Category: Worldwide

Making regular McDonald’s french fries at home is one of those cooking tasks that seems… a little absurd. You can go into any McDonald’s in the world and get an order of fries for $2 to $3 in less than a minute. They’ll usually be piping hot, perfectly seasoned, and pretty goddamn delicious.

Why try to recreate what the Golden Arches never screws up?

Here’s why: The McDonald’s french fries we get today aren’t quite as delicious as they used to be, thanks to a massive change in the recipe in 1990 — a once little-known food fact that has become (relatively) common knowledge. Back in 2017, Malcolm Gladwell took on the issue of McDonald’s changing up their fry recipe on his podcast, Revisionist History. The author pinned everything to a pivot the Golden Arches made on July 23, 1990, when they stopped using beef tallow in their fryers. He asserted that the fries pre-1990 didn’t just taste better in our nostalgia-hazed minds, they were better.

The logic holds up. French fries fried in duck or beef fat are always more deeply flavored and generally tastier than those dipped in corn, canola, or veggie oils. The current iteration at Mickey D’s are treated to have “beef essence” through the addition of wheat and milk extracts, but c’mon, that’s no substitute. Sure, they still rule, but now each bite begs the question: Could these be even better?

To answer that question, I tried to recreate the classic McDonald’s french fries at home and then compared them with some fresh fries from a local McDonald’s down the street. Besides the beef tallow, I followed the steps that McDonald’s uses to make their fries today — blanching them in a sugar/vinegar brine, pre-frying, freezing, and re-frying the potatoes before seasoning them.

What You’ll Need in the Kitchen:

• Kitchen knife
• Cutting board
• 2 large, heavy-bottomed pots
• Slotted spoon
• Baking sheet
• Large bowl
• Paper towels
• Container for freezing (Ziplock bag works too)
• Thermometer

Classic McDonald’s French Fries

Ingredients:

• 3 Shepody potatoes
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup white vinegar
• 2-lbs. beef tallow
• Salt
• Water

McDonald’s uses a lot of ingredients to recreate the beef tallow beef essence lost by cooking their fries in vegetable oils. I’m skipping all those additives and sticking with the barebones recipe of a sugar and vinegar brine to blanch, an initial fry, freezing, and second fry. I’m also just using Shepody potatoes, which is one of four potatoes McDonald’s uses for their fries. I didn’t have the time during a lockdown to track down Ranger Russets, Umatilla Russets, and Russet Burbanks.

Shepody potatoes are perfectly fine for making fries at home anyway.

The biggest change-up here is, obviously, that I’m using real-deal beef tallow from Belgium. Why? Because let’s face it, if there’s any culture that knows its way around a good fry right now, it’s Belgium. The cones of frites you can get on pretty much every other street corner in that small country are arguably the best in the world. And that comes down to the beef tallow they’re fried in.

Step 1:

First, I get two heavy-bottomed pots on the stove. In one, I’ve added two pounds of beef tallow. I turn the heat on low to allow the tallow to melt slowly. You want it to become a liquid before you turn up the heat for frying.

In the other pot, I add about half a gallon of tap water and a half-cup each of white sugar and white vinegar. I put that on high to bring it up to just under a boil and completely dissolve the sugar.

While the fat is melting and the water is warming, I start processing my potatoes. McDonald’s fries are peeled in a huge machine. I like a peel on my fries, so I leave it on. It also saves time.

I then use a kitchen knife to cut the potato length-wise into oblong disks that are just under one-quarter-inch thick. I then julienne those into long matchsticks. I make sure to cut them a little bigger than I want, as they’ll shrink as they cook.

The cut potatoes go straight into the warm water. I bring the water just to boil. As soon as that happens, I use a slotted spoon to transfer the potatoes to a towel-lined cutting board.

I then use another towel to dry the potatoes by pressing down on them to extract as much moisture as I can. You want to get them as dry as possible, without mashing or breaking any of the sticks.

Step 2:

I use a thermometer to keep an eye on the beef tallow. When it hits 375f/190c, it’s ready to flash fry the potatoes.

