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Will Smith has starred on a hit television show, been nominated for two Oscars, and sold millions of Billboard chart-topping albums, both in a duo and as a solo artist. If anyone else had played the Genie in 2019’s Aladdin remake, it would have been a disaster; his charm alone can carry a movie. There are few celebrities as widely beloved as the Fresh Prince, but will Smith ever channel that likability into a run for office? He’s not saying no!

When asked about his political future on the Pod Save America podcast, Smith said, “I think for now I’ll let that office get cleaned up a little bit and then I’ll consider that at some point down the line. I absolutely have an opinion, I’m optimistic, I’m hopeful, I believe in understanding between people and I believe in the possibility of harmony. I will certainly do my part, whether it remains artistic or, at some point, ventures into the political arena.” Smith and fellow famous person-turned-potential politician Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson have never starred in a movie together, but maybe they’ll run against each other? Or, better yet, they could campaign together against DJ Jazzy Jeff and Vin Diesel.

That’s the future of American politics right there.

Smith appeared on Pod Save America to discuss Amend: The Fight for America, his Netflix docuseries about the “evolving, often lethal, fight for equal rights in America through the lens of the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment.” It’s out now.

A large part of Tekashi’s appeal when he first appeared in 2018 was his rabble-rousing habit of inciting beef with seemingly every street-centric rapper in rap at the time. However, a large part of the reason he was able to get away with it was the small squadron of large, probably armed men surrounding him in most public situations to ensure no one confronted him about his antics. Now, according to TMZ, it’s been revealed that Tekashi still owed the company employing those security guards a lot of money.

Metropolitan Patrol, a company employed by Tekashi 69 when he visited Los Angeles, says that despite providing round-the-clock service for the loudmouth social media personality turned rap superstar including armored cars, they still haven’t been paid over $75,000. After sending Tekashi the invoice for the service — including three armed officers working day and night shifts, a Yukon with ballistic panels, and a pair of Ford Explorers decked-out with lights and sirens — he simply refused to pay.

According to 69’s lawyer, the responsibility falls on MTA Bookings agency, which was handling the rainbow-haired rapper’s public appearances at the time. However, even the perception that he doesn’t pay his security could be unhealthy for Tekashi, who has gotten right back up to his old tricks after leaving prison last year. He recently got into it with Meek Mill, sparking a war of words that includes a sample of the altercation in Tekashi’s latest single.

In what has to be the least surprising career move ever, ex-Trump Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany has officially joined Fox News as a contributor after weeks of speculation about her post-Trump future. According to Variety, that’s a theme that continued when Fox News anchor Harris Faulkner announced McEnany joining the team on Tuesday by simply saying, “We will be seeing much more of her in the future.” No further details have been provided about her role at Fox as of this writing.

Despite her tenure as White House press secretary ending with Donald Trump’s presidency, McEnany has continued to be a steadfast supporter of her old boss and has shown no signs of pulling back on spreading the former administration’s lies. In mid-February, McEnany made a reckless and QAnon-esque implication about President Joe Biden after he shared during a town hall that, “Everyone knows I love kids better than people.” Obviously, Biden was making a grandfatherly quip that kids are more fun than dealing with grown-ups, especially politicians, but that didn’t stop McEnany from insinuating on Twitter that Biden’s quote was to be taken in a more sinister way.

It’s that kind of blatant disregard for the truth that made McEnany a notorious figure during her time at the White House podium. Her penchant for saying anything in service to Trump led to CNN’s Jake Tapper refusing to bring her on his show. “[She] lies the way that, you know, most people breathe. There was no value in that,” Tapper told his colleague Brian Stetler. “She can’t acknowledge reality. So I am just not going to put somebody like that on air.”

One might think that this history would lead to her being embraced by Fox News, but the Daily Beast relays word from an anonymous Fox News insider, who reportedly vented, “It’s truly disgusting they fired hard-working journalists who did care about facts and news reporting only to turn around and hire a mini-Goebbels whose incessant lies from the White House helped incite an insurrection on our democracy that got five people killed, including a police officer.”

