GoneTrending

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS, 11:30pm) — Clive Owen stops by, but more provocatively, Ziwe Fumudoh (who is headlining her own satiric Showtime series) comes by to either be interviewed or do the interviewing. No one can say how this will go down, but the former Desus & Mero writer uses comedy as a weapon to examine the hardest-hitting issues out there, including race, and she isn’t afraid to offend anyone.

Superman & Lois (CW, 9:00pm) — Sure, we’ve seen several incarnations of these title characters over the decades, but the CW’s here with one more shot. In this series, the pair struggles to stay under wraps, although this week, they team up with Chrissy in an effort to bring the significance of Smallville to light for a particularly interested party.

Cruel Summer (Freeform, 9:00pm) — This newish series goes down in the 1990s and follows the aftermath of a popular teen going missing. When a seemingly unrelated shy student suddenly becomes massively popular, well, things look pretty strange. This week, Kate’s secrets and memories of captivity rise to the surface.

The Flash (CW, 8:00pm) — Barry, Iris, and Caitlin struggle to digest the departure news of Cisco and Kamila, but a new version of Rainbow Raider arrives to disturb everything.

Mental Samurai (FOX 9:00pm) — Is Rob Lowe on every show now? Not quite, but Season 2 continues with Mr. Handsome welcoming contestants that include an Army veteran, medical lab scientist, and an animal activist.

Mr Inbetween (FX, 10:00 & 10:30pm) — This season, Ray’s life is looking different while Brittany is growing ever-closer to discovering who Ray really is and what he does, which is doing the hitman thing while holding onto his own strict ethical code and balancing his family life. Meanwhile, severing ties with Freddy complicates matters when a criminal kingpin makes Ray’s struggle feel even more intense. This week, the synopsis includes the following: “Curiosity rarely kills the cat but too many pharmaceuticals generally will.” Oh boy.

Late Night With Seth Meyers — Joel McHale, Bill Cowher, Carmen Christopher, Brenda Buckley

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Chelsea Handler, The Wallflowers

In case you missed these streaming picks:

Sweet Tooth: Season 1 (Netflix series) — Team Downey (Robert Jr. and Susan) brings us this awe-inspiring story based upon a comic-book by creator Jeff Lemire, who whipped up a post-apocalyptic fairytale about what happens when a great sickness (which is poorly dealt with by humans) ends with a miracle. In this case, this would be the appearance of “hybrids,” babies who are born half-human and half-animal, and we’ll meet a young deer-boy, Gus, (Christian Convery), who teams up with a reluctant protector, Tommy Jepperd (Nonso Anozie), for a cross-country quest. The comic has been described as “Mad Max Meets Bambi,” and Will Forte also plays a pivotal role. You’re in for a real (sweet) treat if you surrender to this adventure.

We Are Lady Parts: Season 1 (Peacock series) — A Muslim female post-punk band called Lady Parts looks for a lead guitarist in this subversive series, which follows the ups and downs of the group as they seek a real gig. A geeky, hard-sciences Ph.D. recruit named Amina Hussain ends up being the unlikely lucky lady to pick up the ax, and she’s soon swept up into the group’s anarchic energy. Naturally, Amina’s caught between two worlds, that of her conservative friends and the irresistible lure of the band’s joyful spirit. Together, they’re fearless, rowdy, and sexual and every ultra-religious family’s nightmare. As a show, it’s silly and irreverent and inspiring; for sure, you’ve never seen women like quite this on your TV screen.

First it was GameStop, then it was AMC, and now Wendy’s has been minted as the latest “meme stock” as 2021 continues to see day traders on Reddit boost the price of seemingly random companies. On Tuesday, shares of Wendy’s surged upward 25 percent as Reddit latched onto the stock for sound financial reasons… and also nonsensical internet reasons (the fast-food company sells chicken tenders a.k.a. “tendies” which is a Reddit trader slang for huge profits). It also didn’t hurt that the Wendy’s social media account routinely dunks on its competitors, which the social media savvy traders like. Via CNN:

“Frenzy+scarcity+low volume means minimal buys could push the price quickly,” the Reddit user wrote.

