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The Knicks and Cavaliers both took steps forward in the 2022-23 season, but their terrific regular seasons were overshadowed by the top-3 in the East that separated themselves from the pack.

While neither is often mentioned as a true championship contender, whichever team comes out of what looks to be a fairly evenly matched 4-5 matchup (with the Cavs as -200 favorites in the series) figures to be a stern second round test for the Milwaukee Bucks (provided they avoid a shocking upset at the hand of either the Heat or Bulls). While neither team features an MVP candidate this year like the East’s top-3, there will still be plenty of elite talent on display, including three of the East’s best backcourt players — and the favorite for Sixth Man of the Year.

The road for either to upsetting one of the East’s favorite starts with a stern first round test, and here we’ll explore the keys for both teams to advance, as well as the players beyond the headliners who could play a big role in swinging this series one way or the other.

Keys for the Cavaliers

Everything for the Cavs starts with their star backcourt duo, as Donovan Mitchell (28.3 ppg/4.4 apg/4.3 rpg) and Darius Garland (21.6 ppg/7.8 apg/2.3 rpg) are the proverbial straws that stir the drink in Cleveland. Given how much of the offensive load they carry, their ability to remain as effective and efficient as they were all season will be critical. The pressure they can apply to opposing defenses is spectacular, but the Knicks will throw varied looks at them and a lot of length to try and disrupt their rhythm. Controlling the pace is something both Garland and Mitchell do very well, but it’s particularly paramount against this Knicks team not to let the offense bog down in the halfcourt and stagnate.

Just as important will be how they fare defensively against Jalen Brunson (and Immanuel Quickley). The last time they played, Brunson got loose for 48 points, outdueling a 43-point outburst from Mitchell to give the Knicks a 3-1 record over the Cavs this season. Keeping their defense out of early rotation because of Brunson and Quickley drives starts at the point of attack, where New York figures to try and test Mitchell in particular on switches given his reputation as a spotty at best on-ball defender. The Cavs backcourt will have to be locked in to keep Brunson and Quickley in front of them both in isolation and navigating screens. Jarrett Allen and Evan Mobley are tremendous at erasing mistakes at the rim, but if they’re in rotation early, the Knicks can more easily find soft spots to attack.

Keys for the Knicks

The last time we saw the Knicks in the Playoffs, they were coming off of a similar season but struggled to replicate the same level of offensive success against the Hawks, resulting in a first round exit in five games. Julius Randle, in particular, struggled with his shooting efficiency, averaging just 18 points per game on 29.8 percent shooting from the field. This year’s Knicks team is more diverse offensively than the 2021 squad, which lends itself to more optimism that this year they can have more success, with Brunson’s presence representing the biggest upgrade on this year’s roster.

Still, there will be a lot of focus on Randle and whether he can be more effective against a very good Cavs defensive frontcourt — especially since they’ll have a more detailed gameplan for containing him than he typically faces in the regular season. This year offers a chance at redemption but against a more difficult defensive opponent. Evan Mobley’s length and quickness will be a prohibitive challenge for Randle, who all too often settled for contested shots in isolation that went begging in that series with Atlanta. His trust in the “others” will be very important, as the Cavs figure to try and get him to once again force up contested shots on the perimeter by walling off his driving lanes and showing help at the rim with Jarrett Allen. If he’s willing to be a playmaker for others, that can tilt the scales in the Knicks’ favor, but at the same time, if he takes the shots the Cavs want him to, the Knicks offense could very well sputter once again.

Defensively, the challenge for the Knicks is similar to the one I laid out for the Cavs with Brunson in that they will have to find ways to contain and frustrate the Cleveland backcourt. While Mitchell has had some big outbursts against New York this season, overall they’ve done pretty well in making sure both Garland and Mitchell don’t go off at the same time in their three wins over the Cavs — and made sure that Mitchell’s teammates don’t feed off of his big scoring nights. New York is willing to cede a big scoring night for Mitchell if it requires him to take a ton of shots and the rest of the Cavs aren’t involved, but with a week to prepare, Cleveland will surely be looking for new ways to attack what New York’s tried to do to them so far this season.

