Coachella Week 1 is officially in the bag! From technical difficulties to surprise appearances to jaw-dropping visuals, this last weekend was full of all sorts of drama and highlights fans love to talk about. Whether No Doubt’s return or Doja Cat’s masterful closing performance is filling your feeds this morning, you can’t deny that the real stars of the festival were all the people who came out.
Seriously, we know it sounds corny but what makes Coachella work is the vibe. You can get all the performers in the world but at the end of the day, the vibe is dictated by the people in attendance. Here is what we love about Coachella — not only does it signify the beginning of the music festival season, but it also serves as the debut runway for the best festival fashion of the year.
And believe us when we tell you, people did not disappoint in 2024. The primary aesthetic inspiration for this year’s festival looks to have been a mix of futuristic Y2K-inspired looks, and an updated take on the ever-present Cowboy trend (likely due in part to the rise of country in recent years, and of course, Beyonce).
To celebrate of the start of the festival season, we’re sharing all the best Coachella looks from Week 1 2024. Let’s dive in.
Isaiah Rashad is celebrating a special milestone. This January marked a decade since the release of his major label debut EP Cilvia Demo. This spring, the Top Dawg hitmaker will commemorate this project with a special tour. Earlier this year, Rashad embarked on the Cilvia Demo 10 Year Anniversary Tour, a west coast tour across several iconic venues.
Now, Rashad is hitting the road, starting in Houston this May, and wrapping up in Boston in June.
Tickets for the Cilvia Demo 10 Year Anniversary Tour: Part Two will be available for purchase beginning Wednesday (April 17) at 10 a.m. local time. General onsale will begin Friday (April 19) at 10 a.m. local time. Tickets will be available for purchase here.
You can see the list of tour dates below.
Cilvia Demo 10 Year Anniversary Tour: Part Two dates
05/20 — Houston, TX @ House of Blues Houston
05/21 — San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre
05/22 — Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas
05/24 — Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
05/25 — Chattanooga, TN @ The Signal
05/26 — Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
05/28 — Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
05/29 — Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
05/30 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
06/01 — New York, NY @ The Rooftop at Pier 17
06/03 — Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
06/04 — Chicago, IL @ House of Blues Chicago
06/07 — Boston, MA @ Citizens House of Blues Boston
05/20 — Houston, TX @ House of Blues Houston
05/21 — San Antonio, TX @ Aztec Theatre
05/22 — Dallas, TX @ House of Blues Dallas
05/24 — Atlanta, GA @ Tabernacle
05/25 — Chattanooga, TN @ The Signal
05/26 — Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
05/28 — Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
05/29 — Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
05/30 — Silver Spring, MD @ The Fillmore Silver Spring
06/01 — New York, NY @ The Rooftop at Pier 17
06/03 — Cincinnati, OH @ Bogart’s
06/04 — Chicago, IL @ House of Blues Chicago
06/07 — Boston, MA @ Citizens House of Blues Boston
Better yet, it remains a destination music festival known for surprise musical happenings. As seen last week, with Billie Eilish alongside Lana Del Rey, Shakira with Bizarrap, and Olivia Rodrigo with No Doubt.
Aside from the main stages, some pretty insane parties happen in other parts of the festival grounds that shouldn’t be missed. Combining dynamic design prowess, forward-thinking music curation, and animated crowd environment, Do LaB remains one of Coachella’s most iconic areas. This year, the brand returned its all-new stage design while welcoming a slew of marquee surprise guests, like DJ Pee .Wee, SOFI TUKKER, Channel Tres, Billie Eilish & Friends, Kaskade and Alison Wonderland, VNSSA b2b Nala, Bonobo b2b Barry Can’t Swim, Alesso, Mia Moretti, and more. Weekend two is slated to be just as robust, welcoming the likes of &friends, Alleycvt, Biscits, DJ Tennis, HoneyLuv, Juliet Mendoza, Sultan + Shepard, and more.
