Category: Viral

After an explosion during the seeding games, Denver Nuggets rookie forward Michael Porter Jr. cooled off to begin the postseason. While the uber-talented 22-year-old did show flashes, including a 28-point game, in the first round against the Utah Jazz, the Nuggets deployed him for fewer than 40 total minutes in the first two games against the L.A. Clippers. On Monday evening, though, Porter Jr. excelled in the first half of Game 3, scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds, and those positive contributions set the stage for an earth-shattering moment in the third quarter.

With the Nuggets holding a one-point lead, Porter caught the ball on the right wing, drove to his left and rose up to punish Montrezl Harrell for his attempt to draw a charge. The result was a devastating dunk, with all kinds of reaction from Kevin Harlan and Reggie Miller on the TNT broadcast.

It should be noted that Porter Jr. leaned into his youthful inconsistency with a pair of mishaps immediately following the dunk. Still, this was a reminder of what he can do as a 6’10 forward with vertical athleticism, and Porter Jr. also puts pressure on opposing defenses with a fluid jump shot and the ability to find teammates when prompted to do so.

In a back-and-forth game played at the highest level of the sport, one play (and exactly two points) from Porter Jr. likely won’t swing the outcome. Still, this was one heck of an exhibition from the rookie, and Porter Jr.’s dunk was one of the more memorable highlights from the NBA Playoffs to this point.

Adult Swim’s The Venture Bros. has had an odd life, premiering 17 years ago but in that time only doing 81 episodes spread out over seven seasons. (At times it’s felt like the terminally truant Rick and Morty was emulating its “we’ll do it when we want to” approach.) So it almost makes sense that it would have an unusual end: Almost two years after its most recent episode, creator Jackson Publick took to Twitter to confirm fans’ worst fears, namely that it had been cancelled.

Unfortunately, it’s true: #VentureBros has been canceled,” Publick wrote. What’s more, the news isn’t new. “We got the highly disappointing news a few months ago, while we were writing what would have been season 8. We thank you, our amazing fans, for 17 years of your kind (and patient) attention. And, as always, We Love You.”

The news was re-confirmed by one of its stars, James Urbaniak, who voiced cost-cutting scientist, inventor, and corporate big wig Dr. Thaddeus “Rusty” Venture. “The pilot aired 17 years ago, which means the show was almost old enough to vote,” the actor wrote. “It was one of the great gifts of my life & career. The fans were, quite simply, the best.”

Like a number of the original run of Adult Swim cartoons, such as Space Ghost and Sealab 2021, The Venture Bros. parodied Hanna-Barbera children’s cartoons from the ‘60s and ‘70s, in its case lifting a lot of its inspiration from Jonny Quest. And like those other shows, it took them in absurd and surreal directions. Its fans were instantly heartbroken.

What is now the last Venture Bros. episode aired on October 7, 2018. It doesn’t appear they’ll be given the chance to give it a proper send-off.

Top five lists have been pervasive in hip-hop as of late. Snoop Dogg named Ice Cube and LL Cool J two of his favorite MCs while Drake went with Jay-Z and Lil Wayne as his top contenders. Even Freddie Gibbs dropped his list, mentioning Pusha T and Drake. Now, Westside Gunn has named his top five favorite rappers of all time, making sure to include himself in the round-up.

As a member of Griselda, Westside Gunn’s list unsurprisingly features a number of cohorts. Sharing his picks on Twitter, Westside Gunn named Conway The Machine, Benny The Butcher, Boldy James, Armani Caesar, and, of course, himself as the world’s best MCs.

In other Westside Gunn news, the rapper announced he would be delaying his third release of the year, Who Made The Sunshine, on Shady Records. The postponement follows the death of DJ Shay, who tragically passed due to complications from the coronavirus. “I’ll be celebrating the Legend Shay life with the ppl who’s been there since day 1,” the rapper wrote on Instagram alongside the announcement. Westside Gunn has yet to solidify a new release date but he did mention the upcoming full-length will sound similar to his mixtape Pray For Paris.

See Westside Gunn’s full list above.

Monday’s Game 5 between the Boston Celtics and the Toronto Raptors was greatly anticipated, especially after the Raptors clawed back to tie the series at 2-2. In short order, though, the anticipation evaporated, with the Celtics zooming to a virtually insurmountable 62-35 halftime lead and cruising to a lopsided 111-89 victory to take a 3-2 series lead.