X-Factors

How much offensive support the best defensive players on both sides can provide their teams very well could swing this series. Both teams have seen steps forward from some of their best young defenders in terms of offensive impact this season, headlined by Quentin Grimes for New York and Evan Mobley for Cleveland. In the postseason, their ability to continue to provide secondary offense to their star teammates is critical, and given how many other focal points the two defenses will have to contend with, they figure to see plenty of opportunities to get offensive opportunities. Along with those two, Josh Hart and Isaac Okoro will be tasked with showing length and size to the opposing star guards, but their ability to stay on the floor hinges on whether they can be a viable offensive threat. Both have been that in the regular season, but, again, the defenses will want them to prove that first under playoff pressure before they’re willing to stop digging and helping off of them.

Then there’s the RJ Barrett question for the Knicks. The biggest reason for Cleveland being the favorite in this series is the belief that they simply have the advantage in the star department with Mitchell, Garland, Mobley, and Allen, compared to Brunson, Randle, and Quickley off the bench. If Barrett, who has struggled with his efficiency all season, can go from being a high volume scoring “other” to suddenly entering into that star conversation in this series, it can even the odds a bit and give New York the firepower necessary to pull the slight upset.

Megan Thee Stallion has returned to the public eye and the stage. However, the “Sweetest Pie” rapper has decided to take her time when it comes to jumping back into the realm of social media. The H-Town hottie is keeping a relatively low profile on social media, dropping a few sensual selfies here and there, holding back from fully immersing herself into any one app. According to TMZ, the recording artist is doing the exact opposite in the courtroom.

The outlet reports that in a motion filed in court today (April 13), Megan is accusing her former label’s (1501 Certified Entertainment) Carl Crawford of not only “keeping money from her,” but also of “hiding money” earned outside of the label’s main bank account. Megan is supposedly bringing this to light to ensure that if she does win her case against them for unpaid royalties amongst other things, she will be able to recoup the lost earnings without issue.

Meg alleged that the label’s account currently holds less than $10,000, “although they’ve deposited millions of dollars” into it over time. TMZ also shared that the musician is alleging that J. Prince and Gee Roberson are “the only ones receiving a payout.”

In the motion, Megan has requested that the judge, in the case, involve a third party to serve as overseer of 1501 Certified Entertainment’s bank accounts until the case is over.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

Taylor Swift‘s The Eras Tour is a big deal. The singer began her weekend in Tampa, Florida last night (April 13) at the Raymond James Stadium. For some reason, fans spread a rumor involving the president as well as a former president.

An account on Twitter shared a picture of Barack and Michelle Obama in the audience presumably at the concert. Many assumed it was real; why would it not be? There was also gossip about President Joe Biden attending. Entertainment Tonight even reported (and later deleted) the news. However, Swifties are clearly masters at Photoshop and lies, and People confirmed none were actually there.

“As is widely reported, the President is in Ireland,” a White House spokesperson told the publication. An Obama spokesperson also told People the reports are “definitely false.” Furthermore, the publication notes the video of the Obamas is actually from a Beyoncé concert in 2018.

Meanwhile Swift also said something on stage that has fans convinced that she’s teased the next LP to get a Taylor’s Version rerecording. “I’ve been thinking a lot about one of my albums recently. One of my albums has been on my mind a lot, I’ve been thinking about it, lots going on in my brain about it, and so I thought I might play the title track of that album.”

Upon arriving to Tampa, Swift was made honorary mayor for a day. “We are so excited to welcome you to Tampa April 13th through the 15th,” Mayor Jane Castor. “Let me tell you, our weather never goes out of style. Your fans have spoken and they want to know what we are doing to welcome you to our beautiful city. We know Glendale changed its name, Arlington made a street sign, and Vegas illuminated their Gateway Arches, but here in Tampa, we’ve got a reputation to uphold. We want to go bigger. So I want to present you with a key to the city and invite you to be our honorary mayor for a day.”

Ice Spice and Nicki Minaj’s video for the “Princess Diana” remix is every bit as violently pink as you’d expect. In it, the two rap royals posture and primp in a bedroom straight out of a dollhouse, mugging in the vanity mirror, doing each others’ makeup, and, yes, twerking like it’s going out of style.

The new version of the song has been hotly anticipated ever since Minaj followed Spice on social media. The rising rap star threw flames on the fire last month when she re-shared her old tweet about the blessed event, prompting a gushing exchange of love-bombing from both artists. While some fans were skeptical of the co-sign and how long it would last, others got so excited they speculated that Spice had signed to Minaj’s new label — even though Ice Spice has been signed to 10K Projects and Columbia for the past year.

