Category: Trending

The Golden State Warriors won a road game on Monday evening. On paper, that is anything but abnormal given that the Warriors were facing the lowly Houston Rockets, especially with Golden State entering as a double-digit betting favorite. However, nothing about the Warriors has been “normal” this season when it comes to home-road splits.

Entering Monday’s action, the Warriors were on an eight-game home winning streak and an 11-road losing streak at the same time. Of course, teams are meant to be better at home than on the road, but it’s been staggering for Golden State.

At home, Golden State is a top-five team in the NBA. The Warriors are 29-7 in San Francisco this season, dominating opponents with a +7.7 net rating and, impressively, holding opponents to just 1.08 points per possession on the defensive end. In contrast, Golden State’s numbers are objectively hideous on the road, headlined by an 8-29 record. The Warriors have an unsightly -6.7 net rating away from San Francisco, and Golden State’s defense utterly craters to the point where the Warriors allow more than 1.19 points per possession.

Is this just noise? Probably. It is only one stat but, at home, Warriors opponents are shooting just 32.4 percent from three-point range, the lowest mark in the league. On the road, that jumps to a staggering 40.6 percent, which would be the highest/worst in the league if not for the historic defensive ineptitude of the San Antonio Spurs.

As the long and winding road of the 2022-23 regular season comes to a close, it is exceptionally difficult to figure out what these Warriors actually are. That is compounded by the reality that Golden State won the 2021-22 NBA title, and it is even more blurry with the ongoing absence of Andrew Wiggins, who is a vital two-way cog for the Warriors.

Monday’s win over Houston wasn’t exactly earth-shattering, but it was notable in a way it probably shouldn’t have been in late March. We’ll see if that is something of a first step toward correction because, inevitably, Golden State is going to need to win a road game at some point to achieve their big-picture playoff goals.

Where do the Warriors land this week in our DIME power rankings? Let’s explore.

1. Milwaukee Bucks (51-20, Last week — 1st)

The best team in the NBA stays in the top spot. Milwaukee did suffer a pretty bad home loss to Indiana this week, but that game had distinct late March vibes. Milwaukee’s other game was a perfectly fine win over Toronto, and there is no reason to drop the Bucks in this space.

2. Philadelphia 76ers (48-23, Last week — 2nd)

After winning every game for two weeks, the Sixers took a hiccup on Monday with a double-overtime loss to the Bulls. That was a bizarre offensive performance with only 105 points (in 58 minutes) and a hideous game from James Harden. In the big picture, that loss doesn’t hurt Philadelphia too much, and they will have a rematch with the Bulls on Wednesday evening.

3. Cleveland Cavaliers (46-28, Last week — 3rd)

Nothing changes for the Cavs this week. They lost to the red-hot Sixers but otherwise held serve. At the moment, Cleveland leads the entire league in net rating (+5.8) and a 7-2 record in the last nine games is just fine.

4. Boston Celtics (50-23, Last week — 4th)

It still doesn’t feel as if Boston is firing on all cylinders, as evidenced by a loss to Utah this week. The Celtics did bounce back with a decisive road win in Sacramento that reminded everyone of the team’s ceiling.

5. Memphis Grizzlies (44-27, Last week — 6th)

Ja Morant could return on Wednesday, and that is the headliner no matter the recent results for the Grizzlies. Memphis is still without a couple of key pieces, but the Grizzlies have found their stride again with six wins in the last seven games. Now, the team has the chance to really add to that with back-to-back games against Houston as Morant projects to return.

6. Denver Nuggets (48-24, Last week — 8th)

After a bizarre downturn that became a four-game losing streak, the Nuggets stabilized this week. It was only a 2-1 performance, but the one loss was at MSG against the Knicks. This is a huge week for both the Nuggets and the MVP race, as Nikola Jokic and company face the Sixers (Embiid) and Bucks (Giannis) over the next few days.

7. New York Knicks (42-31, Last week — 5th)

In a distinctly late March NBA game on Monday, Julius Randle scored a career-high 57 points… and the Knicks lost at home to the Wolves. New York still comfortably projects for the No. 5 seed in the East, even if that isn’t a lock, and the Knicks have a very interesting road test in Miami on Wednesday.

8. Sacramento Kings (43-29, Last week — 7th)

The Kings are still holding steady for the most part, though Sacramento just lost two in a row. Memphis getting things together makes life more difficult in pursuit of the No. 2 seed, but Sacramento is hanging in there.