(Via Variety & The Daily Beast)

J.K. Rowling’s unrepentant anti-trans perspective won’t extend to Hogwart’s Legacy, which will embrace trans-inclusive character creation, according to reporting from Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier. The upcoming Avalanche Software/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment game, which is due in 2022, experienced some friction during development following Rowling’s anti-trans comments that were condemned by actors (including Eddie Redmayne, Daniel Radcliffe, and more) who’ve starred in franchises based upon her books. Rowling has refused to backtrack upon her remarks and even included an anti-trans plotline in Troubled Blood, the latest book written under her male pseudonym, Robert Galbraith, but it seems that Hogwart’s Legacy game developers banded together to distance themselves from Rowling’s incendiary remarks.

The Bloomberg report details how the game will have trans-inclusive character creation available to players, who can separate their body, voice, and gender options (including school dormitory placement) while customizing their experience. Jason Schreier wrote on Twitter that the development team pushed for this inclusive move after growing “uncomfortable with Rowling’s position and rattled by the effects she has had on a game they’ve put a lot into.” Here’s what the Bloomberg article detailed for the game’s plan:

When players start up the game, they will be able to create a character that has a masculine or feminine voice no matter what their body looks like, according to people familiar with the game’s development. The people requested anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak to the press.

Players will then get to select one of two options — “witch” or “wizard” — that will determine the dorm they get placed in at the magical school of Hogwarts and how they are addressed by other characters in the game.

Although this game won’t arrive until sometime in 2022, this report is notable, given that J.K. Rowling is known to exert an unusually high level of creative control on movies that are based upon her works. In contrast (regarding Hogwart’s Legacy), a Warner Bros. statement (from September 2020) clarified that “J.K. Rowling is not directly involved in the creation of the game, however, her extraordinary body of writing is the foundation of all projects in the Wizarding World.” Bloomberg further reports that (according to its sources) “[t]here was resistance from management at first” on embracing trans-inclusive character creation, and the publication also writes that a Warner Bros. representative declined to provide a comment for the story.

Rowling’s remarks haven’t been the only obstacle facing the game’s continued development. As Bloomberg notes, one of Avalanches senior producers, Troy Leavitt, has made YouTube videos that express solidarity with the Gamergate community that’s synonymous with sexist views about progressivism in video-game culture. Levitt didn’t respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment, nor has Rowling publicly reacted to news of the trans-inclusive character creation options in the works for Hogwart’s Legacy.

(Via Bloomberg)

As LaMelo Ball has burst onto the scene with a sensational first half of his rookie season, there has been plenty said about his game and the areas in which he already excels, but also conversation about his name and whether he can go by “Melo,” particularly when the original Melo, Carmelo Anthony, is still in the league.

The two met for the first time this season on Monday night in Portland, where Anthony’s Blazers pulled away late to come out on top in a 123-111 win. Carmelo and LaMelo were the game’s top scorers, with the rookie leading Charlotte with 30 points and the 18-year vet coming off the bench to give Portland 29. After the game, it was all love between the Melos, as they swapped jerseys and shared a quick conversation on the floor before heading off to their respective locker rooms.

In his postgame press conference, Carmelo was asked about the “Melo” name controversy, if there even is one, as well as LaMelo’s use of his “three to the dome” celebration after three-pointers. Anthony embraced all of it, saying he gave Ball his blessing to use the celebration — provided he only does it once rather than three times as Anthony does — and was glad that LaMelo has that name and takes it as a sign of respect that he wants to go by Melo.

For all the hand-wringing from fans over the Melo situation, it’s cool to see the original Melo say this and give the young fella his blessing to embrace that connection between the two. It certainly helps that LaMelo is balling out in his rookie season, which makes it a little easier for the future Hall of Famer to want to be connected to him, but even so, it’s always great to see guys embracing the next generation in this way.

Kanye West himself once joked about his tendency to blow up when he doesn’t receive the recognition he deserves. On his Late Registration song “Diamonds,” he humblebragged that he “complains about what he is owed / And throws a tantrum like he is three years old,” but concluded, “You gotta love it though — somebody still speaks from his soul.”

That tendency — though largely derided and meme-d into the ground by social media — is a big part of why he’s still around. Long after his records stopped reaching No. 1 on the Billboard charts and he alienated many of his top collaborators (not to mention, a significant chunk of his fan base), his refusal to accept “no” for an answer ensured that he remains at the forefront of pop culture.