Ice Spice’s star has been rising since then thanks to hit singles like “In Ha Mood” and PinkPatheress’s “Boy’s A Liar,” while her debut EP, Like…? (which contained the original “Princess Diana“) showed she had more in the tank than just the breakout single “Munch.”

Watch Ice Spice’s “Princess Diana” remix video featuring Nicki Minaj above.

Before watching the video below, please know: don’t shoot the messenger. I’m not the one who approved of “Pudding Fingers.” I’m merely passing along Donald Trump‘s attack ad against Ron DeSantis, in which a stand-in for the Florida governor (and presumptive presidential candidate) eats pudding with his fingers. “Pudding Fingers” is a different kind of disgusting than most attack ads. It’s disgusting in the way that the bathtub spaghetti scene from Gummo is disgusting — and I’d still rather watch that movie than… this… ever again.

“Pudding Fingers” is based on an incident, in which the Daily Beast reported that DeSantis “enjoyed a chocolate pudding dessert — by eating it with three of his fingers.” His denial of the story, to Piers Morgan of all people, didn’t help things. The ad played during CNN This Morning on Friday morning, following a commercial for “generic Viagra,” according to Mediaite.

“Ron DeSantis loves sticking his fingers where they don’t belong,” the voiceover says. “And we’re not just talking about pudding.” It goes on to attack DeSantis for his “dirty fingers” being all over “senior entitlements,” and that he should “keep his pudding fingers off our money.” Oh, and “and get this man a spoon!” it ends. That’s a lot of pudding wordplay in 30 seconds, 30 seconds of my life that I unfortunately will never get back. Watch at your own risk.

(Via Mediaite)

Earlier this week, Jamie Foxx’s daughter Corinne Foxx posted a statement that confirmed her father suffered a “medical emergency” while on the set of his latest flick in Atlanta. It’s unclear what exactly happened to the actor, though as of Thursday night, Foxx was allegedly communicating and in good spirits, according to TMZ.

Foxx has had a long and impressive career so far, in both the movie and music industries, scoring both a Grammy and an Oscar. His latest project is bringing friend Cameron Diaz out of retirement for Back In Action, which is what he was filming when the medical emergency happened. The film also stars Glenn Close, Kyle Chandler, and Andrew Scott.

While there haven’t been any recent updates on Foxx’s condition, many of his famous co-stars and friends have taken to social media to wish the Hollywood icon a speedy recovery.

Other celebs took to Instagram to share positive memories of Foxx, like Kerry Washington, who called Foxx her “movie huzbin.” The Duo starred together in Ray and Django Unchained.

TMZ recently reported that Foxx’s body double has been taking his place on the set of his latest movie Back In Action, which is currently underway in Atlanta and is scheduled to wrap next week.

(Via TMZ)

Hollywood stardom is all too often a dangerous landscape for child actors. Many celebrities who got famous early have come out with their own personal accounts of being exploited and abused by the industry or by their own parents.

Mae Whitman, however, is not one of those actors.

At the age of 6, Whitman starred as Meg Ryan’s daughter in “When a Man Loves a Woman,” and since then has gone on to roles in notable shows like “Arrested Development,” “Parenthood” and “Good Girls.” Now, at age 34, she is starring in a musical comedy on Hulu called “Up Here.”

During a podcast interview with “Dear Media,” Whitman was asked how she managed to navigate early success while dodging those all-too-common pitfalls that many young stars fall victim to.

“I hate to give them all the credit, but it’s my parents,” she quipped. “They ruled. They were so cautious and they were so meticulous about prioritizing and walking me through what was important in life. What not to take personally. Our family was so communication-based.”

She then praised her dad in particular for being a healthy male presence.

@dearmedia #maewhitman is the way she is all thanks to her parents. Shoutout to the #gentledads 🥹 #notskinnybutnotfat #familygoals #podcastclips ♬ Storytelling – Adriel

“I grew up with a gentle dad—it’s a term I’ve coined with people,” she said. “A gentle dad is like a sensitive dad. There was no teasing in my house. There was no meanness. There was no ‘You need to make us proud.’ It was an open source of communication and sensitivity and consideration.”