COURTESY OF DO LAB // JAMAL EID
Outside the festival grounds, Goldenvoice launched their newest daytime series Goldenvoice Surf Club at the iconic Palm Springs Surf Club over the weekend, offering new territory for festival weekenders to witness forward-thinking artists on its sprawling grass amphitheater stage among a 2,000-square-foot swimming pool and luxury daybeds. Meanwhile, Uproxx hosted its own Sparkling Sessions Festival Brunch at OCA Estate with Pink Sweats and Teyana Taylor.
To prepare for the weekend two musical madness of all things Coachella – both inside and outside the festival grounds – we tapped some of our favorite Coachella, Do LaB, and Goldenvoice Surf Club artists to tell us their Coachella essentials, how far they’re traveling to perform, and what they’re listening to.
How far are you traveling to get to Coachella?
Around 1.5 hours on a good day, probably 4 hours on a Coachella day.
What do you like most about combining travel with music festivals?
The road-trip playlist, the date shakes on the way, the obligatory In-n-Out photo. Having everything you just might need in the trunk of your car.
What are your desert essentials?
Lip balm, scarf, baby wipes, sunglasses.
What are you currently listening to?
My edit of “I Need Some Money” by Chicco.
How far are you traveling to get to Coachella?
I’ll be traveling from the San Fernando Valley city of Los Angeles. We will be driving! It’s about a 4.5 hour drive.
What do you like most about combining travel with music festivals?
I love to drive. So opportunities like this always calms the soul before a big show. I can listen to all my sing alone favorites and relax on a scenic route.
What are your desert essentials?
It’s hot out so definitely need sun dresses, comfy tees and shorts, face moisturizer and sunblock, a protective hairstyle like braids, and water. You can never have enough H2O when it’s hot outside. I can’t forget about my favorite snacks – Hot Cheetos and fresh cucumbers with lemon and tajin.
What are you currently listening to?
I love all kinds of music especially when traveling. Finding new artist in different genres. Right now I got Cleo Sol, Chaos in the CBD, Fred P on rotation. Also Rico Nasty, Boys Noize – H.O.T. is the new wake up anthem.
How far are you traveling to get to Coachella?
After starting &friends from New York, I relocated the project to Dubai this year to support our creators on this side of the world. In April I’ll be coming all the way from Lebanon, about 7,500 miles!
What do you like most about combining travel with music festivals?
For me, there’s a certain nostalgia about music festivals as it was how I originally got into dance music, and it’s an absolute dream to get to debut &friends at Coachella. Music festivals still give me that childlike sparkle in the eyes and heart, and the journey to get to them further adds to the anticipation of the experience.
What are your desert essentials?
Sunglasses are a must, my go to, Oliver People, comfy sandals from Hermes, and linen love from a brand called HAIGHT.
What are you currently listening to?
My music taste is a bit all over the place, I’ve been finding so much inspiration from across the board! Looking at my Spotify lately, the artists I’ve been listening to most recently are Bayanni, Ry X, ZHU, Myke Towers, Masego, and FKJ.
How far are you traveling to get to Coachella?
Physically I’m traveling from LA, so approximately 27 In-N-Outs distance. Mentally I’m traveling from 2011 when I headed out to the desert for the first time, shortly before having my mind turned inside out at Coachella (Cut Copy at the Mojave though).
What do you like most about combining travel with music festivals?
For me it’s about experiencing music a bit differently through the lens of the destination, this continues to be a huge inspiration for me. A pivotal festival trip was attending Sonar Music Festival in Barcelona in 2018, I was blown away by the level of energy and engagement with the niches of music that I love, for example seeing Motor City Drum Ensemble B2B Jeremy Underground play a night-into-sunrise set closing out the entire festival. It reinforced for me that this music can resonate on a big scale, even more strongly than I was used to in the States, and strengthened my drive to keep pushing with music a bit outside the mainstream.
What are your desert essentials?
Sound system and decks for the after-afters, of course.
What are you currently listening to?