However, with only a handful of musical releases in the last few years, it isn’t his beats or his rhymes keeping him there. Instead, it’s another thing a segment of social media mocked him for — his fashion and sneaker designs. His versatility has proved to be the key to his longevity, and now, he’s the one laughing all the way to the bank.

All the way back in 2004, when The College Dropout took radio and MTV by storm, Kanye’s interest in fashion was both evident and adamant. He insisted that he’d be one of the top designers in fashion, making style choices that were considered risqué at the time. When jerseys were big, he wore pink polos and blazers with jeans. When hip-hop buttoned up, he went full-on luxury, and then, retro.

Every time he made one of these dramatic, sartorial left turns, hip-hop followed him, usually pretty quickly and enthusiastically. So, it makes sense he believed he could take these trendsetting proclivities and carve out a second career for himself in the design world. After all, at the time, it was also something of a rap rite of passage to drop a clothing line; 50 Cent, Busta Rhymes, Eminem, Eve, Jay-Z, Nelly, Pharrell, and T.I. had all done so.

However, Kanye’s inborn stubbornness wouldn’t let him just do a clothing line — although he did try one, Pastelle, that never quite got off the ground. Instead, he insisted on applying to internships at Louis Vuitton and Raf Simons, working his way up from the bottom, and earning his credentials in that world.

Although he was mostly rejected early on, that roiling intellectual curiosity pushed him to also try his hand in sneaker design. Partnering with Nike in 2009 for the Nike Air Yeezy, he released one of the most coveted shoes in the history of sneakers, Nike’s first non-athlete signature, and a turning point in hypebeast culture. However, in typical Kanye fashion — pun 100 percent intended — he wanted more creative control and moved on after a second iteration that was possibly even more popular than the first.

Just a few years later, he took the creative experience he’d acquired at Nike and switched to Adidas, where he released the Yeezy Boost line. He also partnered with Louis Vuitton, where he “learned to design woman’s shoes for 2 years” by apparently sneaking into the Giuseppe Zanotti factory.

He eventually did get that internship, as well, putting in a few months at Fendi and deciding that, well, it really wasn’t for him. That’s okay though — despite his interest in high fashion, he was flexible about his opportunities. The footwear deals also served as his “in” for the ready-to-wear game as well, with each “Season” of his Yeezy brand bringing another wave of hype for stripped-down, luxury garments — garments that eventually helped usher in today’s athleisure dominance.

Eventually, all this versatility led to a ten-year deal with Gap last year, where he’ll have his own clothing line, Yeezy Gap, and offer “modern, elevated basics for men, women, and kids at accessible price points.” The deal will allow Ye the flexibility of selling both high and low, while his Yeezy deal makes him one of the most recognizable names in footwear — and one of the most lucrative, with Bloomberg reporting a $3 billion valuation for Yeezy last year.

Kanye’s versatility has always been the number-one attribute driving his success. When he could have maxed out as a producer, he became a rapper. When his tastes changed, he went bigger with the sound, then brought in collaborators from all over the music world. Rather than being content with his musical stardom, he pursued even more of his passions — fashion, sneakers, design — to ensure that his brand could never be limited to just one thing or subject to the ever-changing tastes of just one kind of art.

You can’t be all things to all people — something Ye hopefully learned from his disastrous political attempt last year — but you can always make sure to expand your interests so you never get stuck in one box. Ye refuses to let himself become stagnant, and that’s why — hate him or love him — he’s probably here to stay.

Rolling Stone reports that Bunny Wailer, the last surviving founding member of The Wailers, has died at age 73, as confirmed by his manager Maxine Stowe. He died earlier today at the Medical Associates Hospital in Kingston, Jamaica according to Jamaica Observer, and no cause of death has been released yet. He’d been in failing health since 2020 when he suffered his second stroke.

Born Neville Livingstone in the Nine Mile district of Jamaica’s St. Ann Parish, Bunny became a musical icon revered the world over for his work with The Wailers, which included childhood friend Bob Marley and later addition, Peter Tosh. The then-trio soon added singer Junior Braithwaite and backup vocalists Beverley Kelso and Cherry and began releasing a string of international hits, which included “Simmer Down,” “Stir It Up,” “Is This Love,” “Jamming,” “Could You Be Loved,” “Buffalo Soldier,” “Get Up, Stand Up,” and “Redemption Song.”