I use a slotted spoon to drop the fries in a handful at a time. I make a single layer of fries in the hot fat and keep moving them as they fry with the slotted spoon. Mine end up taking almost three minutes to fry. You want them to just start taking on a yellowish color.

I remove the first batch to a paper towel-lined baking sheet to leech out the excess fat and fry up the second (and last) batch.

Again, it’ takes about three minutes to hit that yellowish color. The fries are cooked but they’re not crispy fries yet.

Step 3:

After I leech out as much of the excess fat as I can by gently tamping the fries with a paper towel, I place them in a freezer-safe container in as close to one layer as I can. Some recipes call for a single layer for freezing. That takes up a lot of freezer space most people don’t have. This way works fine too.

I then place the fries in the freezer for at least two hours or until the fries are frozen through. You can keep them for up to a month like this and pull them out in batches to fry up at will if you want.

Step 4:

This is where the magic happens. I get the beef tallow up to 400f/205c to finish the fries.

Now, if you order a freshly fried order of fries from McDonald’s, it takes about three-and-a-half minutes to get those fries. So, I’m aiming for three minutes as my frying time.

I drop the fries in and keep an eye on my temperature. I have to kick the flame up to get the tallow back up to temp as quickly as possible. I also use the slotted spoon to move them around a bit (basically emulating the basket shake of a professional frier).

After three minutes pass, I check the fries for doneness and they’re very done. They aren’t burnt but they also are not that lightly fried McDonald’s french fry either. Still, they’re super crispy and freakin’ delicious.

For the last batch, I fry for closer to two minutes before dropping them in the bowl and salting. The crispiness was there but the color was a bit closer to actual McDonald’s fries.

Bottom Line:

So, McDonald’s fries are McDonald’s fries. They’re crispy yet soft with plenty of salt. They’re delicious. These fries are also delicious. They’re fries after all. They did have that sweet edge with a beefiness for sure. But they really tasted like your average homemade fries. Okay, they were a little better than “average.” The beef tallow really shined through and made them very tasty.

As you can see above, they look similar to McDonald’s fries and have a close texture and feel to them. Maybe if I fried 50 more batches in my beef tallow, it’d start to build up some deeper flavor/seasoning. But that’s never happening. That being said, I do think the vinegar and sugar brine/blanch added a nice touch to the overall fry.

I guess it comes down to this: These are delicious. But cooking them three times and freezing them in between is way too much work for a side you can get for $2 at any McDonald’s, beef tallow or not. There are easier/ more straightforward fry recipes that we like every bit as much.

Sure, you may still decide to make this one — just know that you’re doing it to feed your curiosity as much as your hunger.

In a new oral history on the making of the 1996 sci-fi classic 12 Monkeys, director Terry Gilliam had some interesting words to say about working with Bruce Willis, particularly the shape of his mouth. While revealing that he chose Willis after shooting down A-list stars like Tom Cruise and Nicolas Cage, who were at the top of their game during the mid-’90s, Gilliam described his one major issue with the Die Hard actor: he thinks Willis’ mouth looks like a butt.

“I had never been a great fan of Bruce’s before,” Gilliam told Inverse. “But I liked talking to him, and I thought, OK, this guy’s smart, he’s funny. I explained to him my concerns about him as an actor. I hated the Trumpian mouth he does in films. Rectal. It’s like I’m looking at somebody’s a**hole.”

Did he truly say “rectal” to Bruce Willis’ face? Gillaim doesn’t clarify, but Willis’ mouth wasn’t the only problem Gilliam ended up having with the actor, who had developed a reputation for being difficult on set. Despite assurances that he would “leave his entourage behind” and agreeing to work on 12 Monkeys for a fraction of usual salary for a chance to “stretch” as an actor, Gilliam said that Willis began to revert back to his old ways during the production:

Bruce was trying incredibly hard to just be an actor at work but he had been spoiled by success for so long. So he was in many ways like a kid who was pushing the limits constantly and then coming up with stupid excuses for being late on the set. There was one point he had something that looked like a note from his mother. We let Bruce go away for a long weekend and he came back and suddenly he was Bruce Willis Superstar again.

Despite the difficulties with Willis’ mouth and demeanor, 12 Monkeys went on to become a commercial and critical success, earning over $180 million on a $30 million budget.

