GoneTrending

The New York Knicks picked up a win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals despite a pair of crucial starters leaving the game with injury. One, Jalen Brunson, missed part of the first quarter and the entire second quarter due to a sore foot, but was able to return and play well down the stretch against the Indiana Pacers.

The other, OG Anunoby, left the game after pulling up with a sore hamstring on a fast break in the third quarter and did not return. It was a tough pill to swallow for the already-hobbled Knicks, as Anunoby had 28 points in 28 minutes of work, and apparently, the team will not have his services heading into Game 3 on Friday night. Shams Charania of The Athletic brings word that Anunoby is dealing with a hamstring strain, which will keep him sidelined for the next game.

Beyond Anunoby, Brunson will apparently be listed as questionable heading into Game 3.

It’s unclear how much time Anunoby will miss due to the injury, but considering New York’s current injury situation — Julius Randle, Bojan Bogdanovic, and Mitchell Robinson are all out, while Brunson is obviously also carrying something — losing a player as impactful as Anunoby is a tough pill to swallow.

Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour is back underway — but this time, it’s got some changes, thanks to the recent release of her eleventh studio album, The Tortured Poets Department.

As suggested by its name, the Eras Tour setlist has spanned all of the “Anti-Hero” singer’s “eras,” from her self-titled country debut to the heights of her commercial dominance with Midnights.

But now that she has a full 31 new songs, fans might be wondering which of the tracks from The Tortured Poets Department have made it into the setlist, which already runs three hours long, even without the new material.

So, What Tortured Poets Songs Are On Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour Setlist?

According to Uproxx’s own Swift expert Josh Kurp, Swift performs a seven-song mini-set from The Tortured Poets Department, which includes the hilariously titled “But Daddy I Love Him,” “So High School,” “Who’s Afraid Of Little Old Me?” “Down Bad,” “Fortnight,” “The Smallest Man Who Ever Lived,” and “I Can Do It With A Broken Heart.”

While the new setlist adds some of Taylor’s newest songs, it’s reported that it also swapped a few of the eras’ orders, moving Red up, and Evermore, Reputation, and Speak Now down the list.

The two best teams in the Western Conference this year look to be the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Oklahoma City Thunder. The No. 1 and No. 3 seeds in the West have yet to lose a game this postseason and are up 2-0 and 1-0 in the conference semis, respectively. But the most impressive thing isn’t just that the Wolves and Thunder are winning, it’s the manner in which they’re doing so.

After dismantling the Suns and sending them into an offseason of soul-searching, the Timberwolves have dominated the defending champs over the first two games in Denver, something no one has done over the last two years. One of those wins came without the DPOY, as Rudy Gobert missed Game 2 for the birth of his first child and the Wolves defense didn’t skip a beat. On Tuesday night, the Thunder got in on the second round fun by routing the Dallas Mavericks in Game 1, led by a similarly suffocating defense that frustrated Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving into their worst combined scoring night of the playoffs.

There are certainly similarities to how the Wolves and Thunder have built their contenders, with young star guards leading the charge for rosters filled with long, athletic, versatile players. However, they diverge in a few key ways, most notably with Minnesota focusing heavily on an interior presence, while Oklahoma City loaded up on the wing. Regardless of how the rest of the playoffs shake out for both, the biggest lesson from how the two franchises built rapid-rising contenders isn’t necessarily in their specific construction, but in having a clear vision of how they wanted a team to look, play, and even interact off the court.

There is always a little luck involved with landing a young star, either via trade or the draft, but once it’s clear you have one, the real work begins to maximize a window that has presented itself. That’s what happened to the Timberwolves and Thunder as Anthony Edwards and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander began to emerge as two budding faces of the league. What trips up that process for many teams is coming up with a coherent and cohesive plan that has buy-in from top-to-bottom throughout the organization. From the front office to the coaching staff to the stars themselves, there were clearly conversations about what the ideal team would look like, and they have made every single decision with that vision in mind.

For Tim Connelly and the Wolves, they had already had an All-Star in place with Karl-Anthony Towns but needed a backcourt counterpart with the right energy and skillset to help maximize Towns’ abilities and minimize his weaknesses. Edwards, in that regard, was a godsend even beyond his own immense talent. The young guard was happy to step into a vocal leadership role, but in the opposite manner of Jimmy Butler, who tore Towns down in hopes of building him up — Edwards props Towns up with constant praise and affirmation of how good he is. On the floor, Edwards and Towns work in a symbiotic relationship, with Edwards getting more space to attack downhill and Towns getting cleaner looks off the attention Edwards commands. With that pairing in place, the Wolves could go about building a team around them, focusing their efforts on the defensive end while adding complementary skillsets offensively.