Other Reddit users noted that the Wendy’s social media team has a knack for dunking on McDonald’s (MCD) and other competitors on Twitter. That irreverence could help gain the company new investors as well.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the frenzy on Wendy’s stock continued to trend on social media:

However, Yahoo! Finance editor-at-large Brian Sozzi cautioned readers that this latest stock meme is a different animal than the recent runs on GameStop and AMC. For one thing, unlike the other meme stocks, Wendy’s shares are not being aggressively short sold. Only 4.64 percent of the company’s outstanding shares are being shorted. On top of that, the stock is just plain good to begin with and didn’t “rescuing” from Reddit day traders.

“The reason why Wall Street doesn’t hate Wendy’s is that unlike other meme stocks, Wendy’s is a fundamentally sound business that is growing,” Sozzi writes. Whether that information will matter now that the stock is already a social media favorite will be interesting to watch.

(Via CNN, Yahoo! Finance)

It’s June, which means it’s very much summer for most of the country. While nobody is going to tell you to stop sipping on your favorite barrel-aged stouts (if that’s what you’re into), this really is the time of year to fill your fridge with craft-brewed IPAs, pale ales, wheat beers, sours, and fruity gose-style beers for sipping on those long, hazy summer afteroons. But while the aforementioned styles are all gems this time of year, the classic pilsner is the season’s true MVP.

Seriously, how can you deny the classic, crisp flavor of a refreshing pilsner? When done right, it’s all freshly mowed lawns and fields of wildflowers. It’s also just citrus-forward enough and a welcome reminder when the heat is on that beer can be thirst-quenching — a feature that many summer styles have deviated drastically from.

Since we’re in the business of helping you find the beer that best suits your palate, we figured it was time for a blind taste test. This is the best way to get down to the basics of aroma, flavor, and crushability without the possibility of being swayed by flashy labels, awards-circuit cred, or well-known brand names. For this round, we selected eight pilsners — some American craft beers and others from the pilsner havens of Germany and the Czech Republic — and judged them based on taste alone.

Part 1: The Taste

Each and every pilsner we selected is fairly easy to find at your local grocery store (or online retailer). We blindly tasted and ranked each one to determine which is the best. Here are the brews we put to the test:

• Pilsner Urquell
• Creature Comforts Bibo
• Bitburger Pils
• Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella
• Jack’s Abby Post Shift
• Firestone Walker Pivo
• Jever Pilsener
• Victory Prima Pils

Let’s dig in and see what shook out!

Taste 1:

Tasting Notes:

I spent a longer amount of time than usual nosing this beer. There wasn’t a lot going on. There was a little citrus and lightly sweet malts, but that was it. It didn’t leave me very hopeful for the first sip. I was surprised to find the palate had a little more going on, with notes of resinous, piney, floral hops, and caramel malts.

Sadly, while crisp and refreshing, it was lacking the citrus element I prefer in a well-made pilsner.

Taste 2:

Tasting Notes:

This beer has a different nose than most pilsners. I noticed hints of wildflowers, fresh-cut grass, and a lot more hops than I expected to find. The flavor was more of the same. While there are some sweet malt flavors in the background, aggressively bitter hops end up taking center stage.

This is definitely not a beer for classic pilsner fans.

Taste 3:

Tasting Notes:

At first nosing, it almost seemed like I was breathing in the aromas of an IPA as opposed to a pilsner. There was distinct wet grass, citrus peels, and a lot more pine than I’d expect. Taking a sip led me to notes of sweet malts, but I was once again hit with resinous, piney, bitter hops.

While not a bad flavor, it’s not really what I’m looking for in a crushable pilsner. This feels more like an IPA.

Taste 4:

Tasting Notes:

The aromas present in this beer are classic pilsner. I noticed hints of sweet malts, citrus peels, and Noble hops. Sipping revealed flavors of wet grass, resinous pine, and sweet malts that all seemed with work unison. It’s crisp, clean, and has just a hint of hop bitterness at the very end.

Taste 5:

Tasting Notes:

The aroma is all Noble hops, lemon zest, and a note of caramel malts. Sipping this beer is similar to nosing it, but with more dominant malt flavors. The flavors of fresh-baked bread, sweet malts, and subtle, citrus hops are prevalent. Overall, it was a pretty decent pilsner.

While not something to complain about, I would have preferred a better ratio of malt to the citrus flavor. It was just a little breadier than I’d like in a classic pilsner.

Taste 6:

Tasting Notes:

Right away, I was struck with the intense floral and citrus hops on the nose. This was followed by a strong caramel malt presence. While there is some bitterness on the palate, it’s muted by flavors like fresh-cut flowers, citrus zest, and a healthy dose of sweet malts.