(Via Inverse)

There’s nothing the folks at World Wrestling Entertainment love more than a good celebrity cameo appearance on their shows, as they have quite the history of celeb pop-ups and even celebs participating in matches. However, with the ongoing pandemic and shows in the Thunderdome with just virtual fans in attendance, there’s not a lot of incentive for seeking out the cheap pop that can come from a big star showing up.

So on Monday Night Raw, when they went ahead with their legends night that featured Hulk Hogan and Goldberg (who will apparently once again be making a title push at 54 years old), there wasn’t any real expectation of non-wrestling royalty being backstage — and there wasn’t. That didn’t stop them from running a gag insisting Cardi B was backstage, only for it to be revealed that it was the Boogeyman, which led to Cardi trending on Twitter to her confusion.

Once she was shown video of why she was trending alongside WWE, she had an incredible response in which she was furious with Vince McMahon that this was how her “WWE debut” went and that she would be coming for him.

When former WWE stars like Trish Stratus and Melina replied to Cardi, she began fan girling out, as, while she doesn’t currently watch WWE, she was once a big fan.

At this point, I’d bank on a Cardi B appearance on WWE TV by the end of 2021, because there’s no way WWE isn’t going to see all of these tweets about her being a wrestling fan and not beg her to make a proper debut at some point — hopefully sans Boogeyman.

For over 20 years now, The Miseducation Of Lauryn Hill has been regarded as one of the most important hip-hop albums in the genre’s canon. An undisputed classic, The Miseducation set the standards for both artistry and commercial success, yet in that time, the artist herself has rarely given interviews, perhaps put off by a series of controversies at her peak when her responses were taken out of context. However, she broke that trend for the podcast Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums on Amazon Music, responding by email to address the album’s impact and legacy, as well as why she never released a proper follow-up.

Ms. Hill notes that one of the results of her groundbreaking album was cracking the door for Black artists to more openly speak about systemic racism, although she expresses disappointment that she doesn’t get enough credit for doing so, despite taking most of the heat early. Putting it bluntly, “I was called crazy,” she says. “Now, over a decade later, we hear this as part of the mainstream chorus. Ok, so chalk some of it up to leadership and how that works. I was clearly ahead, but you also have to acknowledge the blatant denial that went down with that. The public abuse and ostracizing while suppressing and copying what I had done, with still no real acknowledgment that all of that even happened, is a lot.”

However, although she says she’s also “pretty critical” of her own work, she does appreciate why Miseducation is so universally beloved. “I challenged the norm and introduced a new standard. I believe The Miseducation did that and I believe I still do this — defy convention when the convention is questionable.”

Unfortunately, she says she never received the same level of support for her future endeavors, and detractors sapped her creative energy for producing another work on that level. “The wild thing is no one from my label has ever called me and asked how can we help you make another album, EVER,” she points out. While the label had largely left her to her own devices while recording the album, once it became the cultural juggernaut it had, more people than ever wanted to be associated with her genius. “People had included me in their own narratives of THEIR successes as it pertained to my album, and if this contradicted my experience, I was considered an enemy.”

It’s a shame that Ms. Hill was never able to follow up The Miseducation, that she felt people tried to take advantage of her, and that critics put her through the wringer. Still, though, she has one of the “500 greatest albums” and that’s not nothing. You can listen to the podcast episode, which features H.E.R., Jamila Woods, and more, here.

It’s been a rough week for beans.

First, there was the still-ongoing Bean Dad saga, which began with a father mocking his daughter for not knowing how to use a can opener and ended with resurfaced racist and homophobic tweets (tell your off-line friends that “Bean Dad got Milkshake Duck’d,” and see how they respond). And now, Rowan Atkinson wants Mr. Bean to die.

OK, the British comedian didn’t use those words exactly, but the sentiment stands. “I don’t much enjoy playing him,” he told the Radio Times. “The weight of responsibility is not pleasant. I find it stressful and exhausting, and I look forward to the end of it.” Atkinson created Mr. Bean, a bumbling buffoon who responds to the various scraps he finds himself in with mumbles and cartoonish facial tics, in the 1980s — since then, there’s been TV shows, movies, and this “Yaaas Bean” shirt that I’m buying immediately.

