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NBA Jam: I love it, you love it, and the people you send this article to love it. The game is beloved by basketball fans and gamers alike, as it puts an extremely fun twist on the hoops. Whether you played it at an arcade or on a home console, there’s a good chance you have a memory of playing the game with your friends and family.

We haven’t had a game in the NBA Jam cinematic universe since 2011, and obviously, a whole heck of a lot has happened in the world of basketball over that time. The case can be made that, with players being more athletic and better shooters than ever, there’s never been a better time for the game to come back. Unless someone is cooking up something we don’t know, that’s not going to happen, so instead, we decided to look through current NBA rosters and identify which duos would be the most fun if the game existed today.

Honorable Mention: Literally anyone and Victor Wembanyama, San Antonio Spurs

I think Victor Wembanyama was put on this earth to be a character in a video game who drives people insane. The Spurs need to find a co-star for him, but for now, we’ll slot Keldon Johnson or Devin Vassell in there and wish everyone who plays against Wemby the best of luck.

10. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder

In, oh, nine months or so, this ranking is going to be way too low, as Holmgren is the sort of player who would dominate in NBA Jam due to his size (although I can imagine the game would give him a low strength rating), ability in the paint on both ends of the floor, and jumper. As he gets better, OKC will rise in this list, especially because Gilgeous-Alexander’s ability to get to whatever spot he wants and ability to jump passing lanes would be coveted in the game, even though he’s not the most likely dude to let it fly from three.

9. LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Los Angeles Lakers

The rim would get torn off on offense and no one would score at the rim on defense. The problems pop up if you can hit a few threes against them — neither James nor Davis are great shooters (although, LeBron did shoot a career-best 41 percent from deep this season), which can be a huge issue if the other team can get a few looks from deep that go in. Still, that LeBron to AD lob in NBA Jam would be a lot of fun.

8. Kyrie Irving and Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

On offense, using these two would be a joy, as both dudes can make stuff happen with the ball in their hands and catch fire from the field — both essentially shoot fireballs out of their hands already when they see a few go in. Their problems, obviously, would come on the defensive end of the floor, as there would be less than no rim protection and opponents would love getting good shot after good shot from anywhere on the floor if they don’t turn the ball over.

7. Devin Booker and Kevin Durant, Phoenix Suns

Basically the exact same thing as the Dallas duo, only Durant can provide more rim protection. Also: More dunks. More dunks in NBA Jam gives them a leg up over the Dallas duo.

6. Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

The top-6 duos are all really close, so the Nuggets get knocked a hair just because neither guy is a crazy athlete (faster guys would get behind them with regularity) and Jokic’s savant-level understanding of basketball goes out the window when you’re in an arcade game. Having said that, both of them can really shoot the ball, plus Jokic’s passing would still be an asset. How they’d hold up on the defensive end would be a question, but they sure will score.

5. Jayson Tatum and Kristaps Porzingis, Boston Celtics

After this past season, I think we can say with some confidence that Porzingis’ game would translate to NBA Jam incredibly well due to his shot blocking, shooting, and dunking. Tatum’s game would look great in NBA Jam, as well, as he’d bring some size and strength (along with the requisite shooting and dunking) to a position that isn’t especially big. Maybe you can poke the ball away from him a bit, but generally, Boston would be a nightmare to deal with.

4. Ja Morant and Jaren Jackson Jr., Memphis Grizzlies

We haven’t seen this duo get extended run in the NBA in a minute, but outside of the fact that neither guy is especially strong and would get shoved around a bit, this is a near-perfect pairing. In Morant, you get someone who is fast as hell and a nuclear athlete. In Jackson, you get someone who can protect the rim, shoot threes, and catch lobs. Again, the lack of strength would be a problem but you’d win a whole lot using the grizzlies.