She then gave a sweet story as an example, explaining that as a kid, she could never get into sleepovers and always wanted to go home (relatable for any introvert, to be sure). In order to avoid any embarrassment, Whitman and her father developed a code phrase that signaled it was time to pick her up.

@dearmedia Calling your parents to pick you up at sleepovers > Yes or no? ⬇️ #sleepovers #sleepoverstory #parentpickup #maewhitman #notskinnybutnotfat #podcastclips ♬ Graduate – BLVKSHP

“I would call my dad, completely casual,” she recalled, “and be like, ‘It’s awesome I’m having the best time I’ve ever had. But quick question: Did you feed the turtle?’”

Without fail, Whitman’s dad would come and get her. That is Gentle Dad-ing 101.

The interview struck a chord with viewers, many of whom had their own gentle dad to give credit to.

“My dad was a gentle dad and I miss him everyday,” one person wrote.

Another added, “I grew up with a gentle dad, and married a man who is a gentle dad. It’s the biggest flex a man can have.”

And those who didn’t grow up with that kind of support shared how much they yearned for it.

“Ooof to not have Dad issues would absolutely rule,” commented one person.

“Where was the signup sheet? Cuz I missed it,” another echoed.

Regardless, people were unanimously on board with the idea. As one person put it, “If everyone had a gentle dad, the world would be a better place.”

Just another example of how gentle parenting can work wonders for developing some high-functioning, healthy kids, whether they’re thrust into stardom or not.

Having siblings is a toss-up. Either you grow up thinking they’re the best thing since the creation of ranch dressing, or you wish they really did find you in a trash can so you could find your other family. Luckily for these two brothers, they have the best-case scenario and like each other more than a little bit.

In a video uploaded to social media and shared by LADbible, the internet gets a sneak peek inside the delivery room of the older brother and his partner. The younger brother is enamored with his new nephew he’s holding in his arms while the new mom films the interaction, capturing the moment the brand new uncle is let in on the surprise.

This love-stricken uncle has no idea what’s coming, and how could he? New babies have a way of completely wrapping you up in a pink fog where everything is wonderful and you forget everything around you for a little while. Holding a new baby is like the ultimate dopamine rush and this uncle was fully immersed.

“This is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” the uncle says before his brother asks, “Do you want to know his name?”

Get ready to cue a big cheesy grin, because ugh, it’s an adorable interaction. While the awestruck uncle is still holding the baby, his brother informs him that the baby’s name is “Brooks Hayden Stone.”

“You swear,” the younger brother says.

His reaction to the realization that his first nephew is named after him is priceless. Watch the entire heartwarming interaction below:

The eyes of the NBA world will be on TD Garden on Saturday afternoon with the start of a seven-game series between the Atlanta Hawks and the Boston Celtics. Atlanta earned the No. 7 seed with an upset win over the Miami Heat on Tuesday, leading virtually wire-to-wire and reminding of the previously unfilled promise from an otherwise disappointing regular season. Boston zoomed to the No. 2 seed with the second-best record in the NBA, winning 57 games in the process, and the Celtics have the hammer of home-court advantage and the edge in rest as a reward.

Without further delay, let’s glance at an interesting series.

Keys for the Hawks

Broadly speaking, it will be interesting to see if the Hawks can replicate their effort from the victory over Miami. On one hand, Atlanta was the epitome of an average team this season, famously hanging around the .500 mark for months on end and finishing with a 41-41 record. On the other, the Hawks are clearly more talented than a typical No. 7 seed, much less a 41-win team, and that is doubly the case with Atlanta entering the playoffs at full health and with improved depth after the deadline acquisition of Saddiq Bey.

Atlanta projects to struggle defensively in this series, both due to the team’s own issues and Boston’s highly explosive and efficient offense. However, the Hawks do have a path to offensive success. Atlanta posted a top-three offensive rating after the All-Star break, including a top-tier mark on the offensive glass in securing more than 30 percent of missed shots on the offensive glass. The biggest key to Atlanta’s win over Miami was also domination on the offensive boards, with 22 offensive rebounds and 26 second-chance points.

Against a Boston team that led the league in defensive rebound rate during the regular season, the Hawks probably won’t be able to totally control the interior, but second-chance opportunities could swing things in Atlanta’s direction, particularly if Boston leans into smaller, offense-leaning lineups. From there, the Hawks have upped their free throw volume and three-point volume, at least modestly, under Snyder, which improves Atlanta’s upside in a series.