Atkinson isn’t ready to bury Mr. Bean yet, however.

Atkinson’s lack of enjoyment does not preclude an animated film. “Having made an animated TV series, we’re now in the foothills of developing an animated movie for Mr. Bean — it’s easier for me to perform the character vocally than visually,” Atkinson said.

The movie will have Mr. Bean trying to kill himself, only to end up the king of England somehow. Besides, Atkinson can’t kill his most popular character (sorry, Johnny English and the “it’s a race” guy from Rat Race). Bean is immortal, assuming he doesn’t get canceled.

Again, rough week for beans.

(Via Variety)

Many pop musicians have taken a break from releasing music during the holiday season, but that doesn’t mean there weren’t some delectable tracks released just in time for the New Year. Justin Bieber returned for a new track, Lauv decided to ring in the New Year with a reflective tune, and Jacob Collier debuted a heartwarming ballad.

Each week, Uproxx rounds up the best new pop music. Listen up.

Justin Bieber — “Anyone”

After becoming a self-described R&B artist with last year’s album Changes, Justin Bieber has shared a handful of singles which point to his early catalog. “Anyone,” which he debuted during his New Year’s Eve livestream, is no exception. The song is a soaring declaration of his love peppered with a rolling beat and heartfelt lyrics, making it a standout of the best new pop music for this week.

Lauv — “2021”

2020 was undeniably Lauv’s breakout year after the singer independently released his debut album How I’m Feeling. But Lauv plans to keep up the momentum in 2021, and he’s cemented his intentions through song. Sharing the aptly titled “2021” in time for the New Year, Lauv expressed his excitement for what’s to come over shuffling instrumentals.

Jacob Collier — “The Sun Is In Your Eyes”

On the heels of three Grammy nominations, Jacob Collier shared the swooning acoustic number “The Sun Is In Your Eyes,” which was ripped off a voice memo on his phone. Along with sharing the tune, Collier has been teasing upcoming collaborations with artists like Daniel Caesar on his Instagram page, so the musician is sure to have some big releases up his sleeve in 2021.

Bailey Bryan — “Sober”

After releasing a slew of singles in 2020, Bailey Bryan is the New Year full steam ahead. Bryan shared the resonating song “Sober” this week. While showcasing her soaring vocals, Bailey delivers vulnerable lyrics about learning to heal from a past relationship.

The Hxliday — “Nxbxdy”

This week, 19-year-old Baltimore artist The Hxliday returned with the celebratory BatBxy EP. The six-track effort features “Nxbxdy,” a song about working through trust issues. “BatBxy is about my past year experiences. It’s a special note from me to my fans,” TheHxliday said about the EP. “I wanted to drop BatBxy on New Year’s Day specifically because I feel like it’s me stepping out of my old self. It’s about the learning process that I’ve been going through in 2020 going into the new me in 2021.”

Jung — “Heaven”

Swedish brother duo Jung returned this week to share the charming single “Heaven.” This Maroon 5-adjacent track features fluttering melodies, softly crashing snares, and feel-good lyrics which craft a upbeat song fit for setting this year’s intentions.

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

The Georgia Senate runoff (and one bizarre speech from the Trump rally) is in the forefront on this Tuesday, but in the background, rifle-toting Republican Lauren Boebert (representing Colorado) is already doing her thing on Capitol Hill. Or at least, that’s what she’s claiming to do in her bizarre new political add, in which she declares, “I WILL carry my Glock to Congress.” Surprise? Well, Boebert’s already a controversial figure in her home state, in which she owns a diner called Shooters Grill (actually located in Rifle, Colorado) and has been accused of providing a firearm to a minor staff member. She’s also got nearly a handful of arrests under her belt, according to the Denver Post.

Here’s the ad with Boebert strutting through D.C. while bragging that she’ll always support Second Amendment rights and protect her own family. She then stresses how, “[A]s a five-foot-tall, 100-pound woman I choose to protect myself legally, because I am my best security.” And Boebert even vows to arm herself in the halls of Congress.

