have much to offer in the way of an update for Lando. He cited the widespread industry delays caused by the COVID pandemic as an understandable reason.

“I certainly poured my heart and spent a lot of time working with them to put together a really great show,” Simien told The Direct earlier in the month. “It feels like everybody loves it. And, you know, I was told we had to put a pause on it because of scheduling, and the next update I got [was in 2020], some years ago. So I don’t know, I have no idea what’s going on with it.”

Simien also made similar remarks to Uproxx, but a new report paints a different picture of what’s been happening behind the scenes. According to Above the Line (via Hollywood Reporter), Simien left Lando last summer, which prompted Lucasfilm to reach out to Glover and his brother Stephen, who have both taken over writing duties for the show:

The siblings agreed to board the project together, and their take is said to have Lucasfilm brass excited.

It’s worth noting that the Glovers’ involvement has been top-secret for months, as they signed on well before the WGA strike and haven’t performed any work on the project since writers took to the picket lines on May 2.

Above the Line writes that Simien’s diplomatic answers about the status of Lando was “likely” the director “not wanting to make waves on the eve of his new film’s premiere in theaters.”

(Via The Direct, Above The Line)

Late in the fourth quarter of Game 2 between the New York Knicks and Miami Heat during the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Isaiah Hartenstein whipped into a screen for Jalen Brunson near the right wing. Hartenstein’s well-rooted pick isolated Gabe Vincent out of the play and left Caleb Martin scrambling to recover on Brunson, who saw vacant space, jump-stopped to collect himself and rattled home a 25-foot long ball over Martin’s desperate, flailing right arm.

The bucket gave the Knicks a 99-96 advantage, one they’d never relinquish after a 44-minute seesaw affair and enabled them to knot the second-round duel at 1-1. Despite Miami eventually dispatching New York 4-2, Brunson was the series’ best player. As the Knicks saw their season end in Game 6, Brunson was otherworldly with 41 points on 79 percent true shooting. Across those six outings, he averaged 31 points (63.2 percent true shooting), 6.3 assists, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.0 steals. Four times, he scored at least 30 points, including 111 (37 per game) over the final three contests.

A metronome of consistency all regular season for his fifth-seeded club, Brunson remained as much in the playoffs and entrenched himself as a full-fledged star. In 11 postseason appearances, he never scored fewer than 20 points, dipped below 25 just four times and scored 27 or more six times. Not only did he establish a lofty ceiling with 30-point explosions, his basement provided a bankable floor as well, wrapping up his first playoff experience as the primary option with averages of 27.8 points, 5.6 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.5 steals.

During the regular season, the Villanova product generated 33.9 points per 100 possessions on 59.7 percent true shooting (plus-1.6 relative true shooting). During the playoffs, he generated 36.1 points per 100 possessions on 58.9 percent true shooting (plus-2.3 relative true shooting). At 6’1, he’s proven himself among the rare crop of small guards who don’t see their flame dampened come the playoffs, notching considerable jumps in scoring output from his regular season numbers each of the past two seasons.

The keystone of Brunson’s scoring profile is his midrange comfort and effectiveness. His blend of strength, herky-jerky guile, and balance enable him to maneuver as he intends through the intermediate regions of the court. Star playoff guards must see the midrange as a viable area to operate. They don’t necessarily have to convert or attempt tons of shots there, but they must impose themselves as a threat to the defense and ride a gear between 60 and zero.

Jamal Murray thrived en route to a title partly because of this in the spring. Stephen Curry’s diversified himself the past half-decade by becoming a midrange maven. Damian Lillard, James Harden, and Trae Young’s playoff numbers have been a bit sporadic in part because they don’t necessarily consider themselves at home there. Brunson certainly is, however, adept with floaters, turnarounds, backdowns, and swift pull-ups. It’s a major component of his sustained postseason potency. He’s stable, sturdy, and multifaceted.

This year, he knocked down 58 percent of his midrange jumpers in the playoffs (81st percentile), and was especially prolific with his runner and other looks below the free-throw line (58 percent between 4 and 14 feet, 81st percentile). With the likes of Bam Adebayo, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett Allen employing drop coverage or lurking off of Mitchell Robinson and Isaiah Hartenstein in the dunker spot, Brunson’s propensity to thrive in the paint beyond layups was a vital counter that mitigated a bit of New York’s spacing woes.