They drafted Jaden McDaniels as a hopeful fit between Edwards and Towns on the wing, and took Naz Reid to provide a potential avenue to keeping a big who is a shooting threat on the floor at all times. Those two obviously developed into phenomenal supporting pieces, but the thoughtfulness about skills and fits ensured that if they did get some developmental luck, they’d fill two critical spots on their roster.

From there, they signed Kyle Anderson, a veteran in the mold of the long, versatile defenders they hoped to fill their wing spots with. Then, a day later, they made their biggest move of all, trading their most valuable future assets and some young talent to bring in Rudy Gobert, the then 3-time DPOY. Once Gobert was on board, they tried to evaluate what they’d crafted for the first half of the ’22-23 season, and came to the conclusion they needed more. They shipped out D’Angelo Russell to bring back Mike Conley and Nickeil Alexander-Walker in a three-team trade, opting for more defense, some much-needed veteran steadiness in the backcourt, and a guard who knew how to coax the most out of Gobert.

With all of that in place, they were able to create the culture and identity that now has this team dominating the defending champs. The team feeds off of each other, with Edwards’ energy being infectious, Gobert and McDaniels’ defensive focus spreading to teammates that were otherwise apathetic on that end, and Conley’s calming influence balancing it all out. Every piece they put in place was done so deliberately and with the overall vision in mind, never deviating from the plan just to bring in a big name to win a press conference.

For the Thunder, they acquired Shai Gilgeous-Alexander in the Paul George trade and have since built almost exclusively through the Draft, but have had similar focus and clarity of vision when it comes to the players taken. The Thunder have been one of the best development teams for years under Sam Presti, largely because they’re one of the best teams at evaluating talent and, more importantly, identifying the qualities that allow players to improve.

Work ethic, curiosity, and a willingness to be coached are prerequisites of the Oklahoma City program. Every team talks about wanting players with those attributes, but Presti and the Thunder staff are better than just about anyone at cutting to the core of players to figure out whether they possess those qualities. They focus heavily on players with positional versatility and a strong defensive background who are willing to put in the work to improve offensively. You can have the best development staff in the league, but without players willing to spend the extra hours to hone their craft and make those leaps, it won’t matter.

Lu Dort is maybe their greatest development win, turning from a two-way signee with defensive upside into a cornerstone of the starting lineup, working tirelessly to become not just a competent three-point shooter but a flat-out threat from the three-point line. From there, Jalen Williams and Chet Holmgren came from the same 2022 Draft and have become Gilgeous-Alexander’s co-stars, both bringing two-way impact that’s launched this team into contention this year. Josh Giddey, their top pick in 2021, provides a secondary playmaker next to SGA, while rookie Cason Wallace and Aaron Wiggins (a second rounder from that 2021 Draft) bring depth to the rotation behind him if they want to swap playmaking for shooting, as we saw in Game 1 against Dallas. Jaylin Williams, also from that 2022 Draft, has become a steady backup big for Holmgren that likewise can space the floor offensively.

Their lone rotation players that weren’t drafted in-house are Isaiah Joe and Gordon Hayward. Neither were hot commodities, but each aligned with the team’s culture and filled a need with Joe’s shooting and Hayward’s veteran steadiness.

Everyone is always looking for trends in the NBA, and sometimes there are things to learn about where the game is going from emerging teams. But the real lesson to be learned from the construction of most any championship roster is that you have to have a clear plan and execute it at every level. The first step is to acquire and identify who your best players are, and be honest about who can be your absolute best player and who is a secondary star. From there, you have to craft a vision of what the best team looks like around them both in roster makeup and in play style, with the front office and coaching staff in agreement. Finally, you have to always have that vision in mind when bringing in and sending out players, while being adaptable to changing needs as players either continue to develop or stagnate.

That’s why trying to copy a certain team’s style rarely pans out, because the best teams build their style and roster around the talent they have. What the Thunder and Timberwolves are doing isn’t particularly groundbreaking, but that’s part of what makes their build so remarkable. They have, for the most part, blocked the outside noise and temptations to chase an apparent trend, choosing instead to have internal resolve in what they’re building and how they are doing it.

That’s incredibly difficult to do, because there are always forces trying to push and pull you in different directions. Egos exist from players to coaches to executives to ownership, and can derail a build as quickly as it starts once one party decides they aren’t properly involved or credited. Injuries are the ever-present boogeyman in sports, rendering the best laid plans moot or creating the appearance that a plan isn’t working. Both teams have pushed through those potential pitfalls to give themselves a chance this year.

