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If we looked 60 years into the past, there are a lot of things that were accepted as “normal” that today most people find abhorrent. For example, people used to smoke cigarettes everywhere. They’d light up in hospitals, schools and even churches.

People also used to litter like crazy. It’s socially unacceptable now, but if you lived in the ’70s and finished your meal at McDonald’s, you’d chuck your empty styrofoam container (remember those?) and soda cup right out of the window of your car and onto the street.

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It’s hard to imagine that just 60 years ago spousal abuse was considered family business and wasn’t the concern of law enforcement.

It makes me wonder when people in the future look back on the year 2022, which things will they see as barbaric? Almost certainly, the way we treat the animals we use for food will be seen as cruel. The racial divides in the criminal justice system will be seen as a moral abomination. And I’m sure that people will also look at our continued reliance on fossil fuels as a major mistake.

A Reddit user by the name u/MEMELORD_JESUS asked the AskReddit subforum “What’s the weirdest thing society accepts as normal?” and the responses exposed a lot of today’s practices that are worth questioning.

A lot of the responses revolved around American work ethic and how we are taught to live to work and not to work to live. We seem to always be chasing some magical reward that’s just around the corner instead of enjoying our everyday lives. “I’ll get to that when I retire,” we say and then don’t have the energy or the inclination to do so when the time comes.

There are also a lot of people who think that our healthcare system will be looked at with utter confusion by people in the future.

Here are 17 of the best responses to the question, “What’s the weirdest thing society accepts as normal?”

1. Work-life balance

“Working until you’re old, greying, and broken then using whatever time you have left for all the things you wish you could have done when you were younger.” — Excited_Avocado_8492

2. Rest in comfort

“That dead people need pillows in caskets.” — Qfn4g02016

3. I.R.S. mystery

“Guessing how much you owe the IRS in taxes.” — SheWentThruMyPhone

4. You get the leaders you deserve

“Politicians blatantly lying to the people. We accept it so readily, it’s as though it’s supposed to be that way.” — BlackLetyterLies

5. The booze-drugs separation

“Alcohol is so normalized but drugs are not. It’s so weird. I say this as an alcohol loving Belgian, beer is half of our culture and I’m proud of it too but like… that’s fucking weird man.” — onions_cutting_ninja

6. Stage-parent syndrome

“People having kids and trying to live their lives again through them, vicariously, forcing the kids to do things that the parents never got to do, even when the kids show no inclination, and even have an active dislike, for those things.” — macaronsforeveryone

7. Priorities

“Living to work vs working to live.” — Food-at-last

8. ‘The Man’ is everywhere

“Being on camera or recorded any time you are in public.” — Existing-barely

9. Tragic positivity 

“‘Feel-good’ news stories about how a kid makes a lemonade stand or something to pay for her mom’s cancer treatment because no one can afford healthcare in America.” — GotaLuvit35

10. Credit score

“As a non-American, I am amazed at their credit score system. As a third-world citizen, credit cards are usually for rich (and slightly less rich) people who have more disposable money than the rest of us and could pay off their debt.

The way I see people on Reddit talk about it is strange and somewhat scary. Everyone should have a card of his own as soon as he becomes an adult, you should always buy things with it and pay back to actively build your score. You’re basically doomed if you don’t have a good score, and living your life peacefully without a card is not an option, and lastly, you’ll be seen as an idiot if you know nothing about it.” — BizarroCullen

11. The retirement trap

“Spending 5/7ths of your life waiting for 2/7ths of it to come. We hate like 70% of our life, how is that considered fine?” — Deltext3rity

12. Yes, yes and yes

“Child beauty pageants.” — throwa_way682

13. That’s not justice

“The rape of male prisoners. It’s almost considered a part of the sentence. People love to joke about it all the time.” — visicircle

14. Customers aren’t employers

“Tipping culture in the US. Everyone thinks that it’s totally OK for employers not to pay the employees, and the customers are expected to pay extra to pay the employees wages. I don’t understand it.” — Lysdexiic

15. Staring at your phone

“Having smartphones in our faces all day. This shit isn’t normal…imma do it anyway…but it is not normal.” — Off_Brand_Barbie_OBB