3. Damian Lillard and Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

This is a tricky one, because Dame would so clearly be a nightmare in NBA Jam with his shooting, athleticism, and speed. Him catching fire would happen every game, and if teams made the mistake of keying in on him, Giannis has the athletic gifts to absolutely kill teams with lobs. And Lillard’s defensive deficiencies wouldn’t be that big of a problem, because he has Antetokounmpo there to protect the rim. If Giannis was comfortable shooting, they’d be a clear No. 1, but they’d still be incredible.

2. Anthony Edwards and Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves

The Wolves get knocked from No. 1 because Ant is a good (but not elite) three-point shooter and KAT is on the slower side and not a super great rim protector. Having said that: Oh my goodness do I want to use Anthony Edwards in NBA Jam. I think you could make the case to put them No. 1 just off of “it would be so fun to use Anthony Edwards in NBA Jam,” as he would be able to dunk from anywhere and is stronger than everyone. Using Towns, the best shooting big man of all time, would also be a ton of fun.

1. Tyrese Maxey and Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

Maxey is the fastest person alive, shoots threes at a great clip, and can really pass the ball. Embiid can shoot and dunk and overpower everyone and block anything and everything near the rim. They’re one of the best duos in the league, and their skill-sets are basically perfect (and compliment one another perfectly) for NBA Jam at their respective positions.

Do you have five hours to kill? That’s how long it will take me to explain the plot of Kingdom Hearts to someone who hasn’t played the game before. I’ll need another two weeks to get through Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Kingdom Hearts II, Kingdom Hearts Coded, and the rest of the series.

The lore of Kingdom Hearts, a deranged (complimentary) collaboration between Square Enix and Disney, is so complex and weird and tough to describe that I have no idea how it can be adapted into a movie. But one might be in the works: according to The DisInsider, Disney is “developing” a Kingdom Hearts movie for theaters, not streaming.

Kotaku has more:

This lines up with another report from film industry insider DanielRPK, who claimed a Kingdom Hearts adaptation was in the works at Disney on April 26. However, according to The DisInsider, nothing has been greenlit.

Hopefully Joel Osteen, I mean, Haley Joel Osment still voices Sora.

I understand Disney wanting to make a movie where characters from its different properties meet (Buzz Lightyear and Goofy, together at last!), because that’s what all pop culture is these days. But it’s hard to imagine the company’s ideal (a.k.a. most financially successful to a general audience) version of that involves bad guys in cloaks with names like Xemnas and Xigbar talking about the Heartless. So we’ll see if Kingdom Hearts: The Movie actually happens. If it does, one thing’s for sure: the score will rule.

(Via The DisInsider and Kotaku)

Doja Cat has long been one of the most vibrant personalities in music, so it’s about time she sat down for a Tonight Show chat with Jimmy Fallon, which she finally did on yesterday’s (May 1).

She was all over the show, too. She started with the interview, and the chat began with Doja talking about her origins in music, and even before that, her origins as part of a dance crew. They also discussed the upcoming European leg of Doja’s Scarlet tour, with Doja revealing it’s going to be based on hair and just “a very hairy show” overall.

From there, she discussed her first concert: an Earth, Wind & Fire show at about five years old, during which she was apparently even pulled on stage. Her next concert, a Beyoncé show, was less immersive, as they were up in the nosebleeds for that show. They two also looked back at Doja’s recent Coachella performance and even got Fallon in one of the hair-covered outfits from the show.

Later, Doja participated in a game of “Musical Impressions,” during which Doja was tasked with covering specific songs in specific musical styles. A highlight was transforming her own “Paint The Town Red” into a Broadway-style number.

She also gave a more traditional performance of “Acknowledge Me,” so check that out below and the other clips above.

The Mavericks will head home to Dallas one win away from finally getting by the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs. After getting sent home by the Clippers in 2020 and 2021, Dallas is looking to exact some revenge and delivered quite the message on Wednesday night in L.A. as they trounced the Clips, 123-93.

A game after coming close to a 31-point comeback in Game 4, the Mavs were able to get off to a much better start this time around, as the two teams traded leads for much of the first half. Things turned late in the second when Dallas ripped off a big run to close the quarter, turning a back-and-forth battle into a 10-point lead at halftime. They made that run thanks to two major factors: pushing the pace to get out in transition and four first half threes from Maxi Kleber.