It’s a wild ad, alright. Disgraced former Missouri Governor Eric Greitens (who famously showcased gunfire and not much else in an ad) would have been proud, but of course, one cannot expect D.C. police to be thrilled about Boebert’s slippery-slope spectacle. NBC Washington reports that Metropolitan Police Department Chief Robert Contee planned to have a chat with Boeber and isn’t impressed by her bragging. “That congresswoman, whoever it is, I guess it was from Colorado,” Contee declared. “[W]ill be subjected to the same penalties as anyone else that’s caught on the District of Columbia streets that’s carrying a firearm.”

Oh, but there’s a twist here. The Washington Post received word from a Boebert spokesperson, who has clarified that “she was not carrying the gun throughout the video shoot, despite the opening scene.” Basically, she doesn’t want to get arrested (again), and that could happen because a concealed-carry license from Colorado would not fly with D.C.’s gun laws, “and nonresidents must register firearms with D.C. police.”

Let’s just say that Boebert’s being roundly mocked by Twitter, including the label of “value village discount rack sarah palin.” Ouch.

2021’s shaping up to be a strange year already.

(Via NBC Washington & Washington Post)

Maren Morris may have been in between albums in 2020, but that doesn’t mean she shied away from sharing new music. Amid the pandemic, election, and Black Lives Matter demonstrations, Morris used her platform in the country music scene to share a poignant anthem about the importance of taking a stand against injustice. Now, Morris brings the soulful track “Better Than We Found It” to a performance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

Morris takes the stage backed by a full band, complete with a harmonica and two acoustic guitars. The song starts slow, building to an erupting chorus where Morris takes an opportunity to showcase her soaring vocals.

Upon sharing the song in October, Morris offered reasoning as to why she chose to pen a protest song:

“I wanted to write something to address exactly how I feel right now, and this came together pretty quickly. It’s a protest song — it’s the most American thing to protest and protest songs have been so embedded in American culture: Bob Dylan, Nina Simone. I think the world right now is sort of in a perpetual mourning period and I wanted to have a song that had weight but also had hope. I still have hope for this country and for the future of it, and as a new mother I wanted to promise my son that I’m going to do everything in my power to leave this world better than the one I came into and the one I see right now.”

Watch Morris perform “Better Than We Found It” on The Late Show above.

The Los Angeles Lakers began the 2020-21 season as the favorites in the NBA. That often comes with the territory after a championship-winning season but, rather than stand pat in the offseason, the Lakers made a few notable moves. Los Angeles added Dennis Schröder and Montrezl Harrell to juice the team’s offense, and the Lakers found a bargain in acquiring Marc Gasol to step into the void created by the defections of Dwight Howard and JaVale McGee. Crucially, the Lakers also bring back two of the best players in the NBA in LeBron James and Anthony Davis and, to put it plainly, that duo provides a sky-high floor and a lofty ceiling on its own.

Still, it is worth mentioning that the Lakers didn’t carry quite the favorite status of other past champions, in part because the bubble provided an odd circumstance and Los Angeles wasn’t necessarily seen as a no-doubt No. 1 team entering the 2020 NBA Playoffs. On cue, the Lakers stumbled out of the gate in a loss to the Clippers but, essentially since the end of the first quarter on Dec. 22, Los Angeles has been the best team in the league by a healthy margin.

The Lakers trailed 39-19 after 12 minutes on the night they received their championship rings and, while they didn’t complete the comeback, Los Angeles lost by single digits. Since then, the Lakers are 5-1 with three consecutive road wins to finish last week, and Los Angeles is No. 1 in adjusted net rating for the season, via Cleaning The Glass. That includes top-tier marks in offense (115.7 points per 100 possessions) and defense (104.5 points per 100), with 56.9 percent effective field goal shooting and a 59.8 percent true shooting mark. None of those numbers are shocking for a previously dominant team, but Los Angeles is simply taking care of business.

Neither James nor Davis is averaging more than 33 minutes per game but, when the two mega-stars are on the floor, it is curtains for the opposition. In 122 minutes with both James and Davis on the court, the Lakers have a ridiculous +20.3 net rating, and that includes a scoring clip of 1.25 points per possession. Everything is a small sample size in the early going, but the Lakers are letting their stars dominate, playing them fairly often together, and allowing their new acquisitions to steer the ship on the second unit.