With Game 6 looming and the Raptors facing potential elimination on Wednesday, here are three takeaways from Game 5.

1. The first quarter was a perfect storm of bad for the Raptors

Frankly, the entire first half was a disaster for Toronto, so the issues weren’t limited to the opening period. Still, the Raptors’ offense put together an embarrassing performance coming out of the gate, even if some of the credit goes to Boston’s defense.

The Raptors opened the game by missing 13 of their first 15 shots and, with the added headache of five turnovers, Toronto scored only five points in nearly minutes. Mercifully, Boston also scuffled offensively during this stretch, but the Celtics still led 18-5 and never looked back.

Toronto shot 4-of-20 from the floor in the first quarter, missing eight of nine three-point attempts and committing six turnovers. In fact, the Raptors didn’t even reach double figures until there were only 23.3 seconds remaining in the opening period, and Toronto tied a franchise record for futility, matching its lowest scoring output for any playoff quarter.

Hiccups happen, even in the playoffs, but there was nothing the Raptors could do to erase what transpired at the outset.

2. The Celtics are scary good on defense

Even before this dominant performance, Boston’s defense was excelling in the postseason. Brad Stevens’ team entered the night with the best defensive rating (103.0) in the NBA Playoffs, with league-leading marks in effective field goal percentage allowed (46.2 percent) and three-point shooting allowed (29.1 percent) in the postseason.

On cue, the Celtics utterly dominated the proceedings in the first half, taking advantage of Toronto’s aforementioned issues and squeezing the life out of their opponent. Boston allowed fewer than 0.8 points per possession in the first 24 minutes, with the Raptors connecting on only 30 percent of their shots and 4-of-18 attempts from three-point range.

It was a team-wide effort from the Celtics as well, starting with the team’s defensive leader in Marcus Smart.

Smart is one of the league’s best and most multi-faceted defenders, and it is an X-factor to have a player of his versatility, strength and intelligence on the floor for the majority of the game. He isn’t alone, though, with Daniel Theis making a sizable impact at the rim and Jayson Tatum flashing his impressive off-ball feel, anticipation and play-making on the defensive end.

The Raptors certainly played a part in the destruction that was the first half of Game 5, but the Celtics aren’t a fluke on the defensive end. They are very, very good.

3. This isn’t over yet

Despite the lopsided result in Game 5, no one should write the Raptors off in the series. That honestly goes without saying in a match-up that was so closely contested in the first four games, and the Raptors looked notably better on both ends of the floor after halftime on Monday. Overall, Toronto is an experienced, mentally tough team that has been in this kind of position before, and that is key to remember.

Granted, Kawhi Leonard isn’t walking through that door, but the Raptors came back from a 2-1 deficit against Philadelphia and a 2-0 deficit against Milwaukee during their run to the 2019 NBA title. Even within this series, Toronto showed resilience in avoiding a collapse after Game 2 and, with the Raptors capable of high-end defense and enough shot-making to beat anyone, knocking off Boston in back-to-back games (on a neutral floor) is far from unthinkable.

With that said, the Celtics are now (clearly) favored in the series. Even if one viewed these two teams as equal, the math stacks up against Toronto with the need to win two in a row against a comparable opponent, and there isn’t a change of venue coming to aid in that pursuit. If anything, Boston is probably the more talented team, with Tatum and Kemba Walker operating as top-flight shot creators and the team’s aforementioned stellar defense to carry the day.

It will be exceedingly interesting to see how the Raptors respond to this thrashing, with a few quality data points in the second half. At the very least, Game 6 is (very) likely to be more competitive and, if Toronto can steal a win, anything can happen in a winner-take-all Game 7.

Big Sean just debuted his highly-anticipated album Detroit 2 and on much of the record, the rapper gets candid about some difficulties he’s faced over the last few years. Now, he’s taken an opportunity to go more in depth about those hardships, saying he was struggling with mental health while writing the record.

Sean took to Twitter to use his platform to shed light on the importance of mental health: “I don’t feel like this currently, but I had never gone through wanting to kill myself, give up on my life until the past few years and I didn’t realize how important it was to embrace the ups n downs of life and enjoy (in joy) taking active steps to better it.”

