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Since opening the season 30-9, the Golden State Warriors have gone 13-10, with all 23 of those games taking place without Draymond Green. Most recently, they’ve lost four of their last five games and find themselves just half a game ahead of the Memphis Grizzlies for the No. 2 seed out West.

After their latest defeat, a 129-114 rout at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves, head coach Steve Kerr voiced some frustration with the team’s energy and togetherness.

“This was the first time I sensed there was a breakdown in our connection, and that has to be an exception rather than a rule,” he said. “So, that’s the most important thing for me looking ahead.”

The Warriors, who lead the NBA in defensive rating, allowed a season-high 129 points to Minnesota, which prompted Kerr to be critical of their “collective spirit.”

“It’s not just a tangible thing as much as it is just a feeling and an energy — a collective spirit,” he said. “I didn’t like the energy or the spirit tonight.”

On Tuesday, both Green and Klay Thompson sat out. This latest 1-4 stretch has seen Thompson miss their last two losses, and Stephen Curry pinpointed the lack of cohesive rotations as part of their slide.

“We’ve had a lot of shuffling,” Curry said. “It’s not an excuse for how we’re playing, but we are built as a full team.”

These days, it’s hard to know if certain travel destinations are as beautiful in real life as they appear on your Instagram feed. Is it the editing and perfectly posed angles that inspire your wanderlust or is the destination actually as exciting as it looks? According to Kara Del Toro, a model and social media sensation with more than 4.1 million followers, Tulum is one place that’s truly worth the hype.

“Tulum is very addicting,” she says. “You can’t go just once, you’re going to want to go at least a few times — I’ve met some of the nicest people there and always have the best times.”

Del Toro’s career has brought her to some of the world’s most sought-after destinations — Borneo, Morocco, Thailand, Turks and Caicos, Positano, Colombia… it’s a hell of a list — but Tulum continues to reign as her number one travel destination recommendation. Naturally, when we heard that we wanted to know why. From exploring the Mayan jungle to snacking on açaí bowls between beach trips to swimming through underground caves, we asked Del Toro to break down her favorite Tulum hotspots and must-do excursions below.

WHY TULUM?

Tulum holds a special place in my heart and I’ve been many times. It has this super cool organic, eco vibe that I haven’t seen anywhere else (a lot of the hotels are actually entirely self-sufficient and very eco-conscious). It’s a very magnetic place. The beaches, food, music, the people, and the history there are a few of the reasons I love Tulum so much.

You won’t find big resorts or skyscrapers, most of the hotels are boutique-style, and that makes it all the more appealing.

What’s one thing that every first-time visitor should see or do in Tulum?

I’ve only done it once, but I think every first-timer should take a trip to visit the Mayan Ruins. There’s so much ancient history and beautiful architecture there. They are located on a cliff overlooking the ocean with access to an amazing beach. It’s something everyone should see at least once.

Where to get the absolute best food?

Let me start by saying, I am convinced you can’t go wrong with the food in Tulum. Everything I’ve tried there has been delicious — the tacos, pizza, and smoothies have all been amazing. I always stop at the little hole-in-the-wall places and you really can’t go wrong, but some of my favorite places to eat are Gitano, which has a great vibe and outdoor area, modern Mexican cuisine, and a wide range of fruity drinks, and Matcha Mama.

This is not a traditional Mexican restaurant by any means, but I go every time I’m in Tulum. It’s this adorable little smoothie shop where you can grab a fresh, delicious acai bowl served out of a coconut shell bowl…yum. It’s perfect after a long hot day at the beach.

The most fun party spot in Tulum?

Papaya Playa Project always has a big party on Saturday nights. The vibes are immaculate and the music is 10/10.

NOTE: Papaya Playa Project is a hotel that merges local culture, sustainability, and hospitality. There, you can expect to find a slew of weekly events that feature prominent guest DJs and musicians. View the Payaya Playa Project’s event calendar here.

Best outdoor excursion or adventure activity in Tulum?

Visiting a cenote is a must while you’re in Tulum! A cenote is basically an underground cave filled with water that you can swim, dive, or snorkel in. They’re typically very beautiful, with open-air and crystal blue water. Make sure to pack an underwater camera or a GoPro because you’re going to want to take pictures!