Rolling Stone notes that while Marley and Tosh were the group’s principal songwriters, it was Wailer who provided the band with not just its name but also its unforgettable harmonies. The group was instrumental in bringing Jamaican music to the world, touring the UK with Johnny Cash in the early 1970s. Wailer left the group in 1973 after the group’s new producer Chris Blackwell sought to rebrand them as “Bob Marley’s backup singers.” Wailer embarked on his own successful solo career with Blackheart Man. Wailer eventually won three Best Reggae Album Grammys, in 1991, 1995, and 1997.

Six books by author Theodor Geisel, known to millions as Dr. Seuss, will stop being published due to racist and insensitive imagery. They are: And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street, If I Ran the Zoo, McElligot’s Pool, On Beyond Zebra!, Scrambled Eggs Super!, and The Cat’s Quizzer. “Today, on Dr. Seuss’s Birthday, Dr. Seuss Enterprises celebrates reading and also our mission of supporting all children and families with messages of hope, inspiration, inclusion, and friendship,” a statement to the Associated Press read. “Ceasing sales of these books is only part of our commitment and our broader plan to ensure Dr. Seuss Enterprises’s catalog represents and supports all communities and families”:

As adored as Dr. Seuss is by millions around the world for the positive values in many of his works, including environmentalism and tolerance, there has been increasing criticism in recent years over the way Blacks, Asians and others are drawn in some of his most beloved children’s books, as well as in his earlier advertising and propaganda illustrations.

To discuss the news, Fox & Friends brought on a literary expert: Donald Trump Jr. (he read Think Big and Kick Ass… probably?). “There’s no place they won’t go,” DTJ, nearly unintentionally referencing a Seuss book, said about his boogeyman, the Left. “This week alone, they canceled Mr. Potato Head. This week alone, they canceled the Muppets. They’re canceling Dr. Seuss from reading programs. I literally know The Cat in the Hat by heart without the book there, because I read it so many times to my children.” The Cat in the Hat is not one of the six books being, as Fox News would put it, “canceled.” Trump Jr. is also furious about “Oreo cookie chiming in on trans rights,” because it’s easier for him to be mad at a dessert than a transphobic congresswoman.

He also said that “we have lost our minds,” which is his only accurate take yet:

Here’s the Fox News segment.

(Via the Associated Press)

Every now and again, Soulja Boy makes headlines for one reason or another, although in recent years, those reasons haven’t been related to music. He’s sold controversial video game consoles, had a thriving soap business during the pandemic, and now he’s making wrestlers, a famously muscular and confrontational group of people, mad at him.

Towards the end of February, Soulja tweeted, “Rap game faker than WWE,” which served as a rallying cry for wrestlers to express their discontent. Raw wrestler T-Bar fired back, “Does the rap game take years off your life and leave you with countless injuries and debilitating pain? Oh well maybe just stick to super soaking hoes or whatever it is you did 15 years ago.”

That prompted Randy Orton to chime in, “Fake? Dare this prick to step up. He dont like movies? Consider us actors that do stunts, without pads 200 days a year and don’t b*tch when we get surgically repaired and come right back. Consider us 100 times tougher then anyone you’ve come across. Aint nuthin but a bitch ass…” He then added, “Ps [Bad Bunny] would beat the f*ck outta you. Why? How? Because he’s seen our world. Respects it and knows what it takes and finds himself lucky to be a part of it. You wanna talk fake? Pawn that cheap ass chain and come work for it you one hit wonder ass mutha f*cka.”

Soulja didn’t back down, responding, “Do u know who the f*ck I am. I’ll bring the REAL to wrestling don’t play with me. Randy Ortonnnnnnnn??????????” Orton responded, “‘Crank that’ came out in ’07 you had a hell of a year. Serious $. Hats off to ya my dude. Here’s the thing tho… I like rap. I bump that sh*t all day whether it’s tunechi, meek, JZ…but you call what I do to survive, fake? F*ck that. Come to my world and say that. Dare ya.”

Soulja then fired back, “If you mad because I spit facts just say that. What you do is FAKE and I stand on that. What I do is REAL. Come to your world? Lol welcome to Soulja World.” Orton responded, “U spittin facts? Seems like all you spittin is the same mess you rap about. Nut. Clear your throat my dawg, and be there. Enough talk. Back it up.” Soulja then said, “Cap wrestler [laughing emoji] If u really want big draco to pull up say less.”