Sean said that he felt aimless when he wasn’t making music he loved. “I thought doing what I loved would always make me happy and satisfied, so when I got tired of it, I was confused and it drove me insane,” he wrote. “Later i realized I was just growing n had to gain a new mentality and foundation on many levels n re-discover my passion!”

Along with striving to find a new sound, Sean said he was anxious about his music taking “too long” to release. “I was worried that it was taking too long, and adding extra stress to my life worrying if people will even still want to hear from me.”

Read Sean discuss his struggle with mental health above.

Detroit 2 is out now via G.O.O.D. Music. Get it here.

If you didn’t watch AEW’s All Out PPV on Sunday night, you’ve probably already heard the phrase “Worst AEW PPV Ever” (said in your best Comic Book Guy voice) being bandied about the internet. Frankly, I’m not going to pretend that anyone’s wrong to say that. But considering how good most AEW PPVs up to this point have been, I don’t think that’s such a severe attack.

All Out definitely started out pretty rough. Less than halfway through the night, I was already having that “How much more of this is there?” feeling that usually only the worst WWE PPVs give me. Once Matt Hardy fell out of the sky onto his head, I’d be hard pressed to blame anyone for giving up on the show. However, the match after that was the best one on the card, and from there on out the show stayed pretty good. So by the end, it really felt like things had turned around.

The main card opened with the Tooth and Nail Match between Big Swole and Britt Baker, and apparently “Tooth and Nail” just means “Falls Count Anywhere” in a dentist’s office. I get why they decided to go the cinematic route, since Doctor Baker’s not really 100% yet, and she’s a lot less exposed here than in the ring. The problem is that it didn’t seem to have enough ideas for wild and/or funny stuff you can do in a dentist’s office for the match to really justify its existence. I’m just going to throw this out there in case anyone in AEW is reading: This is why having a writer or two on staff might actually be good. The thing about writers is that many of them are pretty good at thinking up things that viewers will find entertaining.

I did like the use of the syringe full of anesthetic, which is something I’ve never seen used in a wrestling match before. But even the execution of that idea was pretty rushed and muddled. Was the syringe supposed to put you to sleep, or just make a limb go numb? Britt didn’t seem entirely sure, and she’s the one who got injected with it. I like both of these performers, but the best I can really say here is that at least this match didn’t go on too long, and hopefully they can have a rematch in the ring when Britt’s ready for that.

The Young Bucks beat Jurassic to the shock of nobody, but they did it as full asshole heels, which also wasn’t shocking to most of us who’ve been paying attention lately, but it definitely highlighted some ongoing developments that seem about to come to a head. If the Bucks fully turn heel and Omega/Page are no more, will that give Jurassic Express space to be underdog babyfaces that people can root for, instead of just likable guys who lose all the time? We can only hope so. In the meantime, this was easily the best match on the first half of this PPV. Things are going to get worse before they get better.

Matt Sydal, recently of Impact Wrestling and once known as Evan Bourne in WWE, cast a shadow over the entire Casino Battle Royale in what I’m pretty sure has to be the worst debut in AEW history. He was the Joker, which is the CBR equivalent of being #30 in the Royal Rumble. So everyone was expecting a surprise, and then out comes Matt Sydal. A surprise, but not a thrilling one. Then it got so much worse when he climbed to the top turnbuckle and immediately fell off of it before he could do his move. This isn’t the worst botch a guy named Matt would suffer on this show, but it was certainly an ill omen.

The Battle Royale had some fun moments, like Brian Cage putting Darby Allin in a body bag full of thumbtacks and throwing him out of the ring. Unfortunately, it also featured more rough spots, like Brian Cage dropping Darby Allin on his head before he even got into a bag. Also, the ending was a real mess. There was a snake in a bag that kept getting passed around, Jake the Snake yelling, and long moments of the last few guys in the match looking at each other like “We gotta get out of this somehow.” Ultimately, Lance Archer won, which means he gets to fight Jon Moxley for the AEW World Championship. It kind of seems like he was already on the path to doing that pretty soon, but I suppose that’s how these things work.