At home it’s the first two Seal albums, Seal and Seal II, the production by Trevor Horn is timeless. Amplified Heart by Everything But The Girl which I always have on repeat. Out in the desert I’m most looking forward to sets from Two Shell, DJ Seinfeld, Bicep, Flight Facilities, Barry Can’t Swim, and my friend the amazing Juliet Mendoza. I’ve also just launched my own imprint Near Wild Heaven, so listening to lots of demos from friends and acquaintances for release consideration…my DMs are open!
How far are you traveling to get to Coachella?
Coming from Sydney, Australia so a lotttttt of miles.
What do you like most about combining travel with music festivals?
I love the entire perspective shift I get from every trip, I love meeting new audiences and sharing new sounds with people. I love having the opportunity to connect with people cross culturally and on a human level because of music and I never take it for granted!
What are your desert essentials?
Comfortable shoes, a layer for nighttime, a lip balm for the dry air and a refillable water bottle.
What are you currently listening to?
A lot of new music in preparation! I’m loving new records by Notion and Kyle Starkey as well as Van Damn. Excited to introduce some of these rowdy club sounds to the DoLaB.
Sometimes the best new R&B can be hard to find, but there are plenty of great rhythm-and-blues tunes to get into if you have the time to sift through the hundreds of newly released songs every week. So that R&B heads can focus on listening to what they love in its true form, we’ll be offering a digest of the best new R&B songs that fans of the genre should hear every Friday.
Since the last update of this weekly R&B column, we’ve received plenty of music and news from the genre’s artists.
Chlöe and her girls hit the road for a special retreat on her new single “Boy Bye” while Tinashe announced her second BB/ANG3L EP and began a search for someone willing to match her energy on “Nasty.” The Weeknd ruffled some features thanks to his features on Future and Metro Boomin’s We Still Don’t Trust You album and NxWorries (Anderson .Paak & Knxwledge) announced their sophomore album Why Lawd?. Elsewhere, Ciara was announced as an opener for Missy Elliott’s Out Of This World tour experience with Busta Rhymes and Timbaland.
Here is what else the music world had to offer in the past week:
PartyNextDoor — “Lose My Mind”
We’re just weeks away from PartyNextDoor’s fourth album PartyNextDoor 4 which is setting itself up to be a top release in PND’s catalog thanks to singles like “Her Old Friends” and “Real Woman.” The OVO singer’s hot streak of releases continues with “Lose My Mind,” a seductive record that accounts for the mesmerizing ways of a woman in PND’s life and how she’s left him speechless and then some.
DRAM — DRAM&B
DRAM is back on the R&B scene with his first release since 2022’s What Had Happened Was…. His new album DRAM&B is a return to the singer’s R&B roots as it tracks his growth, in life and music, as well as his recovery from a period of turmoil. “This album was made with the intention to uplift your mood and make you dance, I hope it does just that,” DRAM said about the album.
Jordan Ward — “Player Two”
Jordan Ward’s rise to stardom has brought him opportunities to contribute his music to movies. The latest is the newly-released Don’t Tell Mom The Babysitter’s Dead, a remake of the 1991 film. There, Ward’s “Player Two” rings as a record dedicated to that special someone in your love who’s always by your side — aka the player two to your player one.
Tink — “Charged Up”
This year is looking to be a big one for R&B singer Tink. She’ll be hitting the road with Jhené Aiko for The Magic Hour Tour with Kiana Ledé, Umi, and Coi Leray. She will also release her Winter’s Diary 5 project and she kicked off its rollout by releasing “Charged Up.” With guitar strums as the main source of production for the first half, Tink offloads the frustrations she’s experienced in an inadequate relationship. In the song’s second half, a bass arrives to breathe life into the record as Tink moves on from the previous relationship in search of something — or someone rather — better.
Baby Rose & BadBadNotGood — Slow Burn
On their new EP Slow Burn, Baby Rose and BadBadNotGood embrace the intricacies of nature by throwing their hands into the wind and enjoying the ride. The six songs on the project, which includes just one feature from Mereba, live in the sonic blend of psych rock, country, Americana, and beyond. Slow Burn is our eclectic chemistry and the captured essence of our worlds colliding,” Rose said about the project. “This record represents venturing beyond boundaries, embracing freedom, and finding comfort.”