9. Miami Heat (39-34, Last week — 12th)

If the season started in mid-December, it would feel like the Heat were on a pretty normal run. Miami is 28-20 in the last 48 games and generally winning more than they lose. Is that going to satisfy anyone? I don’t think so, but the Heat are the most trustworthy team below the Knicks in the East standings.

10. Oklahoma City Thunder (36-36, Last week — 16th)

The only team playing legitimately well in the middle of the West right now is Oklahoma City. The Thunder are 8-2 in the last ten games, including wins over Golden State, New Orleans, Brooklyn, Phoenix and the L.A. Clippers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is making a push for first team All-NBA and the Thunder are 1.5 games behind the No. 5 seed.

11. Phoenix Suns (38-33, Last week — 9th)

With Kevin Durant still sidelined, the Suns are having some issues. Phoenix is 1-4 in the last five games, and the only win came at home against Orlando. Next up are trips to Los Angeles (Lakers) and Sacramento before a home game against Philadelphia, so it isn’t a guarantee that the results will improve in the short term.

12. Golden State Warriors (37-36, Last week — 10th)

As noted above, the Warriors are Jekyll-and-Hyde, to put it mildly. A road game against Dallas on Wednesday doesn’t have the best projection given the team’s road woes, but that is followed by four straight at home.

13. L.A. Clippers (38-35, Last week — 11th)

The Clippers dip a bit with two losses in the last three games. Both came at home and, in Tuesday’s loss to OKC, Paul George left the game with an injury that could threaten the team’s stretch run.

14. Minnesota Timberwolves (36-37, Last week — 14th)

Taurean Prince made all eight of his three-point attempts on Monday in a win over New York. He posted a true shooting percentage over 100 percent (tough to do!) and that was a wild performance. It also helped the Wolves get a victory they badly needed, and Minnesota has a game against the Hawks on Wednesday that doubles as a battle between maddening clubs.

15. Los Angeles Lakers (35-37, Last week — 15th)

Austin Reaves led the Lakers in scoring in two of the last three games, including a 35-point eruption in a win on Sunday. Yes, LeBron is out, but that is a fairly wild thing to be happening for a team that is still very much pushing for the playoffs. Every game is huge right now for Los Angeles.

16. Brooklyn Nets (39-33, Last week — 13th)

It remains exceptionally difficult to gauge the Nets right now, in part because of the small sample after the franchise-shifting trades. Brooklyn is on a four-game losing streak, but the defeats came at the hands of the Thunder, Kings, Nuggets, and Cavaliers. Shrug.

17. Utah Jazz (35-36, Last week — 22nd)

18. Atlanta Hawks (36-36, Last week — 19th)

The Hawks just can’t avoid the middle this season. Atlanta is 36-36 with a -0.1 net rating, and a win over Detroit on Tuesday kept an amazing streak going. The Hawks have been within one game of the .500 mark for the last 26 games, setting a new NBA record, and that mark has to continue on Wednesday, win or lose, against the Wolves.

19. Toronto Raptors (35-37, Last week — 17th)

Things are opening up for Toronto. The Raptors came very close to jumping into the No. 8 spot on Sunday evening before losing a tight one in Milwaukee. Still, Toronto is 3-1 in the last four, and the Raptors have a homestand beginning on Wednesday that features games against the Pacers, Pistons, Wizards, and Heat this week.

20. Chicago Bulls (34-37, Last week — 20th)

The Bulls are back in the mix to say the least. Chicago has won five of six, including wins over Denver, Miami, and Philadelphia. They still have clear and exploitable flaws, but Chicago is playing better basketball and benefitting from the morass around them.

21. Dallas Mavericks (36-36, Last week — 18th)

Luka Doncic has missed five games in a row and, if that’s all you knew, it wouldn’t be so bad for the Mavs to be 2-3 in that span. It helps to have Kyrie Irving, but even he walked out of the arena in a walking boot on Monday. Things can go south quickly if the team’s only lead creators are out simultaneously.

22. New Orleans Pelicans (35-37, Last week — 24th)

It’s not terribly impressive, but the Pelicans did just win back-to-back games. New Orleans badly needed that, even if the wins came against bad teams, and Charlotte visits Smoothie King Center on Thursday for another favorable matchup.

23. Indiana Pacers (32-40, Last week — 23rd)

The schedule isn’t doing Indiana any favors the rest of the way. In the final ten games, the Pacers have a top-five remaining schedule that includes road games against the Raptors, Celtics, Hawks, Cavs, and Knicks, in addition to home tilts against the Knicks, Bucks, and Mavs.

24. Orlando Magic (30-43, Last week — 26th)

Orlando is a lot closer to the play-in race than the tanking race, and the Magic are 3-3 in the last six games. It was “only” a 2-2 week, but that is grounds for a bump in this space.