As I’m sure you already know whether you watched All Out or not, the Broken Rules Match between Matt Hardy and Sammy Guevara was a disaster. Matt Hardy was taking a table bump from the top of a scissor lift, because that’s the sort of thing 45-year-old men do on a Saturday night. His head missed the table and came right down on the concrete floor, and he was out. You could see Aubrey Edwards trying to end the match, but the match did not end. In fact, once Hardy managed to stumble to his feet, he had to climb up another tower and throw Sammy off of it to win the match.

With the caveat that nobody watching on TV can possibly understand exactly what was going on there in the moment, this match absolutely should not have continued after Matt’s head hit the concrete. I get that it would have been awkward to get out of, since it was a Last Man Standing Match and Matt was supposed to have to leave AEW if he lost (a stipulation that only applied to him and not Sammy, which I was confused about when I wrote the preview). It would have been complicated to get out of, but it could have been done, and Matt Hardy’s long term health has to be more important than the storyline. Matt Hardy would almost certainly disagree with this statement, but that doesn’t make it less true.

So at this point in the evening, four matches in, All Out 2020 felt like a real dud. I’ve even seen people saying that they felt like they couldn’t keep watching after what happened with Hardy and turned the PPV off. I totally get where they’re coming from, but it’s also kind of a shame, because Hikaru Shida and Thunder Rosa were just about to right the ship and save the night.

Shida versus Rosa was easily the match of the night, and possibly the best women’s match in AEW history. Certainly there’s more talent on the women’s roster than they usually get credit for, thanks to the questionable booking, but Thunder Rosa is one of the best in the world, and she really brought her A-game here. Nobody really thought Hikaru Shida was going to lose the AEW Women’s Championship to a visiting champion from another promotion, but they managed to create enough in-ring drama to make you doubt that certainty.

The double drop kick looked great, and I also really enjoyed Hikaru setting up that chair at ringside that she likes to launch herself off of, only for Rosa to steal the spot and and prove how much homework she’s done on how to take Shida apart. Rosa also has some of the best facial expressions in the business, which gives her a really great sense of personality in the ring.

I hope this isn’t the last we see of the NWA women’s roster in AEW. In addition to the inevitable Shida/Rosa rematch (which will hopefully happen on NWA programming when it returns), I’d love to see Alysin Kay, Ashley Vox, or Kamille on Dynamite. Also when NWA’s show comes back, let’s send Nyla Rose and Vicki Guerrero over there to wreak havoc.

I was shocked that the face team beat the Dark Order in their eight-man tag match. It’s seemed like the Dark Order were just on the verge of becoming the show’s dominant faction, so I figured they’d dominate here, thus adding to the heat between Brodie and Cody for the latter’s eventual return. Instead, a more badass than usual Dustin Rhodes led QT Marshall, Matt Cardona, and Scorpio Sky to an unexpected victory, and then Mister Brodie Lee blamed Colt Cabana for it.

It seems early to pull the trigger on the Cabana/Dark Order story, with so much going on, but it’s also possible that rather than leading straight into a feud, this rift with Brodie leads Cabana to fully dedicate himself to the Dark Order and its vague principles than he has thus far. It would be interesting to see Colt Cabana fully leave behind his smiling, easy-going persona for just a little while, until he remembers who he is and does turn against the Exalted One.

I turned to my friend who I watch AEW shows with (yes, this same friend) and said, “I can’t wait till we get Dustin versus Brodie in a singles match,” and then commentary immediately announced that this Wednesday we’re getting Dustin versus Brodie in a singles match. And then I was thinking, I feel like I surely must have seen Luke Harper fight Goldust at some point. And I probably did, but I have no memory of it, because it was probably three minutes on a pre-taped pre-2016 Smackdown or something. Luke Harper versus Goldust was never going to be a match that mattered or had any real drama to it. The Natural Dustin Rhodes versus Mister Brodie Lee is somehow an entirely different and far more exciting prospect.

Before we move on, a modest proposal: Take Jim Ross off of regular commentary. He’s a legend, there’s no denying that, but they need to give him some kind of “Commentator Emeritus” position where he can be around, do an occasional interview or guest spot, and make some money, but we don’t have to hear a 68-year-old man semi-coherently perve on 22-year-old Anna Jay when she’s not even on screen. The fact that he’s such a legend just makes it sadder to hear him get worse and worse at his job, and it would really be a shame if his commentary career ended because he had a spell and made some Cornette-level crack without thinking about how it’s 2020 now.