Jean Deaux — Nowhere, Fast
For the second year in a row, Chicago singer Jean Deaux is back with a new EP. Nowhere, Fast arrives with eight songs and a feature from Destin Conrad for a project that amounts to a coming-of-age story highlighting the relationship between time and the lessons learned. “It’s about coming to the end of your 20-somethings and feeling everything has been such a blur, from childhood to young adulthood, to now just being who I am,” Deaux said about the project.
Sekou — “Let Go Of Me Slowly”
British singer Sekou continues to prove why he was honored to be the BRIT Awards’ youngest “Rising Star” nominee. His new single “Let Go Of Me Slowly” is an elegant and engulfing release that wades into the waters of heartbreak and longing before reluctantly arriving at the moment the relationship ends. “This song was inspired by a time in my life when I was going through something, and I didn’t know how to express my feelings about it,” Sekou said about the song in a press release. “It’s freeing – and it’s supposed to be about getting things off your chest and removing that heavy weight from your shoulders that can sometimes still be there after a relationship breaks down.”
Sebastian Mikael— Paradigm Shift
A year after releasing a deluxe version of his Phileo EP, Sebastian Mikael is back with another body of work in the form of his Paradigm Shift EP. Through its three songs, Mikael continues his evolution as an artist while documenting the change he’s experienced over the years. “If you change your thoughts, you change your life,” Mikael said in relation to the project. “Paradigm Shift represents a change of perspective. Your thought-life shapes your reality, so be careful what you allow to enter your mind.”
Amanda Reifer — “In And Out (Interlude)”
For her second single of the year, “In And Out (Interlude),” Barbados-born singer Amanda Reifer documents her culture, contributions, and choices to life, music, and the world around her over the 73-second release. It follows “B*tch Like Me (Intro)” which are both a part of The Reifer Files, a series that aims to guide listeners through Reifer’s roots.
Cedric Brazle — “Fly”
After concluding 2023 with his “Life Of The Party” single, Miami singer Cedric Brazle gets the ball rolling in 2024 with his new single “Fly.” The record, inspired by 2000s R&B, features fluttering guitar strings and smooth-talking Brazle who has his eyes set on a woman he hopes is willing to fall in love with him.
Thuy — “Hair Down”
For her first single of the year, Vietnamese-American singer Thuy simply wants a moment to relax and not stress about life’s unknowns. That’s what her latest single “Hair Down” is about as it’s propelled by upbeat and lively production the freeing feeling that Thuy hopes to keep present in her life going forward.
Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Fred Again..‘s 2022 compilation album USB is coming to vinyl as USB001. Described as “an infinite, ever-evolving album,” USB001 is the first volume of his infinite album project. The limited-edition vinyl is set to release on June 14, with pre-order available now via Fred’s website.
According to the press release for the vinyl, it will feature a pair of new songs sampling some of Fred’s collaborators and peers. “BerwynGesaffNeighbours” naturally borrows samples from Berwyn & Gesaffelstein, while “ItsNotREEAALLLLLLLL” lifts a beat from a 2001 Richie Hawtin mix paired with samples of DuoTeque and Orion Sun. Meanwhile, other tracks that appear on the project include the Baby Keem-featuring “Leavemealone” and the Lil Yachty and Overmono collaboration “Stayinit.”
The New York Knicks will enter the NBA Playoffs as the 2-seed in the Eastern Conference, thanks to a truly incredible season by Jalen Brunson that will likely get him on many voter’s top-5 for the league’s MVP. Despite injuries to Julius Randle and OG Anunoby, the former being out for the year with shoulder surgery, the Knicks have just continued to rattle off wins.
Brunson leads the way but they’ve gotten big contributions from the likes of Josh Hart, Donte DiVincenzo, and Isaiah Hartenstein to keep themselves afloat and take hold of the 2-seed. The question for the Knicks is how they’ll matchup with the top teams when they’re playing at full capacity, but it’s hard not to believe this Knicks team is at least ready for a playoff style of basketball.