While WWE may not be a competitive sport, there’s no denying that its wrestlers are uncommonly strong, athletic people. So, to state the obvious, if Orton and Soulja ever did get in the ring, it wouldn’t be the biggest surprise to see the 20-plus-year wrestling veteran make light work of the “Crank That” rapper.

Check out the tweets below.

As with many teams in the (very) bizarre 2020-21 NBA season, the New York Knicks have had their ups and downs through 35 games. After all, the Knicks did endure a five-game losing streak in mid-January, with a couple of additional mini-hiccups along the way. Even so, New York is one of the better stories in the league in the first half, with the team posting an 18-17 record and generating real excitement in a fan base that has been starved for some sustained positivity for a long time.

The latest uptick for the Knicks is a 7-2 spurt since Feb. 12 and, during that nine-game run, New York sports the best defense in the league in allowing only 105.6 points per 100 possessions. Keyed by Tom Thibodeau’s approach and general activity and toughness, the Knicks are a top-three defense for the season, yielding just 107.4 points per 100 possessions. While the Knicks’ personnel is at least slightly better than a year ago, the results are jarring, as a similar group finished 23rd in defense in 2019-20 under different leadership.

Thibodeau’s reputation proceeds him in many ways, but he does have an earned pedigree for defensive basketball. Yes, the Knicks are likely to regress in that opponents are shooting a league-worst 32.5 percent on three-point attempts against them, but New York’s principles are solid and Thibodeau has even the lead pieces buying in defensively.

The most notable of those lead pieces is Julius Randle, who is enjoying in All-Star season. Randle boasts career-best marks in scoring (23.4 points per game), rebounding (10.9 per game), assists (5.5 per game), three-point shooting (41.9 percent) and free throw shooting (80.8 percent) while operating as New York’s lead option. It might be fair to suggest that he could cool off from long range, but Randle’s development as a playmaker is notable and impressive. Randle also ranks as a top 10 player in the league in FiveThirtyEight’s RAPTOR metric, and he is providing two-way value that he should be lauded for at this stage.

From there, RJ Barrett is producing 16.5 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, showing flashes (including improved assist and turnover rates and an uptick in three-point shooting efficiency) that made him the No. 3 pick not that long ago. As a team, the Knicks are still underwhelming offensively on a per-possession basis. When combined with their elite defensive marks, though, New York is scoring more points than they allow, placing them in the top 12 of the NBA in net rating.

The Knicks may not truly be better than a few teams behind them in the standings (i.e. Miami, Boston, Toronto, etc.), and that’s fine. It is worth remembering the exceptionally modest expectations for this particular group and simply enjoying the ride with a team that is scratching and clawing its way to respectability in the country’s largest market. It isn’t always pretty, but it’s been effective and brought some joy and optimism to a fan base that hasn’t felt that in years.

Where do the Knicks stack up in this week’s DIME power rankings? Let’s take a peek.

1. Utah Jazz (27-8, Last week — 1st)

Trouble in Salt Lake City!?! Okay, I’m mostly kidding, but the Jazz have lost two of the last three games. Utah’s profile is still (much) better on paper than any team in the league, but they were always going to regress from that absurd level. For now, they stay in the top spot with the best record and the best net rating in the league.

2. Brooklyn Nets (23-13, Last week — 2nd)

Even with Utah’s full-season advantages, I would have put Brooklyn at the top if they had beaten Dallas at home this weekend. Granted, that was a game without both Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving, so it’s not a knock to lose it, but the bar was quite high to overtake the Jazz. Brooklyn has still won 9 of the last 10, and they’ve done it at less than full strength. It’s wild. P.S.: This James Harden guy might be pretty good.

3. Phoenix Suns (22-11, Last week — 3rd)

The Suns just keep winning. They are 14-3 in the last 17 games, and while I don’t actually believe they are better than the Lakers and Clippers, there is no reason to drop them right now. Speaking of the Lakers… Phoenix visits STAPLES Center on Tuesday in primetime for a matchup between two intriguing contenders.