From my notes: “A very well-rounded beer that I’ll definitely come back to again this summer.”

Taste 7:

Tasting Notes:

For such a light beer in appearance, a lot was going on with its nose. Slightly dank to the sniff, I noticed a great deal of bready, sweet malts, floral Noble hops, and just a hint of peppery spice. The flavor is similar to the aromas, with a load of floral notes paired with citrus zest and a nice backbone of sweet malts.

Overall, this is a very well-rounded, highly drinkable beer.

Taste 8:

Tasting Notes:

Right off the bat, I noticed a symphony of smells emanating from this beer. Fresh wildflowers, subtle herbs, sweet malts, and a load of Noble hops. The palate is heavy on fresh citrus, floral hops and wet grass, with just a hint of bitterness at the very end.

Part 2: The Ranking

8. Jever Pilsner — Taste 2

ABV: 4.9%

Average Price: $10.99 (six-pack)

The Beer:

Jever Pilsner is known for its unique, slightly bitter flavor. The brewers claim this comes from the water used in the brewing process. Procured from the same well for more than 100 years, this soft water along with more hops than most pilsners utilize gives this an extra-crisp, surprisingly bitter flavor that not all pilsner fans are prepared for.

Bottom Line:

First, I’m going to say that I didn’t hate this beer. It’s just that it’s too bitter for a pilsner in my opinion. I understand that’s the point and it has history on its side, it’s just not for me.

7. Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella — Taste 1

ABV: 4.7%

Average Price: $9.99 (six-pack)

The Beer:

Made in the style of Bohemian and Bavarian pilsners, Oskar Blues Mama’s Little Yella is loaded with Saaz and Aramis hops as well as pilsner and honey malts. The result is a 4.7 percent ABV beer that was created for one reason alone: to be a refreshing break on a hot, sunny, hazy day.

Bottom Line:

Even though this finished almost in the last place, it’s not a bad beer. It’s just the kind of beer you’ll crush on a hot day because there aren’t too many flavors you’re going to spend any time savoring.

6. Victory Prima Pils — Taste 3

ABV: 5.3%

Average Price: $10.99 (six-pack)

The Beer:

Victory Prima Pils has the authentic taste of Europe in an American craft beer, making it feel like a classic. The pills is made using Tettnang, Hallertau, Saaz, and Spalt hops as well as European malts. Drinking this floral, crisp, hopper beer will transport you to a German beer garden on a hot, summery day.

Bottom Line:

This (and every other beer on this list) isn’t remotely bad. In fact, it’s a really good beer. It’s just that, after tasting it I felt like this beer would appeal more to IPA drinkers than classic pilsner fans.

5. Jack’s Abby Post Shift — Taste 5

ABV: 4.7%

Average Price: $10.50 (four-pack, 16-oz. cans)

The Beer:

Jack’s Abby Post Shift is a highly crushable, low-ABV beer that lives up to its name. Brewed with Bavarian malts and hops, this is the kind of beer you want to drink after a long day of working with your hands, sitting in a cubicle, or typing articles like this in your basement man cave.

Bottom Line:

As a fan of this beer, I expected it to land much higher on this list. But, upon returning to it again, I understood why it landed where it did. While I’d never want to change the recipe, it just doesn’t have as much citrus zing as it needed to fall higher on this list.

4. Creature Comforts Bibo — Taste 6

ABV: 4.9%

Average Price: $11 (six-pack)

The Beer:

Athens, Georgia’s Creature Comforts created Bibo to be a crushable, crisp, easy-to-drink pilsner and they definitely accomplished this. It’s brewed with a base of Czech Saaz and German Huell Melon hops bringing flavors of the two most well-known pilsner countries together in one American craft beer.

Bottom Line:

This was the first time I ever had this beer and I didn’t know where it would land on the list. I was pleasantly surprised by the balance and crushability on display. Fans of classic Czech-style pilsners will enjoy this one.

3. Bitburger Premium Pils — Taste 7

ABV: 4.8%

Average Price: $11 (six-pack)

The Beer:

One of the most popular beers in Germany, Bitburger Premium Pils is as classic as beer gets. Brewed for more than 200 years, it’s renowned for its crisp, clean flavor. Made with four simple ingredients (water, yeast, barley malt hops, and hop extract), it’s the kind of beer you’ll want to stock up on for the hot summer to come.

Bottom Line:

I recently began drinking this beer regularly and hoped it would land high on this list. I was happy to see it finish where it did. It’s perfectly balanced, light, and well-suited for summery weather.