That said, not everyone is a believer. Shaquille O’Neal and Charles Barkley have both said they think the Knicks will be an early out in the playoffs, which unsurprisingly doesn’t sit well with Knicks fans — and is great fodder for New York sports radio. During an appearance this week on The Michael Kay Show, Kendrick Perkins was asked why Shaq and Chuck aren’t Knicks believers, and he gave a blunt answer about the TNT commentators.
“Obviously they don’t watch basketball,” Perkins said. “I’m serious. They can’t watch basketball on a consistent basis. The only time they actually probably watch the Knicks are when they’re covering the Knicks on their game nights. If you’re watching the Knicks, it’s no way in hell you can downplay the way they’ve been playing the game of basketball. If you’re watching the New York Knicks, it’s no way in hell you can downplay that Jalen Brunson has been the best player in the Eastern Conference.”
Perk is certainly playing to his audience here, but it’s a quote that does draw considerable attention. I don’t think either Shaq or Chuck (the latter especially) would try to convince you they’re grinding film nightly, and it’s probably fair to say TNT games are when those two are watching teams most closely. That said, phrasing it the way he did is almost a sure-fire way for Perk to get jabbed back by one or both during a TNT broadcast soon, and Perk better not have any slip-ups himself or else this will come back in his face.
For years, fans of The Sopranos would have heated debates over the polarizing finale of the HBO drama. Did the Soprano family survive? Did Tony and Carmela stay married? Did Meadow ever learn how to parallel park? These were all questions that we never knew the answers to… until now. Kind of.
In the 2021 sports docuseries Shattered: Hope, Heartbreak and the New York Knicks it was revealed (and now relayed by Hollywood Reporter) that, in 2010, the New York Knicks hired a series of iconic New York-adjacent celebrities and actors to pursue LeBron James to join the Knicks. Among the list were James Gandolfini and Edie Falco, who reprised their roles of Tony and Carmela, three years after the series finale aired. So… they lived!
The original video was produced by Rocco Caruso, and it was recently discovered by sports podcaster Pablo Torre. In the short scene, Tony and Carmela are sitting in a New York apartment (Falco confirmed that it was Gandolfini’s) after being in the witness protection program. “Yeah, life’s good here Carm, even if we are in the witness protection program,” Tony says before the two discuss their “friend” LeBron James.
That magic happens after the 9:30 mark below.
“They thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if we could somehow start the piece with The Sopranos?’ because it had just more or less ended,” Caruso recalled to The Hollywood Reporterat the time. “And I said, ‘I know Edie … I could send her an email,’ and she said ‘Great. I’ll do it.’”
Falco was surprised that Gandolfini was on board. “We got those requests all the time back then and Jim Gandolfini, he did nothing. And somehow he agreed to this thing, which I was shocked by. I thought it was a prank when someone said Jim’s going to do it. And there we were, dressed as our characters. And I was thinking, ‘This can’t possibly be happening.’” It definitely happened, though it might not be considered “canon.”
Unfortunately, the effort was wasted as LeBron James did not end up with the Knicks. Maybe it had something to do with the other clips which featured Donald Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Chris Rock, Mike Bloomberg, Alex Baldwin, and Harvey Weinstein? It was… a different time. At least we got some Sopranos trivia out of it.
Today, international star Shakira announced the first run of shows on her Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour, named after her album of the same title. The album is her first since 2017’s El Dorado; she explained the length of the gap between the albums during her appearance on Hot Ones, where she also explained why her old music used to “suck.”
Shakira surprised fans with the reveal of the tour during Bizarra’s Coachella set over the weekend. Launching in November, the first part of the tour will hit arenas across the United States and Canada, with future dates to be announced.
How To Buy Tickets For Shakira’s Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour
The general sale for tickets begins on April 22 at 10 am local time. You can get more information on prices and presales via Shakira’s website. See below for the list of tour dates.