On the other side, the Clippers stars got off to a poor start and never really improved, as the heroes of Game 4, Paul George and James Harden, had a truly horrific night on offense. The two stars combined for 22 points on 6-of-25 shooting, as they were just incapable of getting into any kind of rhythm as the Mavs turned up their defensive energy for the pivotal matchup.

In the second half, the onslaught continued from the Mavs, as Luka Doncic (who had a quiet scoring first half) erupted to push the Dallas lead out to 20 going into the fourth and then continued to pull away to a 30-point win.

Doncic led the way with 35 points and 10 assists, but he did get help, even if not from the usual sources. Kyrie Irving had a quiet scoring night with 14 points, but his energy and effort on the defensive end and helping to push the pace was noticeable. With Kyrie not scoring it particularly well, other Mavs stepped up in a major way to pick up the slack. Kleber hit five threes for 15 points, Jaden Hardy had 14 off the bench, and the Der[ri/e]cks (Jones Jr. and Lively II) both chipped in 12.

That well-rounded effort was more than enough on a night where the Clippers just had nothing offensively — as a team they shot 37.9 percent from the field and 25.7 percent from three. George and Ivica Zubac were their leading scorers with 15 points, and you probably won’t find many teams in the playoffs in 2024 that will win with a leading scorer under 20 points.

Now the series goes back to Dallas, who will look to close things out at home. The Clippers do know how to get a win on the road in this series, but they’ll need far more assertive and effective play from Harden and George to force a Game 7 back in L.A. The Mavs, meanwhile, will look to bottle up their two-way effort from Game 5 and fly it home with them to earn a date with the Thunder in the second round.

Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder co-starred in the Showtime series The Curse, which aired its finale in January. The series was co-created by Fielder and Benny Safdie and produced by A24, and Stone’s roles in The Curse and Poor Things (for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress) solidified her as “The New Queen Of Cringe Comedy,” according to Uproxx’s Danielle Ryan.

A24, Fielder, and Stone are reportedly continuing their successful working relationship. According to The Hollywood Reporter, A24 is attached to Checkmate, “a hot feature package centered on a book proposal by Ben Mezrich, the author whose books were adapted into films such The Social Network and Dumb Money.”

THR‘s Borys Kit reported that, “if deals close,” Fielder will direct and Stone “will produce along with her husband and partner Dave McCary via the duo’s Fruit Tree banner. […] Sources say the book deal is closing or has closed while the talent deals are still being hammered out.” A24’s offer “guaranteed seven figures” and “was swiftly accepted,” according to Kit’s sources.

Additionally, Kit relayed the purported Checkmate premise, as excerpted below:

“Per the proposal that was being circulated, the book will spotlight the biggest scandal in the history of chess, focusing on the generational battle between Grandmaster Magnus Carlsen and the young bad boy of chess, Hans Niemann. The latter was accused of cheating in one of the pair’s head-to-head matches, which became an all-consuming scandal in the world of chess and beyond. Per the package, the story is not only about the rivalry and the scandal, but the macro backdrop is the rise of a billion dollar chess industry and so-called ‘collision of tradition and innovation’ in the game.”

Wednesday night was a big one in the Mavs-Clippers series, as the two teams met in Los Angeles for a pivotal Game 5 (I’m legally obligated as a sportswriter to call it that) with the series tied 2-2. The first half was a back-and-forth battle until the Mavs went on a late second quarter run to pull ahead by 10 at the halftime break on TNT. Once the halftime buzzer sounded, it was time for Charles Barkley, Shaquille O’Neal, Kenny Smith, and Ernie Johnson to break down that half of basketball in the studio.