16. Homework on weekends

“Students being assigned homework over weekends and only having a two-day weekend. The whole point of a weekend is to take a break from life, and then you have one day to recover from sleep deprivation then one day to relax which you can’t because of thinking about the next day being Monday. And the two days still having work to do anyways.” — MrPers0n3O

17. Kids on social media

“Children/young teens posting on social media sites. I’m not necessarily talking about posting on a private Instagram followed by friends, I’m talking about when kids post on tiktok publicly without parental consent.” — thottxy

This article originally appeared on 03.11.22

A fascinating biological phenomenon occurs between two islands in Indonesia. An invisible line divides the entire Malay Archipelago, and on the western side, the animal life is characteristic of Asia, featuring rhinos, elephants, tigers and woodpeckers.

Contrasting this, the eastern side of the islands presents a completely different ecological cast, boasting marsupials, Komodo dragons, cockatoos and honeyeaters, often associated with Australia.

The stark differences in biodiversity on the islands captured the keen eye of British naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace during his 19th-century travels through the East Indies. Even before the discovery of plate tectonics, Wallace postulated that the western islands must have once been interconnected and linked to the Asian mainland.

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So, in 1859, he first sketched a line of demarcation between the zones which came to be known as the Wallace line.

The Invisible Barrier Keeping Two Worlds Apart

According to a video by PBS Eons, Wallace was onto something all those years ago. Researchers would later come to believe that the land masses on other sides of the line were once separate continents brought together by tectonic shifts.

“Today, we know them as the paleo continents of Sunda in the west and Sahul in the east, both of which existed during the ice ages when more water was locked up in ice and sea levels were lower. Wallace didn’t know it, but while they’re pretty close now, the two partly-sunken continents used to be much, much further apart,” the video says. “So even though the species of each side are neighbors now, they’d been evolving separately for eons, their two worlds only colliding fairly recently in evolutionary terms.”

Going to the dentist is not always fun. Even when there aren’t any cavities to fill or root canals to be had, something about laying back on the table under a bright light while someone scrapes just below your gum line can be a bit much. Then there’s the inevitable reprimand for not flossing enough for those who either have a hard time remembering or were never properly taught.

Unfortunately, not every hygienist is kind about this conversation, which can leave people feeling scolded and dreading their next appointment. In fact, it sometimes seems to be expected that the person laying in the dental chair has been given a class on proper dental hygiene. Oftentimes, that’s not the case.

People learn their hygiene habits by the people who raised them, so unless you were raised by a dentist or someone in that field, you’ve likely picked up some not so great habits. Dental student Madina Malik has made it a personal mission to properly teach good dental hygiene in a kind and nonjudgemental way on social media.

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In one of her more recent videos, someone asked her to show proper flossing techniques. People’s minds were blown after seeing exactly how far up they’re actually supposed to be flossing their teeth and learning the proper technique. It would seem common knowledge but it’s not and Malik has no issue helping those who may have picked up a bad habit or two.

In the video posted to her TikTok page, Smiles Pending, Malik not only demonstrates on her own teeth, she explains why flossing is so important in really simple terms.

“I completely understand that a lot of times during dental appointments a dentist or hygienist may not have the time to fully explain exactly how the proper technique looks,” she admits.

Malik explains that the thicker floss tends to get more things from between your teeth before moving on to reveal that at all times you’ll have a “dirty” finger and a “clean” finger. That’s new information for some people, but she explains in another video that spooling the floss around the “dirty” finger keeps you from adding bacteria to the next tooth you floss. Essentially, each tooth needs a new section of floss to rid the teeth of bacteria and gunk that collects between your teeth.

She then talks about the importance of flossing the back teeth due to its hard to reach positioning. Waterpiks and floss sticks do not do the same job as regular floss, because it’s not just about removing debris but the cavity and gingivitis causing bacteria, says Malik in a follow up video.

As for why it’s important to floss outside of avoiding the scolding in the dental chair at your six month check up? Well, according to the dental student, people should “floss the teeth that you want to keep.” Now that’s a statement that may need to be on a t-shirt worn by dental hygienists across the globe.