It looks like the Omega/Hangman experiment is finally over now that they’ve lost their Tag Team Championship to FTR. The match was maybe a little overlong, but it certainly made the point that FTR are one of the best tag teams in the world, while Kenny and Adam are really just two very good wrestlers who rarely see eye-to-eye. Dax and Cash are a well-oiled machine, always in sync and always placing the team above the singular glory of either man. Both of them understand that their Drift Compatibility and tag team prowess are their shared ticket to wrestling stardom. For Omega and Hangman, their paths have crossed for a while now, but they’re clearly ready to diverge.

After the match, Kenny Omega chose not to hit Hangman Page with a TV tray, but he had to think long and hard about it. Then he stalked backstage to the Young Bucks and demanded they all leave together now. Then he left by himself when the Bucks hesitated. Up to that point, I had thought we might get a united heel Elite as soon as the end of this PPV. But now it looks like we’ve got to go just a little farther before we get to the Fireworks Factory. But in the meantime, we get to watch Harwood and Wheeler dominate the tag team division, and that’s going to be fun.

I don’t really know what to write about the Mimosa Mayhem Match. I often find that by the time we’ve gotten to the rubber match, it feels like we’ve seen every move and moment that a particular feud has the potential to create. This match promised at least one new moment—somebody getting dunked in a mimosa vat—but we knew that wouldn’t come until the end.

Along the way we did get that fun spot of Orange Cassidy scooping up mimosa in a piece of broken pitcher, dragging it all the way into the ring behind Chris Jericho’s back, and then throwing it in Jericho’s face at just the right moment. That’s exactly the sort of Bugs Bunny sneakiness that feels more than justified against an opponent as treacherous as Jericho, and it enabled Cassidy to get the upper hand, leading to Jericho’s rough landing in the mimosa.

I’m curious to see what comes next for Orange Cassidy, now that this feud has run its course. It’s clear that Jericho’s goal here was to make Cassidy a star, and it seems like he succeeded, but that doesn’t mean it’s time to put him in title contention or anything. Just give him someone pompous who he can humiliate. Hmmm, isn’t MJF about done with the title scene for a while?

The AEW World Championship Match was a solid main event and a really great match in general. MJF wrestles so rarely (which really works for his character) that it’s always exciting to see how good he actually is in the ring. MJF’s stated goal for this match was to keep Jon Moxley inside the ring and in a wrestling match, where MJF felt he could match the champion’s skill, and not to let Mox turn it into a messy brawl, where as the ultimate messy brawler Mox would have the upper hand.

Naturally, Moxley proved himself better in the ring than MJF gave him credit for, while also managing to get MJF outside the ring long enough to messily beat the crap out of him a little bit. Even though MJF got in his own share of offense, the shape of the match felt like a validation of Jon Moxley and an embarrassment for MJF, which is a testament to the effectiveness of the build that created that narrative.

The finish was a little weird, I thought. Thanks to MJF’s machinations, Moxley’s finishing move the Paradigm Shift was banned in this match. So Mox waited until the ref’s back was turned and hit the Paradigm Shift to win. You can say that his cheating was justified since MJF not only cheats constantly, he was already about to hit Mox with that big ring of his right then. And that’s fine, it just seems like a more heroic victory might have done more for such a popular antihero.

And that’s the show. I was not feeling those first four matches, but by the end of the night I’d enjoyed a lot more of the PPV than not. Of course a lot of people just want to talk about the things that went badly—and don’t get me wrong, some discourse about what happened with Matt Hardy is absolutely justified—but overall this show left me feeling pretty good about what’s to come in All Elite Wrestling, and we’ll be back together later this week to see where things go on AEW Dynamite.

Remember when Netflix was the only game in town? The “streaming wars” have been pretty gruesome, with beloved shows being yanked from the one that started it all, often winding up on other services launched by owners like NBC, CBS, and HBO. The latest casualty? That ‘70s Show, the late ’90s/early aughts show that took a wink-winky look at a far more flamboyant era. Fans woke up on Labor Day to discover the show was no longer on there, and when they learned this, they were pissed.

As per Newsweek, the reason for the show’s departure had to do with Netflix not renewing its licensing deal. In fact, in the wake of so many departing biggies — Parks and Recreation in October, The Office next year, to say nothing of Friends back in January — Netflix has been focusing more on original content, from shows to movies.