However, before they could get to that, TNT’s production team decided to tap into the dominant story of the day in the world of pop culture, playing Kendrick Lamar’s Drake diss that he released earlier in the day, “Euphoria”, in the transition from the booth in L.A. to the studio in Atlanta. Only half of the desk realized what was being played in the background as Ernie did his lead-in, with Shaq and Kenny both chuckling about how they were suddenly in the middle of the rap beef.

The least surprising thing ever is that Shaq (literally a DJ) and Kenny (a man who still listens to new music) would recognize the Drake diss playing while Ernie (old, white) and Chuck (listens to country) would be oblivious. Shaq and Kenny got a kick out of it, with Jet joking that they were inserting themselves in the middle of the rap beef and they needed to play Drake’s “Push Ups” to stay neutral in the battle between the Los Angeles and Toronto artists.

Does the following scenario make you feel anxious? You are in line at Target, and someone behind you recognizes you from an old job you had and asks, “How are you?” and you reply, “Fine.” Then, both of you stare at each other for 10 seconds, waiting for someone to say something next.

Sherry Amatenstein, LCSW, suggests that before we answer the question, we should attempt to ascertain if the person we’re talking to really wants to know. Are they being pleasant or just trying to make small talk? If you think they want to see how you’re doing, feel free to disclose what’s happening in your life.

But if it’s just a stop-and-chat or you don’t know the person you’re talking to, then it’s fine to respond with a clever response that may elicit a chuckle or spread some goodwill without telling them your life story. You can easily replay with a “Fine, how are you?” and put the conversational ball back in their court.

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However, if you are looking for a more clever response, a Redditor who goes by Myloceratops crowd-sourced the best answers to the big question and received over 900 responses. Most of them were witty comebacks to the question that we can all tuck into our pack pockets to use when we want to see more interesting than someone who just gives a pat “fine” response.

Here are 17 of the best responses to someone asking, “How are you?” for you to use the next time you’re making small talk.

1.

“I have two stock answers: Not too bad. Distinctly average.” — Floydie1962.

2.

“Saw a shirt I loved: ‘The horrors persist, as do I.'” — Evilbunnyfoofoo

3.

“I kinda like the Norwegian, ‘Up and not crying.”‘ — 5tr4nGe

4.

“Dying a little more every day.” — Much-Signifigance212

5.

“Do you really want to know?” — Hatjepoet

6.

“In my country, people sometimes say ‘Kann nie genug klagen.’ It’s roughly translated to ‘I can’t complain enough.'” — OldProblemsNeverDie

7.

“‘I’m on the right side of the dirt’ is one of my go-to responses.” — JiveTurkeyJunction

8.

“Feeling good and looking better I’ll make a burlap sack feel like the cashmere sweater.” — Late_Review_8761

9.

“It’s a dog-eat-dog world and I’m wearing Milk-Bone underwear.” — 27_crooked_craibu

10.

“If I was any better, there would be two of me.” — not_that_rick

11.

“At work, it’s ‘Better by the hour.'”— Otherwise-Tune5413

12.

“‘Oh you know, living the dream’ is the only one I’ve got ready to go lately.” — KittyBooBoo2016

13.

“Busier than a one-legged cat trying to bury a sh** in a frozen pond.” — SpoonNZ

14.

“”I think I’m going to make it’ usually gets a chuckle.” — Bebandy

15.

““Im good, and you?’ I’m Gen X. I don’t burden other people with my problems.” — Mrbootz

16.

“My next complaint will be my first complaint.” — NoGood

17.

“‘I feel like a silly goose today!’Guarantee they’ll never try to make small talk with you ever again.” — Front-Craft-804

The Boston Celtics will not get upset by the Miami Heat this year. Boston welcomed Miami to TD Garden on Wednesday night and left no doubt, as they completely overwhelmed their rivals from South Beach from the very start of the game and could have started planning for their conference semifinal matchup by the time the two sides went into the locker room for halftime. When the final buzzer went off, the Celtics picked up a 118-84 win.