25. Washington Wizards (32-40, Last week — 21st)

Unlike many teams in their range, the Wizards have been pushing hard for the play-in. Unfortunately, the results haven’t matched that pursuit with six losses in the last seven games. The door isn’t fully closed, but it’s been a tough stretch.

26. Charlotte Hornets (23-50, Last week — 27th)

Charlotte continues to occupy its own tier. Barring something insane, the Hornets will enter the lottery with the fourth-best odds, and they can afford to evaluate more than some of the other tanking teams in the last ten games as a result of this projectable situation.

27. Portland Trail Blazers (31-40, Last week — 25th)

Reality has fully set in over the last couple of weeks in Portland. The Blazers have lost six in a row, effectively falling out of the play-in race in the process. After the way Portland finished last season, they could slide easily into tank mode, but it’s also a harsh reset for a team that was clearly positioning itself to try to win this season behind Damian Lillard.

28. Houston Rockets (18-54, Last week — 28th)

The Rockets recently won three games in a row, which felt kind of unthinkable before it happened. Starting Wednesday, though, Houston has five straight on the road, and there isn’t a situation in which the Rockets will even close to a coin flip in a game until March 31 against Detroit at home.

29. San Antonio Spurs (19-53, Last week — 29th)

San Antonio actually had a very impressive win on Sunday, erasing a hole of 20-plus points against the Hawks in the second half. Admittedly, that loss was a lot about Atlanta collapsing, but San Antonio took it and the results have been better lately.

30. Detroit Pistons (16-57, Last week — 30th)

It’s pretty grim in Detroit. The injuries are piling up. The volume of minutes allotted to fringe guys is increasing. The losses are still coming. Overall, Detroit has the worst profile in the league and pole position for ping-pong balls.

One of Jeff Garlin’s co-stars on The Goldbergs has opened up about his messy departure from the sitcom.

Wendi McLendon-Covey, who plays matriarch Beverly Goldberg, said on Tuesday’s episode of Andy Cohen Live that the actor’s exit, following a string of misconduct allegations and HR investigations, was “a long time coming.”

When Garlin was fired (and replaced by a CGI abomination), “it was like, ‘OK, finally someone is listening to us.’ But that was kind of hard,” she explained to host Andy Cohen. “We had lost George Segal [who played “Pops”] in real life, and then to have to go through another loss on a sitcom, you can’t keep asking your audience to mourn people… That’s not why they tune in.”

When Cohen asked if Garlin’s exit from the series was the result of complaints made over a long period of time, McLendon-Covey responded, “Yes.”

“If we could not talk about that, that would be great,” she then politely requested. “I’m exhausted by that topic and the PTSD of it all. I just feel like the less people know about that, the better. No one benefits from knowing anything.”

The Goldbergs — which has survived Garlin’s firing, the departure of its creator, the death of Segal, and the real-life inspirations for the characters trashing the show — is currently in its 10th and final season.

(Via Variety)

The Minnesota Timberwolves are getting some major reinforcements ahead of the stretch run to the postseason. According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns will return to the team on Wednesday night for its game against the Atlanta Hawks, marking the first time that he has been able to play since suffering a calf injury in November that has kept him sidelined for the last 51 games.

Towns suffered the injury during a game against the Washington Wizards when he took a step and immediately grabbed his right leg before hitting the ground and making his way into the locker room. It was originally believed that he’d miss a few weeks with the injury, but instead, he’s been on the sideline for nearly four months. At the time of his injury, Towns was averaging 20.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 5.3 assists per game while shooting an uncharacteristic 32.5 percent from behind the three-point line.

The timing of Towns’ return could not be any better, as Anthony Edwards is reportedly not far away from a return after missing most of the last three games due to an ankle injury. The Wolves are one of the teams jostling to solidify a spot in the postseason without needing the play-in tournament in the Western Conference, as the team is currently 36-37 and in ninth place. They find themselves one game back of the Golden State Warriors in sixth place, while their cushion on the 11th-place Los Angeles Lakers is only half a game.

Tekashi 69 (Daniel Hernandez) was reportedly hospitalized yesterday (March 21) after being attacked at a gym sauna in South Florida.

Per WPTV, his attorney, Lance Lazzaro, said that the rapper obtained cuts and bruises — particularly to his face — after the attack.

“Employees heard the disturbance and the perpetrators fled,” Lazzaro said. “Police in South Florida were called and he was transported via ambulance to a local hospital.”