Keys for the Celtics

In addition to Boston needing to secure the defensive glass, containing Trae Young and a very prolific Atlanta offense will be paramount. Fortunately for the Celtics, this is a roster well-constructed to do just that. Boston is one of the league’s best switching teams, with a bevy of quality options to throw at Young, Dejounte Murray, and the rest of Atlanta’s perimeter options. From there, the Celtics deploy virtually no defensive weaknesses (unless they choose to dig deeper into the rotation with Sam Hauser, etc.), and Atlanta has sometimes struggled against more versatile defenses that don’t lean heavily into drop coverage.

On offense, Boston was able to do almost anything it wanted against Atlanta in the regular season. Though the Celtics and Hawks played a meaningless game in the regular season finale, Boston throttled Atlanta in the first two games, largely behind the three-point arc. The Celtics made 20 three-pointers or more in each contest and completely put the Hawks into the blender. That wasn’t an outlier either, as the Celtics ranked near the top of the league in offensive rating (117.3), three-pointers (16.0 per game), two-point shooting (56.7 percent), three-point shooting (37.7 percent), and free throw shooting (81.2 percent) with strong ball security and the ability and willingness to share the ball with unselfishness.

Atlanta is in a more stout position at this point after the hire of Quin Snyder and the aforementioned uptick in depth, but the Hawks do land firmly in the bottom third of the league in defensive rating, even after Snyder’s arrival. If the Celtics can keep the offense humming at close the rate they performed at in the regular season, the Hawks figure to be in trouble.

X-Factors

Who is the best player in this series? Jayson Tatum is the clear answer through the lens of the 2022-23 season, and it would be easy to argue that Boston’s No. 2 option, Jaylen Brown, has played better than Atlanta’s No. 1 option in Trae Young. That is a not insignificant part of why Boston is seen as a massive betting favorite in the series but, if the Hawks want to make this interesting, Young needs to be spectacular. After a very strong in the 2021 playoffs, Young floundered in 2022 against Miami and the Celtics will likely look to employ similar levels of defensive pressure to see if that still can take him out of his game. While the Hawks won’t be drawing dead without Young averaging 35 points per game, he does need to set the table for everyone else, put consistent pressure on the Boston defense, and see an uptick in his scoring efficiency for the Hawks to have a real chance in this series.

Boston also has more health questions than Atlanta does at this moment. Jaylen Brown has a laceration on his shooting hand and Marcus Smart is coming back from a late-season neck issue. Both are expected to play but, with the Celtics entering Game 1 after almost a full week off, the Hawks likely need to pounce early on to throw things into chaos. The Hawks need to play above their usual baseline to challenge the Celtics, but Atlanta has shown signs of that capability and, in general, the Hawks bring the talent, versatility, star power, health, and coaching acumen that can put up a real fight. The issue all season for the Hawks was putting that all together for an extended stretch, and the Celtics will require them to raise their level consistently across the seven-game series in a way they haven’t all season.

Drake may be in his “sassy” era, but still, even some things are off-limits for him. The “Search & Rescue” rapper laughed off a hilarious mix-up of him with another rapper but didn’t find a new AI-generated version of him rapping along to Ice Spice’s viral song “Munch (Feelin’ U).

Late last night, the Bronx native released her highly anticipated collaboration with fellow Young Money representative Nicki Minaj. As “Princess Diana (Remix)” began to gain streams, simultaneously, the AI-generated track started to creep back on the users’ timelines. Word of the AI cover eventually got back to the rapper, and he was not at all amused. Taking to his Instagram stories, the musician shared a screengrab of The Shade Room’s reporting with the caption, “This is the final straw AI.”

It is unclear if the entertainer was being sarcastic or truly upset at the fact that an off-brand version of his likeness was being used for cooking up the unauthorized song. But maybe the party responsible for the track could make it up to the rapper by giving it another go this time recording at Drake’s own home studio.

Listen to the full AI-generated track below.

In November, rumors began to circulate that the two were feuding, but Ice Spice has since cleared up the rumors, stating that they are “still cool,” despite the slight shade Drake threw on his track “BackOutsideBoyz.”