Shakira 2024 Tour Dates: Las Mujeres Ya No Lloran World Tour
11/02 — Palm Desert, CA @ Acrisure Arena
11/07 — Phoenix, AZ @ Footprint Center
11/09 — Los Angeles, CA @ Kia Forum
11/16 — San Antonio, TX @ Frost Bank Center
11/17 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
11/20 — Miami, FL @ Kaseya Center
11/23 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
11/25 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
11/30 — Toronto, ON @ Scotiabank Arena
12/05 — Brooklyn, NY @ Barclays Center
12/08 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
12/10 — Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
12/14 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
12/15 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
If you’ve lost track of how many Stephen King adaptations are currently on the way to screens, then you are not alone. If you also feel like Glen Powell is everywhere right now, that’s alright, too. Between the two of them, there’s an It prequel series, a Twister followup, and a Salem’s Lot reboot (along with much more) on the way, but what if their combined energies arrived within a project?
It’s happening. Powell has been cast in a refresh of 1987’s The Running Man movie, which seems fitting because Arnold Schwarzenegger was previously everywhere at once, too. Let’s talk about what to expect from this project.
Plot
Edgar Wright (Scott Pilgrim vs. The World, Shaun of the Dead) will direct this Paramount Pictures project more than three decades after the original film (helmed by Paul Michael Glaser) substantially retooled Stephen King’s novel.
That book, which was set in 2025, was published via King’s Richard Bachman pseudonym and followed Ben Richards, who has little financial recourse under an authoritarian regime in a dystopian world and finds himself signing up for the Games Network’s The Running Man TV show. His goal? To purchase medicine for his ailing child. The price? Compete in the face of almost certain death while being hunted by actual Hunters, but if he miraculously succeeds? A billion dollars will be the prize. The book’s ending, however, will probably never be filmable, not in the 1980s or in a post-9/11 world, given that Richards crashes an airplane into Games Network’s headquarters.
As for the original film, the setup is different (and the tone is wildly different) with Richards being forced to compete alongside a group of fellow labor camp prisoners and fight former reality-TV victors. As Variety reports, Glen Powell has indeed been cast in the lead role to rework the cult-favorite film in some way. And it’s no wonder why this has been a goal: the bonkers plot has actually seemed increasingly conceivable and might hit even more strikingly for a 2020s audience. Will there be Schwarzenegger-style one-liners spilling from the too-charismatic Glen Powell’s mouth, too? God, I hope so.
With that said, we do not know whether this will be a “remake,” “reboot,” “reimagining,” “reinvention,” or if it will simply be a story that exists in the same world as the 1987 movie. So, stay tuned there.
Powell’s casting is new (and he has proven himself an asset in courting 1980s vibes), but as Deadline revealed back in 2021, Wright has been attached since 2017 after being wooed by producer Simon Kinberg:
Kinberg brought the idea to Emma Watts, based on their long relationship, and then Kinberg courted Wright. While the filmmaker is very selective, the prospect of a new The Running Man is one that has intrigued him; to the point that when asked if he could remake any film, he would choose that one. This was back in 2017. Now it has become real.
What does Schwarzenegger think of the entire affair? No official word exists on the most recent developments, but a decade ago, he was excited about the prospect of a The Running Man sequel, which obviously has not happened yet.
Cast
Glen Powell, need we say more? Let’s dreamcast Stanley Tucci as a TV exec, Walton Goggins as MC, and Frank Grillo as a baddie of some variety. Why not.
Release Date
There’s no earthly way to precisely predict when this remake will arrive, but Paramount probably wants to strike while the Glen Powell is hot, so to speak. 2025?
Trailer
Since a remake trailer cannot exist yet, let’s relive the 1987 version, which arrives complete with an “I’ll Be Back.”
The NBA, in its never-ending effort to get teams to take the regular season more seriously, instituted the Play-In Tournament back in 2020-21. The idea is simple: Give more teams an opportunity to make the playoffs, and even if they’re a sacrificial lamb to a 1-seed, they’re going to go for it. And outside of what the Dallas Mavericks pulled down the stretch last year, the idea has generally been a major success.