@smilespending Replying to @ashley always open go more oral hygiene questions!! #oralhealth #oralhealtheducation #flossingtechnique #flossing #oralhygiene #oralhygienetips #oralhygieneroutine #oralhealthtips ♬ original sound – Madina | D3 in nyc

People not only asked follow up questions that led to more educational videos, but they thanked her from breaking it down in an easy to understand way.

“Omg, thank you for this video. I thought something was wrong with my gums that I could go that deep. I thought that was bad,” one person writes.

“I’ve been doing this wrong my whole life. The way I’ve done it…it’s like I’ve never flossed at this point,” another says.

“This was super helpful. I’ve never flossed my teeth cuz I honestly didn’t know the proper procedure. Thank you,” someone reveals.

“You’re right, I have been flossing wrong my whole life. I had no idea you had to go that high into your gums! Thanks for sharing,” another shares.

This series is not only helpful for people who regularly go to the dentist, it’s also helpful for those who can’t afford dental care. Malik’s videos are chock full of information including where to get affordable dental care if you’re without proper dental insurance. Judging by the comments, people are thankful for her service.

The Philadelphia 76ers eked out a 105-104 win over the Miami Heat on Wednesday night to earn the 7-seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs and secure a first round series with the New York Knicks. That figures to be one of the most entertaining series of the first round, as we’ll see Jalen Brunson look to continue his incredible season against a Sixers team that had top-3 aspirations in the East derailed by injury but are now getting healthy at the right time.

The series is a coin flip for many (including at the sportsbooks) and will be a really interesting test for both teams. Adding some fuel to the fire for this series was Paul Reed, who went on FanDuel’s Run It Back show on Thursday and said, matter of factly, that the Sixers wanted the 7-seed and a matchup with the Knicks rather than the 8-seed and a matchup with the Celtics because, “that’s the easier team.”

This unsurprisingly has been passed around social media but, objectively, Reed is right. The Celtics were the NBA’s best team this season by a healthy margin and won the Eastern Conference by a whopping 14 games over the Knicks. By any definition, they are the harder team to face and the Sixers absolutely should want a first round matchup with New York rather than Boston. At the same time, the Knicks still could very well win this series and if they do, you can bet Reed’s comments will once again make their way around Knicks Twitter as part of the victory lap. The biggest issue was the word choice of “easier,” which I’m sure the Knicks will use as a little added fuel going into this series.

There is now less than one day before the release of Taylor Swift’s highly anticipated new album, The Tortured Poets Department. Usually, Swift will have released at least a song or two ahead of the album. This time around, though, she has kept fans in the dark, dropping no advance singles to tease the project.

It looks like she’s going to keep it that way, too, making it so fans will have heard nothing from the project when it comes out (at least the fans who ignored the supposed leak). That doesn’t mean fans won’t get a single and accompanying video soon, though.

Will Taylor Swift Drop A Music Video With The Tortured Poets Department?

Yup.

Swift confirmed that today (April 18) when she revealed that the lead single from the new album will be the Post Malone collaboration “Fortnight.” Swift wrote, “The first single from The Tortured Poets Department is…………. Fortnight featuring @postmalone [white heart emoji]. I’ve been such a huge fan of Post because of the writer he is, his musical experimentation and those melodies he creates that just stick in your head forever. I got to witness that magic come to life firsthand when we worked together on Fortnight. Honestly can’t wait for you guys to hear this song at Midnight TONIGHT and see the video at 8pm ET TOMORROW.

Netflix‘s Baby Reindeer tells the bizarre story of a man who is stalked by a particularly strange woman. While the events might seem too random to be real, the story is an adaptation of Richard Gadd’s one-man show of the same name, which is based on real-life events that Gadd went through at the beginning of his career.

Gadd premiered Baby Reindeer as a way to cope with his strange relationship with woman named Martha, who he met at a pub he worked at. “At first everyone at the pub thought it was funny that I had an admirer,” Gadd recently told The Times. “Then she started to invade my life, following me, turning up at my gigs, waiting outside my house, sending thousands of voicemails and emails.”

Gadd was harassed by this woman for four years, and he decided to make a stage show about it. He told Tudum, “I remember during a particularly long night of unrest; the idea came to me. To stage this whole ordeal, one day, when the time was right. What an opening, it might be, to layer the voicemails on top of one another and shoot them around a stage in a wash of projected light. A cacophony of oscillating words and sounds bending and mutating along with her different emotional states. Mirroring her madness. Mirroring my madness. I mean… what better way to start a show than to plunge the audience straight inside the horror of it all?”