4. Los Angeles Lakers (24-11, Last week — 5th)

I likely would’ve bet against the Lakers losing four in a row at any point this season, but it happened from Feb. 18-24. To restore order, Los Angeles just beat Portland and Golden State as Dennis Schröder returned to the lineup, and Anthony Davis will return at some point. It seems that the panic is over.

5. Milwaukee Bucks (21-13, Last week — 7th)

Since the beginning of February, Milwaukee’s entire existence has been marked by streaks. They began the month with five straight wins. Then, the Bucks lost five straight games. Now, they’ve won five in a row again, including a home win over the Clippers in a national TV slot on Sunday. Oh, and Jrue Holiday is back, which is not a small thing.

6. L.A. Clippers (24-12, Last week — 4th)

Quietly, the Clippers are 3-4 in the last seven games. It should be noted that three of those losses came to Brooklyn, Utah and Milwaukee, so it’s not as if L.A. is in dire straits. At the same time, they aren’t playing as well as they did earlier this season.

7. Philadelphia 76ers (23-12, Last week — 8th)

Philadelphia is 5-2 in the last seven games after a little bit of a dry spell, and they seem to have stabilized. Joel Embiid was dominant in a breezy win over Indiana on Monday and, even with a net rating that puts them 8th in the NBA, the Sixers maintain the best record in the East.

8. Denver Nuggets (19-15, Last week — 10th)

It was a single-digit road win over Chicago, so Monday’s effort from Nikola Jokic won’t get a ton of attention. He was brilliant, however, in scoring 39 points and completely destroying the Bulls. Obviously, he’s been fantastic all year, but I can’t help but mention that performance. He’s carrying the Nuggets.

9. Miami Heat (17-17, Last week — 13th)

Miami is alive and kicking. The Heat are on a five-game winning streak and they’ve won 10 of the last 13 games. It isn’t a surprise that they are much better when Jimmy Butler is available, but it is truly night and day. Miami did beat Atlanta without Butler on Sunday, though, and that was a nice win to keep their mojo flowing.

10. Dallas Mavericks (17-16, Last week — 14th)

On one hand, the Mavericks are 8-2 in the last 10 games, and that is worth lauding under any circumstances. On the other, Dallas didn’t exactly navigate the world’s most difficult schedule in that period. The best win, over Brooklyn, came without Durant and Irving, and victories over Minnesota, Atlanta, New Orleans, Memphis, Boston and Orlando aren’t going to move the needle a ton. Still, in a very competitive West, you have to pile up wins where you can.

11. Toronto Raptors (17-17, Last week — 6th)

It would be tempting to say we “jinxed” the Raptors last week, since they went 1-2 overall. It might even be true, but Toronto lost a home game to Philadelphia and a road game to Miami before beating Houston and having two games postponed. Pretty much every sentiment from a week ago still applies.

12. New York Knicks (18-17, Last week — 15th)

Depending on which predictive metrics you trust, there is some statistical skepticism about the Knicks. At the very least, they can enjoy the end of the first half and the All-Star break in great position, and New York is in great shape.

13. San Antonio Spurs (17-13, Last week — 9th)

The Spurs have played three games in the last two-plus weeks. Two of them were decided by three points, and the other was decided in overtime after Dejounte Murray made a wild play. Let’s just wait for some more information here.

14. Portland Trail Blazers (19-14, Last week — 12th)

Portland stopped the bleeding of a four-game losing streak with a solid home win over Charlotte on Monday. That avoided a deeper fall in the pecking order, but they were due for some regression after a wild run of wins to reach 18-10 overall.

15. Golden State Warriors (19-16, Last week — 16th)

If you fly too close to the sun, you might focus on the Warriors getting boatraced by the Lakers on national TV over the weekend. I’ll simply point out that the Warriors won the three previous games and, contrary to the product they put on the floor in Los Angeles, Golden State is good on defense.

16. Boston Celtics (17-17, Last week — 19th)

Boston suffered a pretty embarrassing loss to Atlanta mid-week, with the Hawks making a franchise-record 23 three-pointers in the process. To their credit, the Celtics recovered with back-to-back wins, and they have two intriguing games before the break against the Clippers and Raptors.

17. Memphis Grizzlies (15-15, Last week — 21st)

The Grizzlies played three games this week. They won the first by 28. They lost the second by 20. They won the third by 49 (!). I don’t know what to take from that, but Memphis is .500 and that’s a win given their available roster.