This year, the Play-In Tournament features six teams that won at least 46 games — in the first three editions, there was exactly one team that won 46 or more and needed to settle its postseason fate through the tournament. Teams this good usually have a spot in the playoffs at this juncture, which hopefully means that this year’s edition of the Play-In is the best yet. And before things begin, we ranked all four of the games that we’ll see over the next two nights, beginning with the one that doesn’t include any of those six teams that won at least 46 games.
4. Atlanta Hawks vs. Chicago Bulls
And now, a brief history of the 9-10 game in the Eastern Conference:
2020-21: Indiana (34-38) beat Charlotte (33-39), 144-117
2021-22: Atlanta (43-39) beat Charlotte (43-39), 132-103
2022-23: Chicago (40-42) beat Toronto (41-41), 109-105
It hasn’t exactly produced the most aesthetically pleasing basketball of all time — the most memorable thing from any of those games involved DeMar DeRozan’s daughter, Diar, completely throwing off the the Raptors’ rhythm at the free throw line in their own building. And either team that wins this game has to play a Heat or a Sixers team that is just better than them, and if they win that game, they then have to go play Boston.
So, yeah, it’s very easily to be nihilistic about this matchup of sub-.500 teams, because the winner will have a major uphill battle to climb once this game comes to an end. As an actual basketball game, it’s a bit of a backhanded compliment to say that both of these teams know this environment — Atlanta has made the Play-In each of the last two seasons, while Chicago participated last year. Being in a one-game playoff is not fun, and there is certainly something to be said for knowing what this environment will bring.
This is a big time styles make fights game, as Atlanta is fifth in the league in pace and Chicago is 28th. It does not feel like a stretch to say that the team that can impose their will on the game will win it. Can Trae Young (who hasn’t been great since coming back from hand surgery, but showed a few years ago he can level up his game in the postseason) and Dejounte Murray get the Hawks running and generate good looks from three, even if Saddiq Bey, Jalen Johnson, and Onyeka Okongwu will likely miss the game due to injury? Can Coby White and the Nikola Vucevic/Andre Drummond duo provide enough on offense alongside DeMar DeRozan, particularly if Atlanta get up a ton of shots from behind the three-point line? Regardless, here’s hoping we get a good game, if for no reason other than Young and DeRozan going shot-for-shot down the stretch would be a blast.
3. Los Angeles Lakers vs. New Orleans Pelicans
If both of these teams reach the highs they’re capable of reaching, this game is going to be a blast. The problem: For whatever reason, when these teams have matched up this season, we’ve gotten nothing but blowouts. There were the two most high-profile matchups, most notably the 133-89 Lakers drubbing of the Pelicans in the In-Season Tournament semifinals that led to Zion Williamson receiving waves and waves of criticism from just about everyone. And while the regular season finale ended with a 124-108 Lakers win, that’s a bit generous to New Orleans, who trailed by as many as 32 points in the second half.
The Pelicans did pick up a 20-point win on New Year’s Eve, while the Lakers won by 17 in February. Perhaps both of these teams will bring their A-games this time around, as the winner of this game earns an automatic playoff berth, the 7-seed in the Western Conference, and a matchup with the defending champion Denver Nuggets.
The Pelicans have to figure something out for LeBron James. It’s never an easy job, although if there’s one team that you might think would be able to throw bodies at him, it’s New Orleans, which has Herbert Jones, Trey Murphy, and Larry Nance. Instead, James is averaging 28.3 points, 11.8 assists, and 6.3 rebounds against the Pelicans this year while shooting 55.1 percent from the field, 60 percent from three, and 93.3 percent from the free throw line. If that continues, it’s hard to see the Pelicans nabbing the 7-seed.
But if they can drag the Laker offense into the mud — which has been harder as of late, especially when James and Anthony Davis have been flanked by Spencer Dinwiddie, Austin Reaves, and Rui Hachimura — that would be big. If they can get space for Williamson to attack the paint due to their shooters spacing the floor, that would also be big, especially if Williamson’s able to get Davis in foul trouble. Still, the way this series played out this year has not been kind to the Pelicans, and this might be as much about overcoming a mental hurdle in a big game as anything.