The show became a hit, and soon Netflix picked it up for a seven-episode season, written by and starring Gadd himself, as he retells the events (with a few minor tweaks). Of the series, he said, “All I ever wanted to do was capture something complicated about the human condition. That we all make mistakes. That no person is ever good or bad. That we are all lost souls looking for love in our own weird way. ”

Baby Reindeer is now streaming on Netflix.

(Via Time, Tudum)

Seth MacFarlane and Martin Scorsese probably isn’t a combination anyone saw coming, but the two apparently share a common interest: Preserving old cartoons.

The Family Guy creator and the legendary director have reportedly spearheaded a joint collaboration with their respective foundations to fund the “first-ever, curated restoration of historically significant animated shorts.” The collection will include works from classic cartoonists Max and Dave Fleischer as well as George Pal and Paul Terry.

Via Deadline:

“I’m so grateful to Seth MacFarlane for his enthusiasm and his support on these restorations,” said Martin Scorsese in a statement. “What an astonishing experience, to see these remarkable pictures that I experienced for the first time as a child brought back to their full glory. Imagine the reactions of children today! Because the films now seem as fresh as they did when they were newly made.”

“The work Martin Scorsese and his Film Foundation have been doing is essential cinematic preservation,” MacFarlane added. “I’m honored to partner with them in restoring their first-ever collection of storied animation.”

Nine restorations of animated shorts from the 1920s to the 1940s will be shown at the 2024 TCM Classic Film Festival this Saturday, April 20. MacFarlane will personally be on hand to present the titles, which include Koko’s Tattoo (1928), Little Nobody (1935), The Little Stranger (1936), Greedy Humpty Dumpty (1936), Peeping Penguins (1937), The Fresh Vegetable Mystery (1939), So Does An Automobile (1939), The Three Bears (1939), and Two-Gun Rusty (1944).

(Via Deadline)

If you’ve made a habit of eating fast food you’re probably aware that it’s incredibly easy to go overboard. It’s not so much that all the food is fried, these days there are plenty of healthier non-fried options out there in the fast food landscape, but it’s the carbs that are hard to avoid. Carbs in fast food are everywhere! And if you don’t live a particularly active lifestyle those carbs can add up fast.

So we’re here to help by pointing you in the direction of our favorite low-carb dish at all the big fast food chains. This is going to be a slightly shorter list than we usually put together because while a lot of fast food menus have keto sections or dishes low on carbs, some… just don’t. Sure, you could hack any meal to fit your needs, but we want to avoid options that require throwing away ingredients or transforming the food to a point where it’s not enjoyable to eat anymore.

For example, Arby’s. Arby’s doesn’t have any truly low-carb options on its menu worth eating, and if you want to eat Arby’s without the carbs you’re going to have to order the sandwiches without buns. Does a bun-less roast beef sandwich sound good to you? We hope not. So we’ve simply eliminated the fast food brands that don’t fit the bill, building out a list of dishes that mostly sit comfortably under 20 grams of carbohydrates.

Here are all the best low-carb dishes across the fast food landscape.

Chick-fil-A — 12 Count Grilled Chicken Nuggets

Carbs: 2g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:

Let me start by saying Chick-fil-A has several really great salad options that tick the low-carb box (assuming you don’t use too much dressing or get fried chicken), but for the best flavor option, you’ve got to go with the grilled nuggets.

For being grilled, these nuggies are surprisingly juicy and tender with a lemon-meets-char flavor with a hint of floral black pepper. The 12 count feels pretty substantial as a meal, no sides necessary.

The Bottom Line:

Grilled nuggets don’t have the allure of their fried counterparts, but sometimes these hit better than the OG. Pair it with the right sauce (if you can spare the carbs) and you’ve got a flavorful, protein-rich low-carb meal on your hands.

Chipotle — The UPROXX Keto Bowl

Carbs: 16g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:

A while back and after extensive testing we put together the three best-tasting bowls from Chipotle, and while we weren’t always going for “healthy,” per se, our custom Keto Bowl offers great flavors and a minimal amount of carbs.