Contrast that to his teammate Julius Randle, who’s struggled in two playoff cameos with the Knicks, and their disparity in navigating crowds amid the paint is jarring. Brunson’s a master at playing slowly without coming to a full stop. Where he extinguishes his dribble is not where he must shoot from, hop-scotching and pivoting into openings around defenders for field goals within his wheelhouse. That trait treats him well.

Miami, though, sought to close down his space there, bringing aggressive nail help, toggling different assignments on him who could either approximate his muscle and/or overwhelm him with length and range. Whereas 57.3 percent of his field goals were from midrange in round one, only 47.2 percent were in round two.

Brunson’s response to that strategy indicates he has another caliber to reach in the coming seasons as he continues his prime, set to turn 27 at the end of next month. He absorbed the Heat’s decision in stride and still carved up their cohesive, malleable, boogeyman defense. Against Miami, 38.6 percent of his shots were threes (26.2 percent against the Cleveland Cavaliers) and he buried 34.7 percent of them, including 36.4 percent (12 of 33) off the bounce.

As the Heat shrunk his room to dance in the midrange, stationed help inside to clog driving lanes and ducked under or sagged off high ball screens, he increasingly pursued quick trigger triples, stepback bombs, and decisive moves, a contrast to his deliberate, interior-inclined ethos. While he didn’t yield quite the same long range volume against Cleveland, he nonetheless utilized similar counters and his midrange gravity to hunt quality shots that didn’t always necessitate peeking through the maze of swarming limbs.

Some of the stuff he tried was not regularly on display as recently as a year ago. The audacity for a guy who had more than 80 percent of his threes assisted his first four seasons is mesmerizing. This is real time adaptation and development.

Over his final two games of the playoffs, he hoisted 10 threes both times, a feat he only logged twice in the regular season, which happened to be his two highest-scoring games of the year (48 and 44 points). Prior to that, he’d done it once in his career, scoring 41 against the Utah Jazz in Game 2 of the first round while Luka Doncic was sidelined a year ago. So, Brunson has launched at least 10 threes in a game five times throughout his career and is averaging 42.4 points when he does. The 50 percent clip (26 of 52) is clearly an outlier propping up the scoring, but Brunson embracing the long ball surely seems like a beneficial shift.

Nearly 25 percent of his shots in the playoffs were pull-up threes and he buried 33 percent of them. During the regular season, 16.1 percent of his shots were pull-up threes and he buried 38 percent of them. Those are the two highest marks of his NBA career among five regular seasons and three postseason runs.

Prior to that, he’d never eclipsed 12.1 percent and that happened when he was logging 7.7 shots per game as a rookie. There feels like a pathway to quite the efficient scoring campaign, even better than 2022-23 (plus-1.6 percent relative true shooting, 26 percent of field goals assisted), if Brunson maintains his growth from deep and finds a middle ground between the efficiency of the regular season and the volume of the playoffs.

I also wonder if other well-suited defenses try to emulate Miami’s tactic. Bombard his midrange touches to exploit New York’s middling floor-spacing and Brunson’s undersized frame prohibiting him from populating specific passing windows that taller initiators can, namely lobs and cross-court skips. If that occurs, Brunson might have to again entertain expanding his three-point rate. It could be a moment when preparation meets opportunity.

The relationship of these roster limitations was evident in the second round. The Heat ignored various spot-up release valves, both because they didn’t invoke steady fear as shooters and because Brunson wasn’t always able to deliver reads at his size. This isn’t a criticism of his playoff showing so much as it’s something New York should price into its team building around him.

He is a very, very good player, but he is not perfect. And that is OK. Prioritizing a high-level passer as his co-star is a prudent, necessary complement. Brunson can assume the foremost scoring load, though his passing should not be relied upon as a primary option. Ensuring it won’t be moving forward as the Knicks aim to take further steps forward is vital.

There are a mere handful of point guards better molded for the playoffs than Brunson. He’s loudly declared that the past two years and his statement was particularly emphatic this season. His 2022-23 performance doesn’t have to be the precipice, though. There’s another level for him to ascend, a sentiment borne precisely from his radiant playoff exhibition. Those 11 games are his roadmap to the next level, one that could see a near-All-Star berth replaced by All-NBA nods and a rise further up the ranks of the league.