TMZ also had video footage of the incident, where an unidentified man is seen punching and kicking Tekashi. However, Lazzaro also noted that there were several attackers in the incident.

Lazzaro also told TMZ that while Hernandez tried to fight off the attackers, there were too many. Gym staff called for the police and an ambulance after hearing the scuffle. Hernandez was taken to the hospital.

“Take a picture, I’m gonna be famous now,” one of the men can be heard in the video.

“I’m a fan, homie,” the one filming it added.

His attorney notes that the next step is to work with “Feds” to secure protection for Hernandez. He had previously been granted early release from federal prison “after cooperating with authorities to land several of his gang member cohorts behind bars.”

However, it is still unknown if this cooperation for his early release played a part in the attack.

The beginning of Swarm begins with a disclaimer: “This is not a work of fiction. Any similarity to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events, is intentional.” While it might seem like an intense way to start a show, the series takes a look at the downside of fandom and stardom in the modern age of pop stars and social media influencers, and they even call out some people by name. But the claim also has fans wondering if the events of the show actually happened.

The series follows a young fan named Dre who obsesses over superstar Ni’Jar while becoming increasingly violent and aggressive. But fans were quick to notice the real-world influences on the show that remind people of a a certain fandom. The show is called Swarm, after all!

Even though the show takes inspiration from real-life fans, creator Donald Glover insists that the show is a cautionary tale about this age of fame. At the show’s premiere last week, Glover spoke to the audience, saying, “I am so happy that you guys are here, able to enjoy this, and uh, yeah… like, um… Beyhive: don’t kill us. It’s not that bad. It’s actually, like, pretty cool.” Sure, it looks cool, but is Beyonce on board with this story, given her intense fandom?

Co-creator Janine Nabers says that Queen Bey is well aware of the series, and she might have even seen it. “She knows about the show,” Nabers told EW this week. “I wrote her a letter basically being like, ‘Yo, you’re great. I love you. This is a show that we’re working on. These are the people that are writing on it.’ She’s worked with a lot of the people who have worked on our show. It’s a family,” Nabers added.

Seeing as Glover has worked with Beyonce quite a bit (they played Simba and Nala together!) it seems like the two are on decent terms, so hopefully, the series doesn’t get any backlash from her team. Or from Halsey.

(Via Entertainment Weekly)

Prime Video’s new thriller series, Swarm, which is inspired by Beyoncé‘s fanbase, the Beyhive, has garnered much buzz. Since the show’s premiere last Friday (March 17), fans have taken to Twitter to express their fandom toward the series, as well as share some theories around the show’s terrifying plot lines.

At the same time, fans are wondering if the Queen Bey herself has seen the series. In an interview with Vulture, Janine Nabers, who co-created the series with Donald Glover, confirmed that she made Beyoncé aware of Swarm and its premise while the show was in production.

“She knows about the show,” said Nabers.

She continued, saying that she believes she has seen the show, as a lot of people who are close to her work behind the scenes of the show. “I wrote her a letter basically being like, ‘Yo, you’re great. I love you. This is a show that we’re working on. These are the people that are writing on it.’ She’s worked with a lot of the people who have worked on our show. It’s a family.”

In the past, Beyoncé has worked with Glover, with whom she co-starred in the 2019 live-action version of Disney’s The Lion King. She has also mentored Chloe Bailey, who plays Marissa Jackson on the show.

Though Nabers has reached out to Beyoncé about Swarm, she also revealed that she has never met her in person.

Rapper Quavo has earned his spot in the hip-hop textbooks for having one of the smoothest flows in the game. As a former member of the rap rap trio Migos, he, along with his former groupmates, has been credited as a formative force behind the now-thriving Atlanta rap sound. Lil Jon and The Eastside Boyz have also been deemed pioneers for a cultural wave in Atlanta’s music history.

The “Greatness” rapper’s appearance on NBC’s latest music show, That’s My Jam, hosted by Jimmy Fallon, put his buttery smooth flow skills to the test. Quavo was prompted to perform a hilarious cover of Lil Jon and The Eastside Boyz’s classic song “Get Low,” however, due to the rules of the Nonsense Karaoke segment, all of the song’s lyrics were changed.

Swapping out the beloved chorus for, “Pickle brine / Taste like wine / Straightening my teeth with Invisalign / Jello, Jello, Jello, Jello, Jello, Jello / I bought a Kindle at the mall / Belly flop’d Niagara falls / Read a book opened by Roald Dahl,” the musician didn’t miss a beat.

As an Atlanta native that grew up hearing the song and a successful rapper in his own right, it probably wasn’t as difficult as it may have seemed. But nonetheless, the Hunco knocked it out of the park.