That’s bad news for fans of That ‘70s Show, which launched the careers of people like Mila Kunis, Ashton Kutcher, Laura Prepon, and Topher Grace. Luckily they had a place to publicly vent their frustrations: social media.

So where is That ‘70s Show heading? Nowhere, at least not now. The only place it can be legally streamed is on Amazon Prime, and that’s for $1.99 an episode. It is owned by Fox, which are now owned by Disney, but considering how often its young characters sat around getting high, it probably won’t end up on their family-friendly service.

(Via Newsweek)

It’s not often that Outkast member Andre 3000 is in the headlines. So when he was spotted last year walking around an airport and serenading passengers with his flute, people on the internet lost it over the heartwarming story. Now, it seems as though the rapper has returned to the hobby in quarantine as Andre was once again spotted out and about with his flute on hand.

Visual designer Jeff Staple was linking up with Andre in LA over the weekend for lunch. Staple pulled out his phone to record their greeting as he noticed Andre was toting his infamous flute around in public.

The video follows last year’s report from journalist Antonia Cereijido, who tweeted that she saw a man “walking around my terminal playing a flute for 40min” before realizing the flautist was Andre 3000. This was just the first instance of a fan reporting they saw the musician practicing his flute game but later on in the year, several more fans shared photos of Andre playing the instrument out in public.

In other Andre 3000 news, the rapper recently opened up about not attending protests due to concern over contracting coronavirus:

“I saw a lot of rappers getting pressured by people, with fans saying, ‘You need to be out here, where are y’all,’ but you have to think about it: How much of it is just for the people to say, We saw a celebrity there? What if your favorite rapper goes out — I’m not even talking about me, ‘cause I’m from the ‘90s, but the kids’ favorite rapper now, say they go out and catch corona and die? Were they more effective and valuable to all of us at home writing music, and doing what they do best?”

Watch Andre 3000 with his treasured flute above.

After getting run off of the floor in Game 1 of the series, the Nuggets bounced back in Game 2 with an incredibly impressive showing to beat the Clippers and even the series at 1-1. Many, including myself, felt after the opener that Denver was in serious trouble, but their turnaround in Game 2 was night and day, particularly on the defensive end.

With Game 3 looming on Monday night, it seems like we might have a much more competitive series on our hands than initially thought, but the expectation is that the Clippers will come out aggressively in Game 3 to reassert themselves as the dominant team in the series. That means Denver has to match their energy level from Game 2 and lean on some of the lessons learned from their game plan’s success — along with being ready for L.A. adjustments — to attack the Clippers on both ends of the floor. Here are three keys for the Nuggets as they look to shock the Clippers again and take an improbable lead in this series.

1. Continue applying defensive pressure to Kawhi Leonard

The Nuggets didn’t hide the fact that they were gassed in Game 1 coming off a grueling seven game series with the Jazz, and they looked much better in Game 2 in terms of stamina and effort. The offensive output in the first quarter stole headlines, but it was the defense of the Nuggets that made the difference, particularly with what they did on Kawhi Leonard. After a dominant Game 1, Leonard went just 4-of-17 from the field for 13 points, with 10 rebounds and eight assists. Considering he hadn’t scored fewer than 29 in seven playoff games to that point, it was a wildly impressive defensive showing on him to make him look as uncomfortable as he did.

Now, no one expects Leonard to repeat that poor shooting performance even if Denver can replicate the same defensive strategy, but making him see different looks and see length and hands at all times is critical to the Nuggets chances of slowing him down. T.J. McBride of Mile High Sports offered a great detailed look at what Denver did defensively in Game 2, but the biggest thing was the pressure from Jerami Grant and Garry Harris, as well as a much improved effort from Paul Millsap, as they sent bigger, longer defenders at Leonard due to his ability to rise up and hit jumpers.

The Nuggets defense did a really good job of pressing up on Leonard to make it more difficult for him to rise for those jumpers without having to feel their presence, and they were able to keep him off the free throw line and away from the rim. He’ll likely hit more shots than he did in Game 2 no matter what, but keeping Leonard out of rhythm and making him feel the defense is really the only shot at making him marginally inefficient. To do so, they’ll have to continue to play with incredible effort, not just on Leonard, but in chasing out to shooters when he kicks the ball outside when they trap or stymie his initial move. For a team not known for defense, the adjustments in Game 2 and the effort they showed was tremendous, but that has to show up every game.