2. Firestone Walker Pivo — Taste 4

ABV: 5.3%

Average Price: $10.49 (six-pack)

The Beer:

It might be a little unfair to add this beer to this list since it’s a little different from your usual pilsner, but I don’t care. Brewed with Pilsner and Carafoam malts as well as Spalter Select, Tradition, and Saphir hops, this beer gets an added kick by being dry-hopped with more Saphir hops.

Bottom Line:

I wasn’t surprised to find this hoppy pilsner so high on the list. While I don’t usually prefer overly hoppy pilsners, the bitterness is fairly low on this beer. This makes for a highly sippable spring and summer beer.

1. Pilsner Urquell — Taste 8

ABV: 4.4%

Average Price: $9.99 (six-pack)

The Beer:

When it comes to pilsner blind taste tests, you can’t leave off the most renowned (and beloved) version in the world. Pilsner Urquell was the first mass-produced pilsner, dating all the way back to 1842. Still brewed using traditional methods, this crisp, clean, crushable pilsner has stood the test of time.

Bottom Line:

It’s no surprise that this pilsner took the top spot. It’s clean, fresh, and utterly thirst-quenching. In fact, if I needed to grab a beer after an afternoon of lawn-mowing, I can’t think of a beer I’d rather sip on.

---

As a Drizly affiliate, Uproxx may receive a commission pursuant to certain items on this list.

Candace Parker is expected to return for the Chicago Sky against the Indiana Fever on Wednesday, as coach James Wade finally had a positive update on the star forward’s status during his Tuesday media availability per the Chicago Sun-Times’ Annie Costabile.

That’s great news for a team that’s lost seven straight games and plummeted to 11th place in a 12-team league. Parker injured her ankle before the team’s second game of the season on May 19 and hasn’t played since. She posted pictures of her severely bruised foot ahead of the team’s home-opener, which was a heavily anticipated event for more reasons than usual. The WNBA champion and five-time All-Star chose to play closer to home in Naperville, Illinois in free agency after 13 years with the Los Angeles Sparks.

The team has since posted pictures of her back in practice, and Parker’s shared videos of rehab she’s done over the last few weeks on Instagram. She looks ready to make her home debut a few weeks later than we originally thought.

https://twitter.com/chicagosky/status/1402337737596882945

Injuries have dictated the start of the Sky’s season as the team’s big 4 of Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley, and Diamond DeShields haven’t played a single game together. But even since Quigley’s return, the team has lost to the Phoenix Mercury, who were without Diana Taurasi, and the Los Angeles Sparks, who were without Nneka and Chiney Ogwumike. Put simply, they’re slumping.

Through nine games in a 32-game regular season, the team is 2-7, including a buzzer-beating halfcourt heartbreaker of loss, with a negative net rating as they are being outscored by 2.5 points per 100 possessions. Parker should be the difference-maker though, if she’s fully recovered. In the team’s season-opener against the Mystics, she commanded the floor, scoring 16 points on 10 field goal attempts with three 3-pointers, eight rebounds, and four assists.

The season’s still young, but the window is getting tighter for the Sky to earn a top-2 seed in the playoffs. The two top spots are strongly coveted in the WNBA playoffs as the only way to avoid playing in a single-elimination game, and they’ll need the future Hall of Famer to kick off a big run if they’re to get into that mix.

Brooklyn, New York rapper Your Old Droog is one of the many, many rappers influenced by the late, great MF DOOM, both in form and in his steadfast adherence to a philosophy of being anti-famous. Like DOOM, Droog emerged from the New York underground and rose to notoriety via the internet, maintaining an air of mystery early in his career that had many fans wondering just who he really was. Droog received the ultimate blessing for a DOOM fan, getting the chance to work with his idol on multiple songs before the elder rapper’s death on Halloween last year, and today, he shared the first they ever recorded together: “Dropout Boogie.”

A short, sample-heavy song extolling the virtues of self-education (well, as much as it decries the many shortcomings of the US education system), “Dropout Boogie” really highlights the impact of DOOM’s syllable-stacking style on the generation of rappers who grew up under him. The track will be available as a 7″ vinyl on Nature Sounds, which you can pre-order here. Droog also accompanied the release with a statement on DOOM’s impact on his life and career.

This man’s work renewed my interest in hip-hop and rhyming at a time when I got tired of hearing what was on the radio or what was considered popular rap, I deadass started listening to classical music, and then I heard DOOM.