Watch the performance above.

As Ron DeSantis continues to show signs that he’s willing to take on Donald Trump for the 2024 Republican nomination, the Florida governor sat down for a new interview with Piers Morgan where he took a notable shot at Trump’s handling of the pandemic. The moment came after Morgan asked DeSantis what makes him different from the former president, and DeSantis went straight for a Republican bogeyman that he claims he would’ve dealt with.

“The approach to COVID was different. I would have fired somebody like Fauci,” DeSantis said. “I think he got way too big for his britches, and I think he did a lot of damage.”

DeSantis also called out Trump for his “daily drama,” which is particularly poignant as the former president is reportedly facing a possible indictment in New York. Via Fox News:

The governor, a top rumored contender for the 2024 GOP nomination, said that he and Trump also differ “in terms of my approach to leadership… The way we run the government I think is no daily drama, focus on the big picture and put points on the board and I think that’s something that’s very important.”

However, despite knowing he’ll have to take on Trump in a primary, DeSantis made it a point to note that, “if I were running,” his true opponent would be Joe Biden.

“We are competing for the Republican [nomination], potentially, I get that, but ultimately you know the guy I’m gonna focus on is Biden because I think he’s failed the country,” DeSantis said. “I think the country wants a change. I think they want a fresh start and a new direction, and so we’ll be very vocal about that.”

When asked if he thinks he can beat Biden, DeSantis responded, “I think so,” which would be another stark difference from Trump if DeSantis can actually pull it off. Heavy emphasis on the if.

(Via Fox News)

(WARNING: Spoilers for The Mandalorian episode “The Foundling” below.)

As the actor who played Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels, Ahmed Best did not have the best experience with fans following the release of those films. In recent years, Best has opened up about receiving death threats and constant insults that he “destroyed” people’s childhood. The fan backlash was so intense that, at one point, Best contemplated suicide. It’s one of the most glaring examples of Star Wars fandom at its worst.

Fortunately, the tide has significantly turned. While Best has continued to work with the franchise by voicing Jar Jar in The Clone Wars animated series and hosting Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge for Disney+, The Mandalorian just made one of the actor’s dreams come true in a huge way.

Over the past three seasons, executive producer Dave Filoni has hinted that he knows who rescued Baby Yoda (or Grogu, if we must) from the Jedi Temple during the Order 66 attack that took place during Revenge of the Sith. A brief glimpse of Baby Yoda witnessing the Jedi massacre was shown in Season 2, but it The Mandalorian Chapter 20, Star Wars fans finally get to see his escape.

In the action-packed episode, Baby Yoda makes a run for it as clone troopers breach the temple. His odds of getting out aren’t looking great until another Jedi comes to his rescue. That Jedi? Kelleran Beq played by none other than Ahmed Best, who helped develop the character for Jedi Temple Challenge.

It was a huge moment for Best, who finally got to live his dream of playing a canonical Jedi (and a pivotal one at that) and Star Wars fans are absolutely here for it. Shortly after The Mandalorian episode started streaming, Twitter exploded with love for Best. The actor’s name has been trending all Wednesday morning as Mando fans geeked out over his badass rescue.

You can see some of the reactions below:

New episodes of The Mandalorian stream Wednesdays on Disney+.

Pat Sajak has been hosting Wheel of Fortune since 1981. And yet even after over 7,000 episodes with co-host Vanna White, he’s still finding ways to keep things fresh, like faux-attempting to wrestle contestants.

During Tuesday’s episode of Wheel, Fred, a drama teacher who also works as a bar trivia host and wrestler, had a “perfect game”: he correctly answered every puzzle, including the bonus. “Just because he’s a professional amateur, you want me to body slam him for you?” Sajak asked the other contestants, while Fred flexed. Speaking of flexes: Fred took home a grand total of $75,800.

During the post-game celebration, Sajak walked over to Fred like he was going to shake his hand before putting some amateur “wrestling” moves on the contestant. Orange Cassidy, he ain’t. But Fred did a good job of selling Sajak’s patented armlock-hand over mouth combo, probably because he just made more in one game of Wheel of Fortune than he has in years of wrestling.

When the show cut back, Pat having said nothing during the actual act – Vanna said to him: “I had no idea you were a wrestler.” Pat replied: “Yeah I used to do that professionally,” to which one lone audience member laughed loudly and Pat stared them down. “Like you’ve never heard of ‘The Masked Sage?’ Come on…” he joked, giving himself a wrestler pseudonym.

You can watch the Wheel of Fortune clip above.

(Via the Sun)