Where to get the best view?

I like to go to Kin Toh, the restaurant at hotel Azulik for the views. Obviously, Tulum has beautiful beaches everywhere, but Kin Toh is unique. The restaurant is built on stilts and has “nests” and hammocks that seemingly float over the Mayan Jungle with views you won’t see anywhere else. It’s really incredible and of course, great for pictures!

Coolest hotel or place to stay?

I really like to stay at Papaya Playa Project or Be Tulum. I’d say it’s a tie between the two. Both of them have great restaurants and the beaches are large and beautiful. I also like that most of the rooms come with your own private pool you can relax in as the sun goes down.

Best time of year to visit?

I think Tulum is great all year long, but December through April is the most ideal time to go. The main thing you want to check for when going to Tulum is the seaweed. When there is too much seaweed in the ocean the water doesn’t look as clear and you can’t swim in it. This happens randomly so ask around or call the hotel before you book your trip.

The Inside the NBA crew has been more or less the same for a little more than a decade. Ever since Shaquille O’Neal joined the crew in 2011, the show’s primary personalities have been Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith, and Shaq with Ernie Johnson running the show. There have been a number of other folks who have spent time behind the desk, but those four have been the show’s pillars.

It seems a foregone conclusion that Draymond Green will slide into a role on the desk once his NBA career ends — he’s a regular contributor and has already signed a deal with Turner to do other things, including contributing to Inside — but as it turns out, there was a plan in place to get another gigantic name on the show. Barkley appeared on Green’s podcast, “The Draymond Green Show,” and dropped a bombshell that “probably only 10 people in the world know.”

“We actually hired Kobe Bryant,” Barkley said.

“At Turner?” Green asked.

“At Turner,” Barkley confirmed. “But he didn’t wanna do all the other bullsh*t.”

As Barkley explained, Bryant did not want to have to do all the other stuff that was asked of him beyond appearing on Inside the NBA, saying that things like contractually-obligated radio appearances and other TV cameos to “promote the show” did not interest him.

“He had signed with us — David Levy, my old boss, had signed him to a deal — and we were excited, we were really excited,” Barkley said. “And then he called me back, like, a week to 10 days later, somewhere in that timeframe, like, ‘Yeah, Kobe’s not gonna come.’ We’re like, why? ‘Cause he don’t wanna do all the PR stuff, he don’t wanna go on radio shows and talk about basketball.’ And I’m like, well, that’s part of the gig.”

Bryant, of course, went on to do some pretty great things prior to his passing in early 2020 in the media world, as he was behind ESPN’s Detail series and won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2018 for his film, Dear Basketball. Still, it’s not hard to imagine how much fun it would have been if he got the chance to riff with the Inside crew every Thursday night.

Known for pushing the envelope with each of his projects, Channel Tres has just dropped a new instrumental album with no prior promotion. On Refresh, Tres showcases his prowess for producing tracks.

Known for songs like “Controller” and “Fuego,” Tres has become known for rapping and singing over groovy, kinetic dance beats. Refresh contains these kinds of tracks, reminiscent of Detroit techno and Chicago house, with Tres hoping fans will feel creative as they listen to the seven songs.

In an Instagram post, Tres wrote, “here’s a beat tape to start 2022….made a bunch of beats while on tour with cat and in my room also drew this cover art. hope ya create something while listening.”

In a 2019 interview with Uproxx, Tres said he finds more inspiration in the “spirit” of the music than the actual sound. “I think a lot of people right now are artists that fit into a category of what you think how they should be,” he said. “But if you push the conventions, it frees up other kids that are coming after us seeing certain images. It’s hard a lot of times for Black kids to find an image, because we get told what we should be. I just know if I let somebody put me in a box, someone else might not get the freedom to be who they’re supposed to be.”

Tres was supposed to perform at Coachella in 2020, however, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic halted those plans. While in isolation, Tres produced and wrote an EP called I Can’t Go Outside. Last year, Channel Tres made appearances on tracks by Tokimonsta and Emotional Oranges, and also toured across the U.S. with singer and instrumentalist Thundercat.