18. Indiana Pacers (15-18, Last week — 11th)

It was not a good week for the Pacers with four consecutive losses. None of them were too brutal, with the exception of Monday in Philadelphia, but Indiana is effectively a .500 team by the metrics. That isn’t what anyone wanted, even when acknowledging the absence of TJ Warren and Caris LeVert.

19. Washington Wizards (13-19, Last week — 18th)

Washington is one of the more difficult teams in the league to evaluate right now. They are undeniably playing better after winning seven of the last nine games, and their offense looks great on some nights. On others, the defense is tough to overlook, and their level of play has been… inconsistent. Of course, they are 1.5 games out of the play-in after the terrible start, and that probably feels good in the nation’s capital.

20. Chicago Bulls (15-18, Last week — 17th)

The Bulls are generally on the upswing and that doesn’t change after a 1-2 week that featured losses to Phoenix and Denver. Chicago finishes up the first half in New Orleans on Wednesday, and that will be an interesting stylistic battle.

21. Charlotte Hornets (16-18, Last week — 22nd)

Charlotte has alternated wins and losses in every game since Feb. 8. In the East, that’s pretty much all you need to do, but it’s tough to make sweeping statements other than “LaMelo Ball is good and fun.”

22. New Orleans Pelicans (15-19, Last week — 23rd)

If you catch them on the wrong night, the Pelicans are unwatchable defensively. It’s truly terrible. With that said, Zion Williamson is must-see TV and he’s shooting a comical 61 percent from the floor. New Orleans just beat Utah by bludgeoning the rim the entire game, and they can really put on a show when it’s going well.

23. Oklahoma City Thunder (14-20, Last week — 25th)

Looking at OKC’s peripherals isn’t fun. They aren’t good. Yet, the Thunder just went 2-1 in a week again, beating Atlanta and San Antonio in the process. They also play a fun style and play hard. It’s a good start to the rebuild, even with more losses than wins.

24. Cleveland Cavaliers (14-21, Last week — 30th)

A week ago, things were truly dire in Cleveland after 10 straight losses. Now, the Cavaliers are (somehow) riding a four-game winning streak. They still have the worst net rating (-8.2) in the NBA, and it would be unwise to overreact in a positive direction, but it was a heck of a week for the Cavs. Shouts to Lamar Stevens.

25. Atlanta Hawks (14-20, Last week — 20th)

Atlanta finished February with a 4-11 mark that featured a handful of maddening defeats. On March 1, they fired head coach Lloyd Pierce as a result. It will be interesting to see what the Nate McMillan era looks like for the Hawks, but first, they will need to get their wings healthy again.

26. Orlando Magic (13-22, Last week — 24th)

While the Cavs were flipping the script in a positive direction, the Magic did the opposite. Orlando went 0-4 after a previous winning stretch, and this feels like the landing spot. Nikola Vucevic keeps rolling, but that’s about it.

27. Sacramento Kings (13-21, Last week — 26th)

Sacramento is 1-10 in the last 11 games and allowing almost 125 points per contest, including a mind-numbing collapse to the Hornets on Sunday. The Kings have the worst defensive rating (118.7) in the league and it’s not close. Their prize is a home date with the Lakers on Wednesday. That’s not what you want after a lengthy period of shaky play.

28. Detroit Pistons (9-25, Last week — 28th)

I continue to think the Pistons aren’t as bad as their record. After 34 games, their record still matters, and Detroit has dropped six of the last seven. It wasn’t as if the win was overly impressive, either, as the Pistons split a two-game set with the 26th-ranked Magic.

29. Houston Rockets (11-22, Last week — 27th)

Houston probably “deserves” to be No. 30 this week. The Rockets haven’t won a game since Feb. 4, losing 12 games in a row. They are dead-last in offense during that stretch (by a lot), with no real end in sight. It is almost unthinkable that they were 11-10 before this downturn, but they were.

30. Minnesota Timberwolves (7-28, Last week — 29th)

The Wolves were 29th after firing their coach and flailing last week. From there, Minnesota lost all four games this week, and they have the worst record in the league by 2.5 games. It could certainly be argued the Wolves aren’t in the worst organizational spot, but they are not very good right now.