2. Can guys around Murray and Jokic keep making shots?

The Nuggets couldn’t miss to start the game, but once the Clippers defense settled in, they made life very difficult on Denver. Happily for the Nuggets, they had built up enough of an early lead — and played good enough defense themselves — to make up for the cooling off that happened in the second half as they scored just 38 points. The Clippers have made clear that their goal is to make life difficult for Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray on the offensive end and dare anyone else to beat them. Those two got loose early but it was an absolute grind late. The good news in Game 2 was that Gary Harris was able to provide them with some timely three-point shots that kept the Clippers at arm’s length.

I wouldn’t expect anything different from the Clippers defense in Game 3, and if anything they’ll look to be more aggressive on that end in the first quarter. They’ll dare Harris and Millsap and Grant to knock down threes — the latter of whom struggled to be much of an offensive factor given the task of defending Leonard on the other end. Denver getting production from those guys is going to be crucial for the Nuggets offense to produce points consistently against this L.A. defense that will likely look to swarm Murray and Jokic early and often in this game.

3. Good Joker vs. Bad Joker

On both ends the Nuggets have to be able to at minimum match, if not outwork, the Clippers. They did that in Game 2 and it starts with their stars in Murray and Jokic. The former has been sensational this postseason, happily stepping into the spotlight and taking over when needed against Utah, but he can’t be expected to put up 50, 42, and 50 in three straight games this series. The big question is whether Jokic is willing to sustain the effort level needed, particularly on the defensive end, to keep Denver in this series.

Jokic is an otherworldly talent on the offensive end, and his rhythm on that end is all his own. From the Sombor Shuffle to off-hand passes, he does things to a beat few can hear and even fewer can move to. The patience to his game is necessitated, as he noted after Game 2, by his inability to run fast. Defensively, no one expects him to become a fearsome rim protector that deters opponents from entering the paint, but he has to be present, which isn’t always the case. Draymond Green, serving as an analyst on Inside the NBA for Game 1 of this series, broke down how Jokic’s passive nature on defense can sink the Nuggets team defense.

In Game 2 he wasn’t suddenly Gobert at the rim, but his activity level was much better, he cleaned the glass spectacularly to the tune of 18 rebounds, and when it was his time to rotate and contest at the rim, he was far more willing (as you can see in the video in the Kawhi section). A key for Jokic is staying out of foul trouble, because when he picks up early fouls it only exacerbates his issues of attentiveness and aggression on defense. He’ll become so concerned with foul calls that he will refuse to contest shots at the rim to stay on the floor for offense. That should be a focus of the Clippers, because it’s the easiest way to take him out of the game on that end almost completely, and Jokic has to be at once smart about contact but present in the paint to keep the Clippers from waltzing to the rim.

Jason Mantzoukas has a lengthy list of acting credits to his name in some very funny shows and movies, but on Labor Day weekend he became the central figure in a drama unfolding online that he definitely did not audition for. A Reddit relationships thread posted on the site quickly went viral and spread to other social media sites after a poster claimed that he had catfished his own girlfriend by pretending to be Mantzoukas.

The whole thing is a bit complicated, and first of all we should make clear that Mantzoukas is not involved in any way. Yet. But the thread really is worth reading in full, as I have many times this weekend.

It sounds very strange and, well, it is. Apparently the man in question and his wife have a “hall pass” situation and his wife picked Mantzoukas, among whose credits are Derek on The Good Place and a lengthy run on The League. The man found out that the actor actually went to the same college as his wife, though, and that this “hall pass” situation isn’t as pie in the sky as his pick of Beyonce. And so he did some digging, created a fake college email account and event, and wound up emailing with his wife asMantzoukas.

Now, there are a lot of ways this is extremely questionable behavior on his part, as basically every Reddit relationship post contains. But this one in particular really captivated people, who mostly wanted to also get hot and bothered about Jason Mantzoukas.

As we should probably mention again, this is not actually Mantzoukas trying to blow up a relationship. Apparently the gentleman in question is doing that all on his own. But it is becoming clear that the man of basically everyone’s desire will eventually find out about it. The many podcasts he’s appeared on over the years will make sure of it.