Tres is set to perform at Ceremonia 2022 in Mexico City this April, as well as Governors Ball in June.

Refresh is out now via Art For Their Own Good. Get it here.

Following President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address, The View wasted no time calling out Lauren Boebert for her outburst while Biden was discussing Gold Star military families. The Colorado congresswoman caused a scene while the president was discussing his own late son, Beau, a veteran, and Whoopi Goldberg is not having it. In a fiery rant, Goldberg tore into Boebert for disrespecting military families, which would include that of former co-host Meghan McCain. When Whoopi’s out here snatching people up for disrespecting Meghan of all people, you know you messed up.

You can watch Goldberg tear Boebert a new one below:

Via Raw Story:

“You can’t do what they do,” Goldberg said of American soldiers. “That’s why we revere them, because they do the stuff we can’t do. And the minute you poop on them, you poop on them like the last guy did, talking about those Gold Star families, talking about Mr. McCain as not being a hero. Who the hell do you think you are, little girl? Who do you think you are?”

Goldberg ended her remarks by telling Boebert, “You don’t have to like this president to be respectful of him talking about the military and his son who died. You don’t have to do that. You don’t have to like him, but you must be respectful. You got to be.”

As for the rest of the panel, Joy Behar quipped (via The Wrap), “You’re in the United States Congress. You’re not doing a midnight set at Chuckles,” while Sunny Hostin kept things blunt. “She’s a clout chaser, and she’s tacky.”

(Via The Recount on Twitter)

There’s something off about the trailer for Netflix‘s Cliff Beasts 6: The Battle For Everest.

First off, there is no Cliff Beasts 1-5. But the trailer is purportedly for the sixth film in the franchise, about “humankind [being] threatened once again by a dinosaur species: Cliff Beasts. The team must reunite, after five long years, to battle the Cliff Beasts – but this time on Mount Everest.” That’s absolutely a movie I would watch, especially with the assembled cast of Karen Gillan, Pedro Pascal, Keegan-Michael Key, Leslie Mann, David Duchovny, Rob Delaney, Iris Apatow, Peter Serafinowicz, and Maria Bakalova.

The Borat Subsequent Moviefilm breakout is the clue to figuring out what’s going on here. This time last year, it was reported that Bakalova was cast in The Bubble, a Judd Apatow-directed comedy (he also wrote the script with South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut‘s Pam Brady) that “follows a group of actors and actresses stuck inside a pandemic bubble at a hotel attempting to complete a film.” That film appears to be Cliff Beasts 6: The Battle For Everest. The Netflix tweet about the movie-within-a-movie notes that we’ll see the “full trailer in 2 days,” which presumably means the trailer for The Bubble.

Gillan got in on the elaborate ruse, tweeting, “So excited to share the poster for my latest film Cliff Beasts 6! This is my fav franchise I’ve ever been a part of and this latest installment is the best one so far!!!” (Love creator Paul Rust is possibly involved, too.)

It’s always exciting when Judd Apatow stops, ugh, being a supportive father and makes a new movie, but: the people (me) need Cliff Beasts 6: The Battle For Everest, the dinosaurs on Mount Everest movie with Karen Gillan, Key from Key and Peele, Baby Yoda’s dad, Tutar, and Fox Mulder. We (again, me) deserve both.

J.Cole’s Dreamville Festival is back for its second year. This time around, the fest has expanded into a two-day format, taking place on April 2nd and 3rd in Raleigh, North Carolina. And while J. Cole himself will be playing a headlining set to close out the festival on Sunday, it’s the rest of the imaginative lineup that sets this apart as a choice hip-hop function.

Kehlani, Wizkid, and Lil Baby make up a formidable headlining slate, but Dreamville Fest doesn’t stop there. DJ Drama will be making his first-ever Gangsta Grillz performance with Lil Wayne, Jeezy, and T.I., and Ja Rule and Ashanti will be reuniting on stage for a performance. The entire Dreamville records roster — including Ari Lennox, JID, Bas, EarthGang, and Cozz — will be performing too.