For him to end up appreciating what I do 10 years later shows the power of never giving up on your passion, staying the course, believing in yourself and having vision.

Aside from him being featured on the track, the song already had a lot of personal meaning for me. School is not for everybody. You know, it has its extracurricular pluses but overall, it wasn’t for me. For some people, it’s good but not for me. I don’t work well fitting into boxes. I dropped out of high school, and community college, twice! This is certainly an anthem of sorts.

The GED was nice though, that gave me confidence. Stay confident and follow your own path. Not the one laid out to you by your parents or teachers. Peace.

Listen to “Dropout Boogie” above.

Following a two-month social media hiatus, Megan Thee Stallion is returning in a big way. Along with teasing her first new solo single of 2021 with a couple of bootylicious photos, Megan lends her vocals on Marshmello‘s club-ready banger “Bad B*tches.”

The EDM track features bouncy production by Marshmello and collaborator Nitti Gritti. Its pumped-up beat is meant to ready fans for a triumphant return to the dance floor and its euphoric sound will be a sure-fire hit at summer festivals. “Bad B*tches” is accompanied by vocals from Megan’s showstopping performance at Rolling Loud LA in 2019, where she expertly hypes up the crowd. “Where my bad b*tches at? Where my motherf*cking hot girls at? Where my motherf*cking hot boys at?” she says in a vocal sample on the song. “If you a motherf*ckin’ hot girl, no matter what season it is, make some motherf*ckin’ noise.”

The song arrives as an announcement for Marshmello’s upcoming LP Shockwave and follows an already prolific year for the producer. Along with his Megan collaboration, Marshmello has teamed up with big-name artists in 2021 like Jonas Brothers for the track “Leave Before You Love Me,” 2KBaby for “Like This,” and Juicy J for the song “Hitta.”

Listen to “Bad B*tches” above.

Shockwave is out 6/11 via Joytime Collective. Pre-order it here.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.

It would seem the end of Brockhampton is nigh, as the group plans on releasing their final album this year. So, the slew of 2022 tour dates the band announced today could end up being the final chance to see them live.

The trek kicks off in January in Norway and is followed by other European dates through to mid-February. Later that month, Brockhampton returns to North America for shows in February, March, and April. All dates will feature support from Jean Dawson, Paris Texas, and HVN.

Check out the full list of Brockhampton’s upcoming tour dates below.

08/01/2021 — Chicago, IL @ Lollapalooza
01/14/2022 — Oslo, NO @ Sentrum Scene
01/15/2022 — Copenhagen, DK @ Grey Hall
01/16/2022 — Copenhagen, DK @ Grey Hall
01/18/2022 — Stockholm, SE @ Annexet
01/20/2022 — Berlin, DE @ Huxleys
01/21/2022 — Munich, DE @ Tonhalle
01/22/2022 — Cologne, DE @ E-Werk
01/24/2022 — Brussels, BE @ Ancienne Belgique
01/25/2022 — Tilburg, NE @ O13
01/27/2022 — Glasgow, UK @ Academy
01/28/2022 — Sheffield, UK @ Academy
01/30/2022 — Dublin, IE @ Olympia Theatre
01/31/2022 — Dublin, IE @ Olympia Theatre
02/01/2022 — Belfast, UK @ Ulster Hall
02/03/2022 — Bristol, UK @ Academy
02/04/2022 — Manchester, UK @ Apollo
02/05/2022 — Birmingham, UK @ Academy
02/07/2022 — London, UK @ Brixton
02/08/2022 — London, UK @ Brixton
02/10/2022 — Paris, FR @ Elysee Montmartre
02/26/2022 — Salt Lake City, UT @ The Union Event Center
03/01/2022 — Denver, CO @ The Mission Ballroom
03/04/2022 — Irving, TX @ The Pavilion at Toyota Music Factory
03/05/2022 — Austin, TX @ Moody Amphitheater
03/08/2022 — Atlanta, GA @ Coca-Cola Roxy
03/11/2022 — Orlando, FL @ Hard Rock Live
03/12/2022 — Miami Beach, FL @ The Fillmore
03/14/2022 — Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore Charlotte
03/15/2022 — Raleigh, NC @ The Ritz
03/17/2022 — Washington, D.C. @ The Anthem
03/18/2022 — New York, NY @ Hulu Theater At MSG
03/22/2022 — Philadelphia, PA @ The Fillmore
03/25/2022 — Toronto, ON @ Coca-Cola Coliseum
03/26/2022 — Detroit, MI @ Masonic Temple Theatre
03/27/2022 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Stage AE
03/29/2022 — Columbus, OH @ Express Live! Indoor Pavilion
04/01/2022 — Chesterfield, MO @ The Factory at the District
04/02/2022 — Kansas City, MO @ Arvest Bank Theatre at the Midland
04/03/2022 — Oklahoma City, OK @ The Criterion
04/06/2022 — Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Federal Theatre
04/07/2022 — Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre
04/08/2022 — Las Vegas, NV @ The Chelsea at Cosmopolitan
04/09/2022 — San Francisco, CA @ Bill Graham Civic Center
04/11/2022 — Seattle, WA @ WaMu Theater at CenturyLink Field
04/12/2022 — Vancouver, BC @ Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre
04/13/2022 — Portland, OR @ Veterans Memorial Coliseum
06/03/2022 — Barcelona, ES @ Primavera Sound Barcelona