In a video shared not long before her death, Sinéad O’Connor said she was writing new music. It turns out she had been writing music, to the point where she had an album almost ready to go.

Kathryn Ferguson, who directed the 2022 O’Connor documentary Nothing Compares, spoke about O’Connor with Variety and said, “For me, what’s really sad is that she did have an album that was nearly finished with Northern Irish composer and musician David Holmes. A few people I know who’ve heard it said it was astounding, and I was so looking forward to that being released and people responding to her music again. I really hope that that will come out at some point.”

O’Connor indicated this herself in a tweet from July 8, writing, “Hi All, recently moved back to London after 23 years absence. Very happy to be home : ) Soon finishing my album. Release early next year : ) Hopefully Touring Australia and New Zealand toward end 2024. Europe, USA and other territories beginning early 2025 : ) #TheB*tchIsBack.”

As for whether this album will see the light of day, that remains uncertain. However, in a 2021 interview with People, O’Connor spoke about her music and making sure her family was taken care of in the event of her death, saying, “See, when the artists are dead, they’re much more valuable than when they’re alive. Tupac has released way more albums since he died than he ever did alive, so it’s kind of gross what record companies do. That’s why I’ve always instructed my children since they were very small, ‘If your mother drops dead tomorrow, before you called 911, call my accountant and make sure the record companies don’t start releasing my records and not telling you where the money is.’”

Quavo has been open about his grief for his nephew and fellow Migos member Takeoff who tragically died last year. He mourned Takeoff on his moving song “Letter To Takeoff” in January. He shared a tribute to Takeoff last month on what would’ve been his 29th birthday.

On his YouTube channel, Quavo has made himself more vulnerable with a new video talking with Jamie Crawford-Walker. It’s titled “A Conversation For The Fans. #RocketPower,” the hashtag referencing his forthcoming album of the same title. In the video, he said that he plans to preserve unreleased music from Takeoff for a posthumous album, which amounts to 1,000 verses.

“I just feel my boy’s energy. He got his chair over there, he just be kickin’ it,” he said about Takeoff. “I always kick it with him. People don’t understand, but I be there. I be there in the house making sure all his stuff is straight, all his jewelry is clean. Still taking care of all his cars and all of that.”

“Just being fueled by my brother, Take,” he said about the album title Rocket Power, “and bottling in all these emotions — all the pain, all the hard times, all the times I cried and all the times I just made music to pull up and try to play songs and he’s not there. I’m just trying to get this fuel from above and this fuel from the sky and call it ‘rocket power.’”

Watch the video above.

Sam Smith might not be here to make friends, or so they proclaimed in the title of their previously released single. But Smith is down to strengthen their relationship with their existing compadres. As a result, fans are treated to the reunion of Calvin Harris and Smith. On their latest joint single, “Desire,” the musicians cooked up another classic for the dance floor.

As Smith sensually sings, “I want you to hold me / Don’t let me go / Be the one and only / Take all control / Stay with me forever / At least for the night / Even when you leave me / Lead me to the light,” Harris’ Grammy-nominated production skills take it the next level. Usually, desperation isn’t a beautiful accessory, but when soundtracked by Harris, it can be.

“Desire” is yet another irresistible record by the pair suited for every summer party playlist. Harris and Smith’s last collaboration brought forth “Promises” in 2018. The platinum-certified song stuck around for several steamy summers after, and “Desire” is gearing up to do the same.

First, Harris reconnected with former collaborator Ellie Goulding on “Miracle.” Now, he’s linked with Smith for “Desire.” Harris is clearly on the road to collecting all the pop music infinity stones for his next album.

Listen to “Desire” above.

The Boys has been popping up in an increasing number of video games lately, and fans of the hit series are starting to get miffed that their favorite characters seem to be noticeably snubbing one particular game: Fortnite.

The fan backlash started on Friday afternoon when The Boys official Twitter account tweeted out an announcement that Homelander, Butcher, Hughie, and Starlight are coming to the survival game Last Fortress: Underground.

“Let’s dust some zombies on Monday, shall we?” the account tweeted.