To be fair, the Lakers are set up as a team that may not want and/or need to keep the pedal to the floor throughout the regular season. They know what they have and, given the age of James in particular, Los Angeles has incentive to take it easy after a (very) long and strenuous 2019-20 title run. At the same time, the Lakers might be able to cruise to the No. 1 seed, in even in a loaded West, and if they can do that and grab homecourt through the playoffs, a repeat bid becomes just a little bit easier.

There is no doubt which teams sits at the top of this week’s DIME power rankings, but the rest of the list is here.
1. Los Angeles Lakers (5-2, Last week — 1st)

The rankings really start at No. 2 right now.

2. Philadelphia 76ers (6-1, Last week — 5th)

Philly’s schedule has not been a murderer’s row, with wins over Charlotte (twice), Washington, New York, Orlando and a struggling Toronto team. In the same breath, the Sixers have the best record in the league and, over the last week, Doc Rivers’ team posted a 96.1 defensive rating while dominating the competition. You can only beat the teams that are in front of you and Philly is doing so handily.

3. L.A. Clippers (5-2, Last week — 3rd)

Aside from the hilarious 51-point loss to the Mavs, the Clippers… have been exactly what they should be. They still have a top-10 net rating even when including the outlier, and L.A. has quality wins over the Lakers, Nuggets, Blazers and Suns. It may not seem like it on the internet, but they’ve played well overall.

4. Milwaukee Bucks (4-3, Last week — 14th)

This is kind of wild. The Bucks lead the NBA in net rating (+12.7) and that is tough to do with a 4-3 record. From there, Milwaukee has two double-digit losses (!), but the Bucks have wins by 39, 47 and 30 points. What a weird start. Fortunately, we know they’re pretty good.

5. Utah Jazz (4-2, Last week — 4th)

It’s been a solid, balanced start for Utah. They are a top-12 team on both ends, and the Jazz picked up a win over the Clippers this week. Considering Donovan Mitchell is still shooting just 37 percent from the floor, I think Utah would gleefully accept this overall start.

6. Phoenix Suns (5-2, Last week — 7th)

The Suns are very good. They lost a close game to the Clippers to end the week, but Phoenix already has road wins over the Nuggets and Jazz. From there, they are playing lights-out defense (103.4 points allowed per 100) and they have seven players averaging 10 points or more. That sounds like a solid recipe to me.

7. Indiana Pacers (5-2, Last week — 9th)

The loss of TJ Warren for a while definitely stings Indiana, as he isn’t a player that is easy to replace. The Pacers are playing well, though, and that includes a victory that had to be seen to be believed on Monday in New Orleans. Victor Oladipo is playing well, Domantas Sabonis is soaring, Malcolm Brogdon continues to be a steady hand, and Myles Turner is playing to his full potential on both ends.

8. Boston Celtics (5-3, Last week — 13th)

Boston isn’t firing on all cylinders and, in comparison to previous editions of this roster, the early returns aren’t terribly enticing. The Celtics do have Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, which helps, and they’ve won four of the last five after a shaky start.

9. Brooklyn Nets (3-4, Last week — 2nd)

The Nets are 1-4 in the last five games and Kevin Durant is going to miss a few tilts. That certainly isn’t what you want for a team trying to find its sea legs, but Brooklyn has flashed enough upside to eliminate at least some of the concern. This still may be a team that requires context moving forward, and we’ll aim to apply it.

10. Portland Trail Blazers (3-3, Last week — 6th)

The most recent result for the Blazers featured Steph Curry scoring 62 points on them and putting on quite a show. In the previous game, Portland smacked Golden State by 25 points. Good luck trying to figure that sequence out, but we do know that Portland’s defense has been problematically poor to this point, and that is a real concern.

11. Golden State Warriors (4-3, Last week — 28th)

After earning a flurry of jokes with poor play at the outset, the Warriors have won four of five. Steph Curry is firing away, Draymond Green is back and they at least have some semblance of cohesion on display. Golden State is still tough to pin down, but the recent results are worthy of exploration.