Chris Harrison‘s time with The Bachelor has finally come to an end. Following a racism scandal that’s plagued the reality series since earlier in the year, Harrison has reportedly walked away with an eight-figure payoff that was tensely negotiated as The Bachelor made its 17th season premiere on Monday night. While the writing was on the wall for Harrison’s departure after guest hosts, including David Spade, were announced for the latest season, the longtime host reportedly made it very difficult for Warner Bros. and producers to get rid of him thanks to his intimate knowledge of the show’s dirty secrets. Via Deadline:

The confidential settlement with franchise producers and distributor Warner Horizon was finally reached after one more flurry of back and forth between the parties and Bachelor broadcaster ABC on Monday night. A motivational undercurrent, so to speak, throughout was Harrison lawyer Bryan Freedman pledging to unleash the Shiva of lawsuits exposing a swath of The Bachelor’s alleged dirty laundry unless his Gersh-repped client emerged feeling the financial love.

The controversy for Harrison began back in February when he defended contestant Rachael Kirkconnell after it was revealed that she attended an antebellum-themed sorority party in 2018 and had posted images on social media that consisted of cultural appropriation. During an interview on Extra, Harrison tried to downplay Kirkconnell’s actions by arguing with Rachel Lindsay (Extra‘s first Black lead) that the incident happened over five years ago when it was barely three years old.

After the incident on Extra, Harrison issued an apology on Twitter, which did not go over well. A few days later, Harrison issued a second apology and announced he’d be taking time off from The Bachelor. That time off has now resulted in his permanent exit from the show.

(Via Deadline)

The Phoenix Suns’ opening offensive possession in their 122-105 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals on Monday set the tone for the types of shots available to them that night and the strain their offense would put on Denver’s defensive principles.

As Chris Paul and Deandre Ayton commenced a pick-and-roll at the top of the key, Jae Crowder, after setting a screen for Paul, migrated from the left elbow to the right corner, ducking behind a Devin Booker pin-in screen for a look from deep. His movement coincided with Ayton’s dive to the rim and left Crowder’s man, Aaron Gordon, in a bind: tag Ayton in the paint or stay with his man to deter the open long ball.

Correctly, Gordon selected the former, and the result was a rhythm three attempt for Crowder, though Austin Rivers battled through Booker’s screen for a serviceable contest.

That sort of play is a subplot of this series. Denver is going to aggressively rotate to tag rollers in the paint and will leave the corners open. Phoenix’s offense consistently compromises the responsibilities of the low man, either removing their presence altogether with calculated floor arrangements or running weak-side actions to ensure options are available beyond the roller if a tag does occur.

An Ayton bucket from round one exemplifies the way the Suns bend defenses by removing the traditional low man and forcing someone else to rotate, a rotation that might deviate from standard defensive instructions.

Typically, there will be someone near the right corner — behind Anthony Davis — required to help on Ayton’s roll. Instead, the tag would have to come from Davis, leaving Crowder open for an easy three off a swing pass, or Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, who is technically on the strong-side — most defensive schemes don’t encourage helping from the strong-side. Caldwell-Pope is late and undersized. The result is two points for Phoenix.

This is exactly how the Suns twist defenses into atypical responsibilities with their offensive alignments and sets. Caldwell-Pope eventually recognizes he must tag Ayton, but Phoenix expected confusion and capitalized.