Here is the build: Double chicken, fajitas, guacamole (where most of the carbs come from), tomatillo-red chili salsa, and cheese.

Flavor-wise, what you get here is a savory adobo zest with a bit of vegetal smokiness with nutty, sweet, and salty characteristics. Aside from the carbs, you’re looking at 73 grams of protein — so while this bowl isn’t much to look at, it’ll fill you up while also tasting amazing.

The Bottom Line:

Our custom Keto Bowl build packs big sumptuous flavors and clocks in under 20g of carbohydrates.

Del Taco — Chicken Taco Del Carbon Guac’d Up

Carbs: 14g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:

Straight up, Del Taco doesn’t have great low-carb options. This small, palm-sized taco, features marinated chicken, onion, cilantro, a mild green sauce, and guacamole, served in a corn tortilla. One taco isn’t enough to leave you satisfied, especially when compared to our Chipotle Keto Bowl Build, which only has two additional grams of carbohydrates but is significantly more food overall.

Still.. it does meet our “under 20g” threshold, so we’re including it.

The taco packs a good amount of flavor, the chicken is tender, cilantro and onion always work, and the mild green sauce provides a lot of tangy flavor with a mild finish.

The Bottom Line:

You can probably find a better option at another restaurant that’ll make for a more substantial and satisfying meal, but if you must, this is the best low-carb non-fried option at Del Taco. If you don’t mind fried food, the crunchy snack taco has about half the carbs, so you could always order that.

El Pollo Loco — Double Chicken Avocado Salad

Carbs: 14g (with dressing)
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:

As you can tell from this list, I don’t love salads. If there is a great dish that isn’t a salad, I’m going to order that instead. Having said that El Pollo Loco’s Double Chicken Avocado Salad is pretty damn delicious.

On a bed of romaine, you get a double serving of freshly flame-grilled chicken, buttery slices of ripe avocado, pumpkin seeds, and a mild Pico de Gallo. The chicken has this nice zesty-citrus flavor while the avocado adds some savoriness to the dish. The Pico de Gallo adds a nice aromatic touch, but the real flavor comes from the cilantro dressing, which adds a fresh and peppery aftertaste to everything.

The Bottom Line:

Legitimately one of the best salads in all of fast food.

Flame Broiler — Mini Bowl (Veggie Base/Chicken)

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Carbs: 13g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:

Flame Broiler’s mini bowls are perfect for dodging carbs, all you have to do is give up the rice base for a base of veggies. The veggie base consists of carrots, cabbage, and broccoli. For the least amount of calories, opt for the chicken over the beef. I like the option that is cooked with Magic Sauce and Korean Spicy Sauce, which adds a sweet, slightly tangy heat to the dish that quickly becomes addictive.

I know it sounds crazy to give up the rice in a rice bowl, but the veggie and meat mix manages to accentuate the flavors of the sauces much better, as rice sort of serves as a sponge/palate cleanser. This puts the focus on Flame Broiler’s chicken (which is freshly grilled to order) and its steamed veggies.

The Bottom Line:

Ditching the rice will take some getting used to initially, but by the end of the bowl you’ll realize how inessential an ingredient it is in this dish.

In-N-Out — Tomato Wrap

Carbs: 11g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:

Thought we were going to suggest the protein-style burger? Nah, the Tomato Wrap is really where it’s at. Instead of watery lettuce that dilutes the flavor of In-N-Out’s deliciously salty beef patties, the Tomato Wrap adds an umami richness to the burger and is so juicy that you don’t need any burger sauce here, allowing you to cut even more calories out of the dish.

All you need are tomatoes, grilled onions, cheese, and beef for a savory umami-packed mouthwatering burger. It’s easily my favorite dish on this whole list.

The Bottom Line:

If this was ranked, it would be number 1. Once you have the Tomato Wrap you’ll never go back to the inferior and messy Protein Style burger.

McDonald’s — Bunless Double Sausage McMuffin Hack

Carbs: 4g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:

I know I said we were going to avoid dishes that require throwing away ingredients, but we’re giving McDonald’s a pass because you can ask for this thing bunless, and they’ll wrap it up for you in paper no problem.