12. Denver Nuggets (2-4, Last week — 10th)

Based on only the sample from the 2020-21 season, this is a preposterous ranking for Denver. We have to trust that the Nuggets are still good (because they are), but the defense has been atrocious, giving up 115.8 points per 100 possessions. They do have a home date with Minnesota on Tuesday that should be helpful in myriad ways.

13. Orlando Magic (5-2, Last week — 11th)

Orlando is a top-10 team in net rating and win-loss record. They’d be higher on this list if not for a bad home loss to OKC, but the Magic are well on their way to overachieving yet again under Steve Clifford. That includes the No. 6 defense in the NBA through two weeks of action.

14. Atlanta Hawks (4-3, Last week — 8th)

Atlanta remains sixth in net rating and third in offensive rating. Why did they fall this far? Well, the Hawks just lost to the Cavs and Knicks at home. Granted, the loss to Cleveland was on the second night of a back-to-back, but the Hawks blew 15-point leads in both games and there wasn’t a rest disadvantage to explain Monday’s loss to New York.

15. Dallas Mavericks (3-4, Last week — 15th)

The Mavs’ loss to the Bulls this week came without Luka Doncic, which is important context. Doncic found his footing a bit in a win over Houston, but Dallas hasn’t quite been the same on offense with him struggling and Kristaps Porzingis on the shelf. It’s best to effectively punt on their evaluation, for now, but they need to find a way to pile up some wins to keep pace in the West til their second star is back.

16. Miami Heat (3-3, Last week — 12th)

The reigning East champs have alternated wins and losses each game so far, and they are basically a .500 team statistically. The interesting part is that Miami’s offense has been dreadful (bottom-five) and their defense has been strong (top-eight). The Heat and Celtics play a nationally televised clash on Wednesday that could be instructive on both sides.

17. New Orleans Pelicans (4-3, Last week — 16th)

As noted above in the Pacers section, the Pelicans let one get away on Monday, and that keeps them from a big jump in the rankings. Still, there are positive signs in how good the Pelicans have been with Steven Adams on the floor and how much improvement they’ve shown defensively under Stan Van Gundy. On the flip side, New Orleans falls apart when Adams sits, and they have work to do on offense.

18. Houston Rockets (2-3, Last week — 20th)

We know the Rockets can beat the Kings and they’ve done so twice. Otherwise, Houston is shrouded in mystery, including a negative net rating and an offense that hasn’t quite been its elite self this season. Houston’s sample size is still the smallest in the league, so more information is welcome.

19. New York Knicks (4-3, Last week — 26th)

The Knicks are above .500. The Knicks have three road wins. The Knicks have a top-10 defense. Tom Thibodeau certainly has drawbacks, headlined by 40+ minute efforts for RJ Barrett and Julius Randle on a regular basis, but New York has been competitive and feisty, with Randle playing at an All-Star level to begin the season.

20. Cleveland Cavaliers (4-3, Last week — 17th)

Cleveland was always going to cool off after their 3-0 start, and that happened this week. The Cavs did pull off a nice road win in Atlanta to avoid total disaster, though, and Cleveland is No. 2 in the league in defense against all odds.

21. Toronto Raptors (1-5, Last week — 21st)

The Raptors have earned the benefit of the doubt, but they are testing it. On one hand, all five losses have come to solid-or-better teams, with three on the road. On the other, Toronto has been lifeless, with a bottom-three offensive rating in the NBA and some ugly moments. The slate doesn’t get any easier, with a road game in Phoenix on Wednesday.

22. Chicago Bulls (3-4, Last week — 30th)

As evidenced by the No. 30 ranking last week, the Bulls were absolutely brutal out of the gate. Since then, Chicago has won three out of four, including a road sweep of the Wizards and a home win over Dallas. Admittedly, the Bulls got rocked by the Bucks in the middle of those victories, but they’ve at least avoided complete disaster.

22. Washington Wizards (2-5, Last week — 27th)

Washington wasn’t going to lose every game this season, and they just won back-to-back contests. One of those wins (over Brooklyn on the road) can be filed in the “good win” category, and at least the Wizards have been above-average offensively so far.