The Wolves could have decided the Gobert-Towns pairing wouldn’t work after a small sample last year, as Towns missed most of the season. The Thunder could’ve listened to those of us who felt they needed to cash in chips for an established veteran to help them take the next step to contention. Instead, they did what has become an overwrought sports cliche and trusted the process. Most importantly, they trusted their process rather than attempting to duplicate someone elses. And both were led by stars in Edwards and Gilgeous-Alexander who have never once waivered in their belief that the organization is going down the right path — it is much, much easier to execute a long-term vision when your best player isn’t attempting to speed you along, and Edwards and Gilgeous-Alexander have totally bought into the vision as it was presented to them.

Now we’ll see teams try to find the blueprint of what Minnesota and Oklahoma City have done, but most will fall short if all they take away from their success is that long, versatile wing defenders are the answer. That alone won’t get it done — just ask the Raptors. However, the teams that see how the vision came together thanks to true cohesion throughout the organization will give themselves a chance at replicating their success. They’ll just have to find the right stars and tailor their build around them.

The Phoenix Suns don’t have many options to make changes to their team for next year, as they have a disastrous cap situation with their three stars — Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal — all locked in long-term to max deals. Moving any of those stars would be difficult, especially because Beal, who is the guy they’d most likely want to trade, still has a no-trade clause.

As such, they have to hope things just click better next year, and they’ll hope a new coach can bring some fresh ideas on how to make this roster work. On Thursday, word emerged that Frank Vogel would be out as head coach after one year in Phoenix, going 49-33 in the regular season before being swept by the Timberwolves.

As Adrian Wojnarowski notes, former Bucks and Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer will be a leading candidate for the Suns job, but it will be a very difficult gig given the expectations and limitations. Still, a team with three stars will have coaches believing they are the ones that can coax their full potential out of them, and the Suns will hope someone will come in with a plan to maximize their stars.

That’s easier said than done, but it shouldn’t be a huge surprise that’s the move they are making, given there aren’t really any other levers to pull to make significant changes.

Back in 2021, 18 former NBA players were arrested for participating in a scheme to defraud the league’s health and welfare benefits fund. The players were alleged to have filed fraudulent claims for dental and medical expenses from 2017 to 2020, receiving payment from the league’s fund despite never having the procedures and expenses they filed claims for.

Terrence Williams, who played for the Nets, Rockets, Celtics, and Kings, served as the leader of the scheme. Williams was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role as the ringleader back in 2023, but some of the players were still waiting on sentencing for their roles. Among them was Glen “Big Baby” Davis, who was convicted in November 2023 and found out on Thursday that he would serve 40 months in prison, plus an additional three years of supervised release, via ESPN.

Former NBA forward Glen “Big Baby” Davis was sentenced by a federal judge Thursday to 40 months in prison, plus three years’ supervised release, for his Nov. 2023 conviction in an alleged scheme to defraud the league’s health care benefits plan.

Davis will also have to pay $80,000 in restitution, and as part of his supervised release he will attend drug treatment and a financial management class, per ESPN.

It’s been a long time since Justin Beiber first sang “Baby,” but today, he’s got a new reason to dust off his breakout hit. On Instagram, Bieber and his wife Hailey posted a special announcement: They are about to become parents. They posted Hailey pregnancy photos in a carousel that includes a romantic video of the couple kissing in a field and pics that appear to be of them renewing their vows.

According to TMZ, a source with direct knowledge confirmed that Hailey is six months along, meaning their baby should be born sometime in August or early September.

Another of Justin’s posts caused a kerfuffle last month, as a photo of the singer crying caught fans’ attentions. Perhaps those were tears of joy, though. Otherwise, he’s been lying low; fans wondered why he didn’t join Usher’s Super Bowl performance, considering his connection to the “Yeah!” singer.

Usher later confirmed that he did ask Bieber to appear, but that “he’s just wanting to tell a different story right now.” Usher promised, “We’re gonna do something else in the future. But no love lost or anything like that.”

Preparing to be a father is as good a reason as any to sit out the Super Bowl Halftime Show, and it looks like the only stories Justin plans to tell are bedtime stories. He might not have time to release that long-awaited album, but at least one person gets to have a nightly concert — one of mostly lullabies, presumably.

The Office wrapped up over a decade ago, yet because there is something some timeless about the joys of modern capitalism, the show could still work today! And it just might.

Peacock announced this week that a spinoff of the popular workplace comedy is on the way from creator Greg Daniels. Even though it will focus on a Midwest newspaper company in the “same universe” as Dunder Mifflin, we probably won’t be seeing Kevin and his chili anytime soon.