This is a pretty popular McDonald’s hack (it was even included in Netflix’s The Killer) and consists of two sausage patties (you’ll have to ask for the additional one), two slices of cheese, and a thick fried egg in between. It’s black pepper forward, meaty, slightly sweet, and salty.

The Bottom Line:

Yes, you’ll have to give up the best part of the whole sandwich but the Bunless Double Sausage McMuffin hits the spot if you’re looking for a meaty, salty, indulgent breakfast that is still low on carbs.

Panera — Green Goddess Chicken Cobb Salad (Half Size)

Carbs: 12g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:

The most difficult thing about this dish is that if you want to keep it under 20g of carbs, you’re going to have to give up that side of bread for apples. If you can get past that, this is a great-tasting salad.

It features a mix of chicken, purple cabbage, kale, romaine, cherry tomatoes, avocado, a hard-boiled egg, bacon, pickled red onions, and green goddess dressing. The combination is vegetal and a bit bitter, with a nice tang from the pickled red onions and a buttery sumptuousness courtesy of the fresh avocado. The signature Green Goddess Dressing is creamy without being too heavy, with a basil top note.

The Bottom Line:

Altogether it’s good. Not quite as satisfying as a tomato-wrapped burger, but way healthier!

Popeyes — Blackened Chicken Tenders (5 Piece)

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Carbs: 3g
Tasting Notes & Thoughts:

A word of caution before you run out to Popeyes to pick these Blackened chicken tenders up — right now they’re off menu. That means some Popeyes restaurants will be able to oblige your request (the Blackened Chicken Sandwich is a permanent menu option, so they have the ingredients on hand) but others will tell you this dish is “discontinued.” It’s not, Popeyes just doesn’t feel like promoting it right now. But be patient, because they always bring it back.

These tenders are great, they have a peppery-smokey flavor with a heavy dose of cajun seasoning which adds a mild spice to the dish. The chicken is still fried, but it isn’t breaded in flour, it’s instead breaded in seasoning, which results in a chicken tender that is more flavorful than its fried counterpart. I love these things and if I’m not trying to watch carbs, I often opt for the Blackened Chicken Sandwich over the original. The seasoning is that good.

The Bottom Line:

Your local Popeyes might have it, or might not — it’s a toss-up.

Taco Bell — Crunchy Taco

Carbs: 13g

Tasting Notes & Thoughts:

Okay, straight up, this isn’t your best option. It’s fried and can’t exactly be called healthy, but hey, it’s well under 20 grams of carbohydrates, which means it qualifies for this list. Inside a fried corn tortilla you get a hefty portion of zesty meat, flavorless lettuce, and a sprinkling of cheese.

I love Taco Bell tacos so I have nothing really negative to say here. It’s small but oh so tasty.

The Bottom Line:

It’s not healthy by any means, but hey it’s low in carbs relative to the rest of the Taco Bell menu, so that’s something!

With Gunna a year removed from the release of his well-received fourth studio album A Gift & A Curse, many of the former(?) YSL rapper’s fans have wondering whether he’ll release a new album this year. With the announcement of his fifth studio album One Of Wun earlier this week, that curiosity has shifted to the album’s eventual release date. So…

When Will Gunna’s Album One Of Wun Come Out?

Well, as of this writing, we just don’t know. Gunna’s announcement did not include a release date, only a possible cover image and a promise that it’s “OTW” (on the way, for those not fluent in internet shorthand). However, with his Bittersweet Tour beginning on May 4, it seems likely that the album will be out by then — although technically, he could just be touring for A Gift & A Curse, since he only had two shows for that album last year. In any case, you can see the list of tour dates below.

Gunna’s 2024 Tour Dates: The Bittersweet Tour

05/04 — Columbus, OH @ Schottenstein Center
05/06 — Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
05/08 — Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
05/10 — Minneapolis, MN @ The Armory
05/12 — Denver, CO @ Fillmore Auditorium
05/16 — Seattle, WA @ WAMU Theater
05/18 — San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Auditorium
05/21 — Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre
05/24 — Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
05/25 — Houston, TX @ 713 Music Hall
05/28 — Nashville, TN @ Nashville Municipal Auditorium
05/29 — Charlotte, NC @ Bojangles’ Coliseum
06/01 — Boston, MA @ MGM Music Hall at Fenway
06/02 – Philadelphia, PA @ Roots Picnic Festival
06/06 — Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center
06/09 — Orlando, FL @ Kia Center
06/11 — Atlanta, GA @ State Farm Arena

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

The 2024 NBA Playoffs will get underway on Saturday afternoon with a quadruple-header of Game 1s (followed by another on Sunday). After a regular season that saw very little separation in the standings (with the notable exception of the Boston Celtics in the East), this looks to be, on paper, one of the most entertaining opening rounds we’ve seen in some time.