Two players primarily spearheaded the Boston offense on Wednesday: Derrick White and Jaylen Brown. Both had been magnificent throughout the series, and once again, they brought their A-game with a chance to close the Heat out. White continued his recent hot streak from three, as he knocked down five of his 10 attempts from deep as he put up 25 points, five rebounds, two assists, and a steal in 29 minutes of work.

As has been the case for much of the series, Miami just didn’t have much of anything for Brown, who went for 25 points and six rebounds. He shot 11-for-19 from the field, but six of those eight misses came from behind the three-point line.

Boston, which did not have the services of Kristaps Porzingis on the night, was buoyed by a productive night off the bench by Sam Hauser’s 17 points on 5-for-8 shooting from deep, along with a double-double by Jayson Tatum, who had 16 points and 12 rebounds.

For Miami — which learned before the game that Jaime Jaquez Jr. would join Jimmy Butler, Terry Rozier, and Josh Richardson on the sideline due to injury — Bam Adebayo led the way with 23 points, six assists, five rebounds, and two steals. But the problem was a lack of a consistent threat from the perimeter, as the Heat could not keep up with the fact that the Celtics went 16-for-40 from three. As a team, Miami shot 3-for-29 from behind the arc, while top perimeter threat Tyler Herro was only able to put up 15 points on 6-for-19 shooting.

The Celtics now get to sit, put their feet up, and wait to see what happens in the 4-5 series between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Orlando Magic. While the Cavs hold a 3-2 lead in the series, Game 6 will take place in Orlando, and the home team has won every game to this point.

Kendrick Lamar and Drake have a longstanding beef, as chronicled by Uproxx’s Aaron Williams, and it’s sizzling this week. On Tuesday, April 30, Lamar dropped “Euphoria,” the latest in a string of diss tracks between Drake, Lamar, J. Cole, and more that began with Lamar’s verse on Future and Metro Boomin’s “Like That.” The six-minute sprint of a song packs in myriad Drake disses, and everyone from Joel Embiid to Rick Ross is chiming in.

Angel Reese is not interested in entering the fray. The Chicago Sky posted a video on Wednesday, May 1, showing the WNBA team’s players answering a loaded question: “Drake or Kendrick?” Reese’s teammates each chose a side — the results were lopsided in Drake’s favor — but Reese knew better. “I’m not getting in this controversy because I’ll be on Twitter, The Shade Room, all that,” Reese said. “Nope!”

Last month, Reese was drafted seventh overall by Chicago after a decorated collegiate career at LSU, where she and the Tigers won the national championship in 2023. Anyway, Reese’s favorite rapper might be her former LSU teammate, Flau’jae Johnson. The two co-starred in NLE Choppa’s “Champions” video last year, and Reese was also featured in the video for Latto and Cardi B’s “Put It On Da Floor Again.”

In early April, Imagine Dragons dropped “Eyes Closed,” a rock-charged anthem of reemergence. The track arrived a few weeks before the Dan Reynolds-led band announced LOOM, their forthcoming album.

“Eyes Closed” already got the acoustic treatment, but Imagine Dragons aren’t done with it. This week, it was revealed that “Eyes Closed” featuring J Balvin will arrive this Friday, May 3. Imagine Dragons have been teasing the collaboration for days — most recently with an Instagram video showing Balvin and Reynolds dancing to the track.

LOOM is due out on June 28, and Imagine Dragons will support the album with their LOOM World Tour, which will begin in Camden, New Jersey on July 30 and run through October.

“After taking some time off the road and spending time catching up with family and loved ones, I finally have felt the desire to go back to the sonic places that originally brought me the most joy, but with a new outlook and mentality,” Reynolds said at the time of the tour announcement, as per Rolling Stone. “The world looks much different after being a band for more than a decade. But some things will always remain the same. It’s finding that right balance of nostalgia and freshness that brings me the most joy in the studio. We had a lot of fun making this one and hope you enjoy it too.”

Watch the original “Eyes Closed” video above, and watch the LOOM album trailer below.

LOOM is out 6/28 via Interscope. Find more information here.