2. Golden State Warriors vs. Sacramento Kings
It’s incredibly unfortunate that two of Sacramento’s most important players, Kevin Huerter and Malik Monk, are sidelined due to injury. Remember: Last year, these two teams played an absolutely hellacious first round series that the Kings very well could have won if De’Aaron Fox doesn’t suffer a broken finger. It went seven games! Draymond Green got suspended mid-series for stomping on Domantas Sabonis! The series ended with the Warriors going into Sacramento and running the Kings off of their own court!
Adding to the intrigue: These teams have played four games against one another this year. All of them were prior to the All-Star break, yes, but three of them were decided by a single point. The fourth was an 8-point Warriors win. They split the season series. Both teams have gone through a ton of overhaul since they last played, but it’s still a pair of teams that know each other and bring their A-games when they step on the floor together.
Obviously all the attention is going to be on the big guns — Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Green, Sabonis, Fox. But this game is so interesting because of the relatively new faces, whether they’re guys who weren’t around last year (Chris Paul, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Brandin Podziemski, Keon Ellis) or blossoming stars who will shoulder a larger burden than they did in the first round in 2023 (Jonathan Kuminga, Keegan Murray). Jackson-Davis is particularly interesting, because Golden State won last year in part because Kevon Looney just inhaled rebounds on both ends of the floor. Can the rookie from Indiana do that — particularly on offensive boards, where he can get them extra possessions against the best defensive rebounding team in the league.
Ultimately, it’s very possible this game comes down to the stars, as the league has put those first five guys I rattled off in the last graf into a win-or-go-home situation. Golden State is entering the postseason as the hottest team in the Western Conference (they’ve won 8 of their last 10), while Sacramento has the worst record over the last 10 games (4-6) of any team in the West. Can that destructive two-man game of Fox and Sabonis carry them for 48 minutes, or are we going to get the latest Curry masterclass in a big game, with Green putting his fingerprints all over everything and Thompson continuing his strong close to the season? I can’t wait to find out.
1. Miami Heat vs. Philadelphia 76ers
Outside of possibly the Clippers, no team in the NBA is more defined by a never-ending quest to overcome its postseason demons than the Philadelphia 76ers. Right away, they’ll get a chance to excise one of them when they take on their old friend Jimmy Butler and the Miami Heat, which beat them in the conference semifinals back in 2022 and gave us an all-time weird quote from James Harden.
Of course, this would mean they have to overcome whatever the hell gets into the Heat every year in April and May, which is the most powerful force in all of the NBA. Does it matter that the Sixers have been outstanding when Joel Embiid plays this year, and they’re entering the postseason on the longest winning streak in the league, and the game is in Philly, and Terry Rozier is out? Of course not! Well, all those things probably do matter a lot, but there’s just something about once we get to this time of year that leads to the Heat collectively raising their level.
Embiid and Bam Adebayo are going to go to war against one another, particularly when the Sixers have the basketball and Adebayo looks for any little trick he has up his sleeve to keep the reigning MVP from taking over. The last time these teams played (a 109-105 Sixers win, the only time Embiid has played against Miami this season), the quartet of Butler, Haywood Highsmith, Cody Martin, and Rozier all got cracks at guarding Tyrese Maxey, who had 37 points, 11 assists, and nine rebounds. On the other end of the floor, Kyle Lowry primarily took on the Butler assignment and limited him to 20 points on 7-for-17 shooting. Can he do that again? If not, how do guys like Kelly Oubre or Nic Batum hold up against him? What weird stuff do do Erik Spoelstra and Nick Nurse — two coaches who have been in the Play-In before and understand that you have to go for broke in a game like this — have up their sleeves?
The winner of this game ends up on the side of the Eastern Conference bracket that avoids Boston until the conference finals — lose, and it’s a one-game playoff with the Celtics waiting for you right after. With respect to the Knicks, Bucks, and Pacers, either of these teams could win two series if things go the right way for them. The urgency that both of these teams will need to have is going to make this game must-watch.
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