But Rainn Wilson does think that the idea is perfect. He told the ladies of The View that he has no part in the show, but he’s still excited about the idea. “The announcement came out yesterday and I learned about the show. I literally know nothing about it,” he said. “But I love the idea that they’re trying to do an Office spinoff not in Dunder Mifflin, not with the same characters but a documentary crew following a different workplace. That’s a great concept.”

Even though Schrute lives in PA on his beet farm, Wilson says that he is open to returning as the weird paper salesman if it makes sense. “Sure, if Dwight Schrute shows up at a newspaper in the Midwest then I’m there,” he added.

Hey… magazines need paper, so it is not that weird to imagine the #1 salesman taking a quick little business trip out to there. Imagine how much fun he would have at the Mall of America?

The upcoming spinoff does not have a release date, but here is the official logline: “The documentary crew that immortalized Dunder Mifflin’s Scranton branch is in search of a new subject when they discover a dying historic Midwestern newspaper and the publisher trying to revive it with volunteer reporters.”

(Via Decider)

After taking some time off, The Eras Tour is back, baby: Taylor Swift just kicked off (or is in the process of kicking off, as of this post) a European leg of the tour in France. Whether you’re interested in this specific show or want an indication of what the tour could look like going forward, here’s what to know about when Swift took the stage.

What Time Does Taylor Swift Go On Stage For The Eras Tour In Paris?

As noted on setlist.fm, Swift’s May 9 concert at Paris La Défense Arena in Nanterre, France began at 7:55 p.m. setlist.fm also notes that on average for The Eras Tour so far, Swift has taken the stage 3 hours and 23 minutes after the doors opened, and the average show length is 3 hours and 22 minutes.

The concert is still in progress as this post is being published, so check out our updated post about the setlist here.

Meanwhile, Paramore is opening the tour for the next couple months, so check out their setlist here. Swift previously said, “We came up alongside each other as Nashville teenagers writing our own music, so it feels insanely special to kick off the tour together nearly two decades later. I just remember being constantly floored and inspired by their writing, originality and artistic integrity. Hayley is such a riveting performer because she’s so multifaceted — bold and playful and ferocious and completely in command. It’s a dream come true to join forces like this.”

(WARNING: Spoilers for The Chi season 6 will be found below.)

Later tonight, Showtime will release a new episode of The Chi titled “The Aftermath.” The episode is the first new release in the series’ sixth episode since September, when The Chi began a lengthy mid-season break eight episodes into the sixth season. Some changes are in order for the rest of season six, but the trademark The Chi drama will still be present. With that being said, how many episodes will we have for the second part of season six?

How Many Episodes Are In The Chi Season 6, Part 2?

The Chi season 6, part 2 will have eight episodes that will air weekly for the next two months. “The Aftermath” will air on Friday, May 10 on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME starting at midnight ET/PT and the episode will air again on the SHOWTIME TV channel on Sunday, May 12 at 9pm ET/PT. Weekly episodes of The Chi season 6, part 2 will follow this schedule of on-demand and on-air releases until the show’s season six finale, which is scheduled to air on June 28.

Revisit the season 6, part 2 trailer below and stay tuned for more on The Chi.

‘The Chi’ season 6, part 2 debuts on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME on May 10, 2024. Seasons 1-5 as well as season 6 part 1 are available now to stream on Paramount+ with SHOWTIME

Paramore previously had a brief stint on Taylor Swift’s The Eras Tour, opening (alongside Gayle) for the first two shows, in March 2023 in Phoenix. Now, though, they have their own leg of the tour opening by themselves, as Hayley Williams and company are joining Swift for European dates from May 9 to August 20.

Their first show of the run just want down in France, so check out the band’s opening setlist below (via setlist.fm).

In 2023, Swift said of the band, “Having Paramore join me on tour is such an honor. We came up alongside each other as Nashville teenagers writing our own music, so it feels insanely special to kick off the tour together nearly two decades later. I just remember being constantly floored and inspired by their writing, originality and artistic integrity. Hayley is such a riveting performer because she’s so multifaceted — bold and playful and ferocious and completely in command. It’s a dream come true to join forces like this.”

Paramore’s The Eras Tour Setlist

1. “Hard Times” / “Heart Of Glass” (Blondie cover)
2. “Burning Down The House” (Talking Heads cover)
3. “Still Into You”
4. “Caught In The Middle”
5. “Brick By Boring Brick”
6. “The Only Exception”
7. “That’s What You Get”
8. “Ain’t It Fun”
9. “This Is Why”