24. San Antonio Spurs (2-4, Last week — 18th)

San Antonio just dropped four games in a row and, on Monday night, the team announced that Derrick White would miss more time just as he was coming back from an injury-related absence. All isn’t lost, though, as 2019 first round pick Keldon Johnson is shining, averaging 16.2 points and 7.5 rebounds per game with versatile defense and a 42.9 percent clip from three-point distance.

25. Sacramento Kings (3-4, Last week — 19th)

The Kings were 3-1 and all was right with the world. Then, Sacramento got swept in a mini-set by the Rockets and absolutely throttled by the Warriors, with drama surrounding Marvin Bagley’s father and deleted tweets to boot. It’s early, but Sacramento is a bottom-10 team statistically on both ends of the floor, and that won’t get you far in the West.

26. Memphis Grizzlies (2-4, Last week — 23th)

At full strength, the Grizzlies are better than this, but they aren’t at full strength right now. Memphis was already missing Jaren Jackson Jr., Justise Winslow and others, and now they’ll be without Ja Morant for a few weeks. It is just tough to see the Grizzlies sustaining even a reasonable offensive output with those guys on the shelf, but on the bright side, Desmond Bane looks the part of a draft night steal.

27. Charlotte Hornets (2-4, Last week — 25th)

It isn’t a great shame to lose to the Sixers in back-to-back games, even by double-digits in both contests. The bigger problem for Charlotte was the 15-point home loss to the Ja Morant-less Grizzlies in the previous contest. That’s not what you want.

28. Oklahoma City Thunder (2-4, Last week — 24th)

There are some lineups that are legitimately fun for OKC, but they just don’t have that many of them. The Thunder are dead-last in offense (99.2 points per 100 possessions) and, without a road win in Orlando this week, they might’ve been even lower.

29. Minnesota Timberwolves (2-4, Last week — 22nd)

The Wolves are in the midst of a four-game losing streak and, in the last week, the results have been hideous. Minnesota posted a 125.6 defensive rating in the last three games and, despite young talent, there is a lot the Wolves need to fix on that end of the floor.

30. Detroit Pistons (1-6, Last week — 29th)

Detroit is only fifth-worst in net rating (-5.6), but the worst record in the league lands the Pistons here. Detroit’s only win came against Boston and it was erased shortly thereafter by a loss to the same Celtics. Obviously, it is well known that the Pistons are in a period of transition, but the early signs for 2020-21 in particular aren’t very strong.

Throughout the pandemic, artists have been doing what they can to help those who are in tougher spots than they are. Now, a large group of them have teamed up with Yeti to help benefit Crew Nation, a Live Nation-established fund that helps concert workers who are out of a job. What Yeti did is send out coolers to a bunch of musicians and had them customize the coolers, which are now being auctioned off. In addition to Crew Nation getting the proceeds, Yeti will match all funds raised up to $100,000.

There are currently 34 active auctions and participating artists include Beastie Boys, Billie Eilish, Brandi Carlile, Brittany Howard, Cam, The Decemberists, Delta Spirit, Elizabeth Cook, Finneas, Fitz And The Tantrums, Fleet Foxes, Grace Potter, The Head And The Heart, Jon Batiste, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Mavis Staples, Midland, The Midnight, My Morning Jacket, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Phoebe Bridgers, The Revivalists, Scotty McCreery, Shepard Fairey, Shovels And Rope, Social Distortion, Tanya Tucker, Tenacious D, Tommy Seigel of Jukebox The Ghost, Tyler Childers, Umphrey’s McGee, Wilco, and Wynonna Judd.

All of the coolers feature some sort of custom touch from the artist, whether that’s an autograph or some other sort of additional design element. Some also come with other goodies. For example, the Beastie Boys cooler comes “full of merch and includes a vinyl copy of Beastie Boys Music,” while the Phoebe Bridgers one comes with a Punisher vinyl as well as sweatpants and a t-shirt.

All the auctions start at $200, and as of this post, the one fetching the highest price is the Beastie Boys lot, which is currently at $700. Check them out here.

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