Denver’s disregard for the corners benefits Phoenix, which has ranked third in corner three-point frequency (10.6 percent) during the regular season and playoffs, and second (43.7 percent) and third (47.5 percent) in proficiency, according to Cleaning The Glass.

During their first-round matchup with the Portland Trail Blazers, the Nuggets adhered to the same philosophy and vacated the corners. The Blazers lack the blend of passing talent and size that the Suns tout with Booker and Paul, so they did not as frequently target those soft spots in the defense. It didn’t particularly inhibit them, as they generated an offensive rating of 122.1 against Denver. But the Nuggets will need to tailor their approach in this series because Phoenix will crush this level of dismissal.

The Suns routinely derived offense from open corners in Game 1, whether it was teeing up threes or launching Denver into rotation by demanding an initial closeout to those regions. Corner threes composed over 15 percent of their shot profile and they converted five of their 13 attempts (38.5 percent), many of which were comfortably open, or at least to the point of undisturbed shot preparation.

To posit that corner three aptitude was the lifeblood of the Suns’ offensive success would be overstating its impact, though. Ayton dominated as a play finisher. Paul torched switches in the final frame for pull-up buckets. Booker and Mikal Bridges poured in a combined 44 points with differing styles.

Another common thread, however, was that aforementioned manipulation or targeting of the low man. Often, the onus rested on Michael Porter Jr., who struggled mightily to balance staying home with shooters and punctually tagging rollers inside. The Suns repeatedly produced good offense by involving him as a weak-side defender because he is prone to aggressively rotating before it is necessary (even by the standards of Denver’s scheme) or merely hugging his defender and failing to help at all.

If he does remain connected to shooters, his unwillingness to truly crowd assignments and impose his 6’10 frame upon them to the point of discomfort proves troublesome. Whenever this postseason run concludes for the Nuggets, there will be an assortment of data points from which Porter can learn, especially on defense. On Monday, the Suns were content to provide many of them as they flummoxed varying low men of the Nuggets.

Some notes: Every single clip in that montage is a quality shot at the rim or from deep. The set-up of the Dario Saric dunk is gorgeous. On the third quarter lob, Booker shifting Porter away from Ayton by staring down the wing is tactically masterful. Despite the missed three, that final play captures how Phoenix burdens defenses with its ball-screen actions. The Suns’ offense was dizzying for the Nuggets last night.

Phoenix is not necessarily a more potent offense than Portland. The latter finished the regular season second in offensive rating (117.1) and rosters scoring extraordinaire Damian Lillard, while the former finished seventh (116.3) and offers a more balanced attack, as evidenced by its four 20-point performers Monday (a feat the Blazers did not once accomplish in this year’s playoffs).

Yet such an approach from Denver, fleeing the corners and aggressively rotating, simplifies decisions for Suns ball-handlers and only exacerbates its hurdles toward containing them, given the challenges their offense poses without the Nuggets inviting shots from Phoenix’s preferred areas.

Tweaks can and will likely be made, perhaps better timing on tags to rollers rather than a full-fledged, early sell-out. Regardless, the Suns present different problems than Portland. Their series-opening victory helped illuminate many of those different problems and why the Nuggets should not focus all of their defensive alterations to opposing ball-handlers, as they largely could against Lillard and the Blazers. Otherwise, they’ll continue leaving themselves susceptible to back-side breakdowns, just as they did far too regularly in their Game 1 defeat.

After a whirlwind 2020 culminated in her winning several Grammy Awards, Megan Thee Stallion took some time away from the public eye to “prepare for what’s next.” Earlier this week, Megan marked her impending return by teasing her first new solo single following her debut album Good News. The rapper revealed the upcoming song is titled “Thot Sh*t” and she’s now found a cheeky way to get fans excited about her new music.

After previously sharing the “Thot Sh*t” single art and cryptically pointing to the comeback of her alter rap ego Tina Snow, Megan returned Tuesday to tease the single with a bootylicious photo set. “3 MORE DAYS UNTIL #THOTSHITDROPS,” she wrote alongside pictures of her in a revealing nurse costume.

Though “Thot Sh*t” marks the rapper’s official return, Megan was still making moves while she was taking some time away from social media. The rapper was recently nominated for seven 2021 BET Awards, tying with DaBaby for the artist with the most nods this year. She’s also been announced as the headliner for several major summer festivals like Bottlerock, Bonnaroo, Governors Ball, and New Orleans’ Buku Festival.

Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.