We’ll see if that holds true once the ball is tipped, but there are some truly fascinating series in each conference and an awful lot at stake considering many of these teams will view the season as a failure if they don’t get out of the opening round. That’s not to say they’ll all be great (or competitive), but I do think we get five or six genuinely entertaining series, even if a couple of them only last four or five games.

Here, we rank all eight from least to most interesting, starting with a series that should’ve had more promise than it does.

8. Celtics vs. Bulls/Heat

If Jimmy Butler were not hurt, this would be a few spots higher. Instead, it’s just really hard to see how this goes more than five games with either the Heat or Bulls coming out of Friday night’s Play-In finale. The Celtics were a buzzsaw this year, posting the league’s best record and running away with the East’s top seed. That said, facing a full-strength Miami team in the opening round would’ve immediately asked some questions of this team to see if they really have made significant improvements from last year’s squad that fell behind 0-3 in the Conference Finals to the Heat before losing in seven. With Butler sidelined with a knee injury, there’s just not enough firepower from the Heat to put the same scare into Boston.

7. Thunder vs. Kings/Pelicans

Injuries to the lower seed again play a role in taking some intrigue out of this series. The Kings are without two of their top shooters in Malik Monk and Kevin Huerter, and while they impressed against the Warriors, sustaining that against a deep, talented Thunder team for a series seems like a tall order. The Pelicans, meanwhile, closed the season very strong and nearly took down the Lakers in the Play-In opener, but a Zion Williamson hamstring injury will likely keep him out of a series. He’s been playing as New Orleans’ best player of late and figured to be the biggest matchup problem for the Thunder (because he’s a matchup problem for everyone). Both of these teams stand a shooter’s chance because they do have the ability to get hot from three, but that will be a necessity to stick with this OKC team in a seven-game series.

6. Cavs vs. Magic

As soon as this series got set in stone, everyone knew it’d be this year’s NBA TV series. That’s just life in the middle of the pack without bonafide superstars (and in relatively smaller markets). I do think folks are a little bit too low on this series, because it has a chance to go long and feature some fun, tense endings, and has some intriguing players, headlined by Donovan Mitchell and Darius Garland for the Cavs and Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner for the Magic.

This will also be a treat for those that miss the early 2000s when playoff games in the East finished in the double digits, because defense will shine in this one. The Cavs better get the cold tubs ready to deal with the physicality of the Magic, and this series will really come down to whether Cleveland’s guards can shake free of Orlando’s hellacious point of attack pressure (and deal with Jonathan Isaac and company’s rim protection on the back end). If they let this be a rock fight, that’s right up the Magic’s alley. The Cavs have more playoff experience, but it’s not exactly positive experience, so it’ll be interesting to see if Orlando’s youth works in their favor here as they don’t have the same mental hurdles as the Cavs after last year’s first round flameout.

5. Bucks vs. Pacers

Giannis Antetokounmpo’s health status looms over everything here, but in a way that makes this series even more intriguing. There is a ton on the line for Milwaukee, which responded to last year’s first round exit by firing their coach (and hiring someone who got fired midseason) and making the biggest trade of the summer to bring in Damian Lillard. Now they might have to navigate the start of the series without Giannis and face a team that went 4-1 against them this year, although all of those games came before mid-January when Adrian Griffin was still in charge. The Pacers look different than they did in those five contests, as Pascal Siakam is now on board alongside Tyrese Haliburton, and the Bucks look different by virtue of being coached by Doc Rivers. We’ll see how those changes impact this matchup, but if Indiana can get one of the first two games in Milwaukee, this will get interesting quickly.