Dreamville Festival takes place at Dorothea Dix Park, the largest city park in Raleigh, which boasts over 300 acres of sprawling public green space. Other acts also appearing over the weekend include Moneybagg Yo, Wale, Rico Nasty, Fivio Foreign, Larry June, Bia, Morray, Blxst, T-Pain, Lute, Mereba, Mikhala Jené, The Hics, and Omen.

Tickets for Dreamville Festival are on-sale now here and check out the event website for full details.

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

Netflix has already taken over the movie and TV industry, so it makes sense that its next effort in taking over the world is to get into video games. The company is expected to purchase Finland mobile game developer Next Games for $72 million, which equals roughly 8 million months of a basic Netflix subscription if that makes it easier to grasp.

Next Games is known for creating the “Stranger Things: Puzzle Tales” game based on the mega-hit Stranger Things, along with two games based on The Walking Dead franchise. The company was formed in 2013.

“Next Games has a seasoned management team, strong track record with mobile games based on entertainment franchises, and solid operational capabilities,” Michael Verdu, VP of Games for Netflix said in a statement. “We are excited for Next Games to join Netflix as a core studio in a strategic region and key talent market, expanding our internal game studio capabilities.” This is the second time Netflix has acquired a game developer, as they bought Night School Studio last year. Netflix has already begun to launch mobile games through the company and is expected to expand even more.

This new deal could potentially be huge for Netflix, who can now finally make dreams come true and create an Emily In Paris RPG, or an open-world Bridgerton game. It’s what the fans want!

A funny thing happened when Vladimir Putin waged war against Ukraine: Many of the politicians, media figures, and other so-called “conservatives” who have publicly praised Russia’s blood-thirsty president over the years decided to quietly tiptoe their way to the other side and condemn Putin for being the homicidal tyrant he has always been.

While it’s not all that surprising that disgraced former U.S. President Donald Trump is still tickled by just how “smart” and “savvy” Putin is, that stubborn and single-minded right-wingers like Tucker Carlson and Mike Pompeo—who were singing Putin’s praises just days ago—have suddenly changed their tune has been a shocking turn of events. But The Daily Show has an idea of how it happened: Tyranol.

Trevor Noah and his team shared a commercial for this game-changing new pill, whose slogan is “Out with the Vlad, in with the good.” Like Teamocil before it, Tyranol is a bit of a miracle drug. It’s specifically formulated for conservatives who formerly praised Putin, and now desperately wish they could erase every video, audio clip, and social media post that serves as proof of their pro-Putin way of thinking. As the commercial puts it, it’s “the drug that makes you forget you applauded a tyrant who is now applauding civilians.”

So how does it work? By “invading your sovereign mind and attacking any previously held memories and beliefs.”

While there are no official testimonials, clips of Carlson and Pompeo serve as strong proof that it really does work. For individuals who have been cheering for Vlad for years on end, there’s even an extended-release version—which, unfortunately, doesn’t work for everyone. (Some people are just too far gone.)

You can watch the full commercial above. Could MAGAnol be too far behind?

With The Batman currently dominating the pop culture discourse, the latest promo for Sonic the Hedgehog 2 is apparently going to borrow a little bit of the Dark Knight‘s mojo. In a new trailer titled “Blue Justice,” Sonic (Ben Schwartz) does his best gravelly-vigilante voice as the blue speedster prepares to dispatch with a gang of thugs terrorizing the streets. In a classic Batman maneuver, Sonic even poses on the top of a building where the moon would highlight his superheroic pose if he wasn’t coughing so much from trying to sound like Christian Bale. Realizing dark and gritty isn’t his thing, Sonic sticks to what he does best: going fast as heck and thwarting the schemes of the evil Dr. Robotnik (Jim Carrey).

You can check out the new “Blue Justice” spot below:

However, that was only the start of Sonic the Hedgehog 2 leaning into the Batman hype. Schwartz got in on the action by retweeting the new Blue Justice poster while putting a spin on a classic line from 2008’s The Dark Knight.

“Because he’s the hero Green Hills deserves and the one it needs right now,” Schwartz tweeted along with the poster that warns people not to use the “hedgehog-symbol” like a beeper.

The sequel, which stars Idris Elba as the (totally not sexy) voice of Sonic’s classic sidekick Knuckles, speeds into theaters on April 8.

(Via Sonic the Hedgehog on Twitter)