Now, if you’ve never heard of the game Last Fortress, you’re not alone. The Boys fans took to the replies to practically beg for a Fortnite collaboration after characters have already been announced for Mortal Kombat, Call of Duty, and whatever the heck this latest game is.

You can see some of the reactions below:

However, The Boys fans should be careful what they wish for. Homelander’s presence in Call of Duty has reportedly not been going well thanks to the game making him way too overpowered. Shortly after his character became available, Call of Duty fans took to Twitter and Reddit to complain about Homelander’s wildly powerful skillset, which includes the ability to jump incredibly high without taking fall damage and the more vexing laser eyes that also allow him to briefly fly.

Like the show, Homelander is just way too strong, and it doesn’t always make for the greatest gaming experience.

(Via Last Fortress: Underground on Twitter)

What do you do when yet another large corporation announces it’s laying off 350 hardworking Americans? If you’re GOP Representative Lauren Boebert, you celebrate. With a tweet.

On Thursday, Anheuser-Busch InBev, Bud Light’s parent company, released a statement announcing they planned to cut hundreds of corporate jobs — or about 2% of its 18,000-member workforce. The decision comes just four months after the brand made headlines by partnering with transgender social media influencer, Dylan Mulvaney. Mulvaney made a 50-second video for Instagram, introducing specialty beer cans with her face on them as part of the brand’s attempt to diversify its customer base, but the sponsored post angered right-wing conservatives. Trolls used the endorsement to brand Mulvaney a pedophile — a common form of attack against the LGBTQ+ community used by far-right fanatics — and to publicly denounce Bud Light, posting videos that showed them shooting up cans with semiautomatic rifles and dumping cases of beer.

Though Anheuser-Busch InBev didn’t blame the controversy for the recent round of layoffs, smooth-brained goblins like Boebert are practically salivating over the news that 350 are now without jobs simply because they work for a company they hate.

“Bud Light went woke, then Bud Light went broke!” she crowed like a Betty Crocker Mr. Burns before sharing a Fox News article that broke down the cutbacks, along with an American flag emoji, of course. Because what’s more American than that!?

Naturally, folks on Twitter dragged her over the coals for her insensitivity and stupidity, which ended with Boebert trying to backtrack a few hours later, tweeting, “Innocent employees shouldn’t be forced to pay the price for the disastrous decisions of their woke bosses.”

This isn’t the first time Boebert has launched a shockingly tone-deaf tweet related to the beer company. Earlier this year, after the Mulvaney video, she shared a photoshopped picture of a Bud Light can with the late NFL player and military veteran Pat Tillman’s face on the front. Still, if Boebert wants to keep going after Bud Light, we say go for it. It’s clearly not working out for her.

(Via LGBTQ Nation)

Marjorie Taylor Greene is not exactly the portrait of manners and decorum. She honestly seems to shun the very thought, given that she heckled President Biden while he discussed his dead son (Beau) during a State Of The Union speech. She also showed censored nude photos of Biden’s other son (Hunter) during a House Oversight Committee hearing, which is still hard to believe actually happened, even when it comes to Greene.

As well, Greene recently doubled down on calling rootin’ tootin’ Lauren Boebert a “little b*tch” on the House floor, which has led some of their colleagues to admit that they wouldn’t be surprised if that rivalry came to a fist fight. With all of that considered, it’s rather rich for Greene to take umbrage with Rep. Robert Garcia, who dared to show a screenshot of Greene’s very public tweets. Garcia was drawing attention to how Greene equated requirements for employees to be vaccinated against Covid with how “the Nazis forced Jewish people to wear a gold star.”

Garcia’s point was not only that certain “members of this committee spread irresponsible facts” but also, obviously, that they “attack vaccines.” Well, Greene was not pleased to see the actual words that she said up on a screen, so she objected: “I ask the members be reminded of the rules of decorum.”

To which plenty of people are amused at where Greene draws the line. She deems it appropriate to show nude photos of the president’s son with the resulting footage being shown across the U.S., but what about showing a tweet and directly quoting her words? That makes her furious.

Garcia was first in line to respond to this contradiction.

He wasn’t alone. Enter the flow of people who still can’t believe Greene’s behavior. And surely, this won’t be the last time that this happens.