4. Nuggets vs. Lakers

This could go the same way the Western Conference Finals did a year ago, with Denver getting a four-game sweep in four tightly contested games. The Lakers also might be able to swipe on or two of those and make this real interesting, but that will require them to do something few teams have been capable of: out-executing the Nuggets in the closing minutes of a game. Denver has the NBA’s best starting lineup and they consistently create good shots in late game situations, which is something few teams (even top contenders) seem capable of doing. That is their superpower and the thing that’s been a separator for them against just about every team over the last two years, and the only way for the Lakers to match that is for their “others” to be more reliable than they were a year ago. That will be fascinating to watch and while I expect Denver to win this series (perhaps in short order) I think the games will, again, be close.

3. Timberwolves vs. Suns

I am really excited about the last three series on this list and all have an argument for the top spot. The Suns have had the Wolves’ number all year and it is a matchup that really forces Minnesota to adapt their style to Phoenix. Bradley Beal has finally started to look like the guy Phoenix thought they were trading for, and Kevin Durant and Devin Booker are both having incredible individual seasons. The X-Factor here is Karl-Anthony Towns, because he creates the biggest matchup problem for the Suns. If they’re going to send a lot of attention at Anthony Edwards as expected to try and keep him from dictating the game, Towns has to be great to force an adjustment from Phoenix. Both of these teams fall into the category of “a first round loss is a failure,” and that only ratchets up the tension and the pressure both sides will feel. That’s when playoff basketball is at its best and I’m excited to see who steps up to that pressure and which team’s stars can assert their will.

2. Knicks vs. Sixers

It’s not often you get a 2-7 matchup where the 7-seed is the betting favorite, but that’s where we are at with Knicks-Sixers thanks to the return of Joel Embiid. He also is the biggest question mark, as he’s been good but not quite at his previous MVP level since returning from his knee injury. His ability to have an impact on the game and dictate the tempo consistently figures to be decisive in this series. The Knicks have two very good defensive centers in Isaiah Hartenstein and Mitchell Robinson, and their ability to make Embiid work hard and defend him without falling for his tricks and getting into foul trouble is vital.

Then you have a tantalizing backcourt matchup between Jalen Brunson, who has been one of the best players in the league this year, and Tyrese Maxey, who’s shown flashes of brilliance and is at his best when paired with Embiid. Maxey doesn’t have to match Brunson (whose role is serving as the Knicks engine) but will need to keep pace to an extent, especially because the Knicks should have the advantage in terms of “the others.” OG Anunoby, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo have all become incredibly trusted cogs in the wheel for the Knicks. Meanwhile, the Sixers have not gotten the contributions they’ve hoped from Tobias Harris, who is stuck in the mud right now, and just generally have fewer guys you feel comfortable relying on for a nightly impact. That’s not to say they can’t survive on one-offs (see: Nic Batum’s Play-In performance), but the pressure will certainly be on their two stars to lead the way.

1. Clippers vs. Mavericks

For the third time in five years, we’re getting a Mavs-Clippers first round series. The first two were classics, with the Clippers winning in six and seven games respectively, but the two teams look a bit different this time around. The main characters remain in the form of Luka Doncic, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George, but now Luka has Kyrie Irving as a running mate as opposed to Kristaps Porzingis. James Harden and Russell Westbrook are in the fold for the Clippers. If Leonard is a full-go (which, the Clippers have kept quiet on his status), this series should be spectacular.

The storylines are endless and both teams will be desperate for a series win. L.A. has Kawhi locked up long-term, but the rest of their core could test the free agency waters this summer. The Mavs, meanwhile, cannot afford another first round loss to the Clippers. Luka has been sensational in the first two, but this team has been built to be a more complete group that Doncic can trust in more. He lacked that in Porzingis and the supporting cast in the past, but Irving is supposed to be that release valve for some of that pressure and the rest of the roster is built to be better defensively.

That may end up being the real deciding factor in this series, because in the past the Clippers have gotten whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted it on offense. This year’s Mavs team has a season-long profile of a middling defense, but seemed to find something in the final month-plus when they had the league’s best defensive rating. How real that improvement is may determine this series, and at the very least, it will determine whether Luka has to be near-perfect for the Mavs to have a chance or if he will have a bit more margin for error this time around.