GoneTrending

On Dec. 4, Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving chose to release a prepared statement, rather than speaking directly to the media as part of the NBA’s “Media Week” activities in advance of the 2020-21 season. In the statement, Irving indicated that he aimed to “ensure that (his) message is conveyed properly” and said that his “goal this season is to let (his) work on and off the court speak for itself.” Reactions to this decision were swift and divided, with some defending Irving and others pointing to his contractual responsibility to speak with the media.

Just six days later, the NBA weighed in on the matter, at least in some way, but announcing a $25,000 fine for Irving and explaining the penalty was “for violating league rules governing media interview access.” From there, the league’s statement expanded to say that “the fines result from Irving’s refusal on several occasions this week to participate in team media availability.”

Irving has not spoken to the media at all since reporting for training camp and, in theory, the Nets and/or the NBA could continue to fine him if his decision persists. As a reminder, the standard contract for NBA players includes language dictating that players must speak to the media, which could convert this from a situation, at least in the eyes of the league, that has some grey area to one that is more definitive in nature.

Given Irving’s immense salary for this season and the fact that his career earnings (both on and off the court) reach nine figures, the 28-year-old may decide that taking the fines is more than worth it. However, it will be interesting to see how both sides continue to react to this ongoing situation, and the league has now taken a definitive stance, at least for now.

In a year characterized by racial injustice, political polarization and economic uncertainty, not to mention an ongoing pandemic, it’s going to take a lot more than a motivational poster of a sunrise to inspire the world toward unity. For genuine change to occur, we need to move past platitudes, and rekindle compassion through community and conversation.

Recognizing this global need, Templeton World Charity Foundation (TWCF) launched the Forgiveness Forum, a new series of timely virtual conversations set to kick off on December 16, 2020. The events will explore how forgiveness can be used as a tool for personal growth and global healing by not only clarifying how forgiveness and justice — two seemingly disparate processes — can exist side by side, but also looking at the surprising science behind the physical and mental health benefits that forgiveness holds.

Right out of the gate, the Forum has secured a powerful line-up with The Elders, an exemplary group of politicians, peacemakers, and influencers who model forgiveness and work together for peace, justice and human rights. Speakers for the inaugural event will include three members of The Elders:

• Mary Robinson, the former President of Ireland and UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
• Juan Manuel Santos, former President of Colombia and recipient of the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize
• Zeid Raad Al Hussein, former UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and Jordanian Ambassador to the United States.

“Forgiveness and reconciliation are fundamental to the process of peace making and peace building,” says President Santos.

---

“As the leader of a country that experienced tremendous suffering through conflict for many years, I know the importance of finding common ground and shared goals with those you have profoundly disagreed with. Only then can one consider true justice and hope for a better future.” President Robinson agrees. “The power of forgiveness is so important to overcoming the challenges we face in a polarized world.”

Forum Chair Andrew Serazin, President of TWCF, will guide the conversation alongside Moderator Zain Verjee, a world-renowned journalist and former CNN anchor. “One of the things that is so fascinating about this body of work,” says Serazin, “is that forgiveness is a process that has universal resonance. Around the world, everyone has a perspective on or experience with forgiveness, and at Templeton World Charity Foundation, we are interested in exploring all of those stories.”

Building upon the introduction in the first session, the Forgiveness Forum will continue in 2021 with conversations on the science of forgiveness and forgiveness in pop culture, engaging the hearts and minds of philosophers and psychologists, scholars and poets, pop culture icons, athletes and scientists. Serazin says he hopes that by “this time next year we have a broad coalition of leading individuals and organizations committed to spreading the word about forgiveness.”

Often, we think of forgiveness as an obligation — something you’re “supposed” to do as opposed to something you want to do. But forgiveness is also something we should do for ourselves. Helping others, repairing society, healing the world — those are actually bonus side effects. The first person forgiveness heals is yourself. If you’re having trouble with this time-honored practice (and we all are), an hour with the Forum is a good first step. “Our hope,” says Serazin, “is that people will be open to learning more about forgiveness and consider it in their own lives.”

The inaugural Forgiveness Forum event will take place at 10–11AM EST Wednesday, December 16th, 2020 on Zoom and will be open and free to anyone around the world. The event will also be live streamed via Templeton World Charity Foundation’s YouTube, and embedded in the Forgiveness Forum website.

Disney is betting big on fans not getting enough Star Wars in their lives, and it starts with a whole lot more Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano. The Walt Disney Company shared some big news during its Investor Day on Thursday, starting with a massive expansion of the Star Wars universe that’s led by Dawson’s character from the expanded movie and TV show canon.

Disney announced on Thursday night that Ahsoka Tano would get her own Disney+ series, one of several new Star Wars shows on the horizon for the streaming service, with Dawson staring in the forthcoming Ahsoka.

Not much was shared about the series in the announcement, other than a nice wordmark for the series logo. But it’s huge news for Star Wars fans who loved Tano in the animated Star Wars series and her highly-anticipated appearance in Season 2 of The Mandalorian.

It’s perhaps one of the biggest pieces of news outside of the overall scale of what’s coming on Disney+ in the coming years. Overall, Disney teased a huge slate of content on the streaming platform, including 10 Marvel and 10 Star Wars shows, respectively.

It’s a daunting roadmap to say the least, and perhaps there’s some concern among skeptics that there’s just not that big an appetite for all that content. And there is certainly a lot of it coming.

But it’s worth noting that, Ahsoka aside, many of the shows counted in that announcement were either already announced or rumored to exist already. The Obi-Wan Kenobi show, for example, is already on that list and we already know where that will be filming. That series, mind you, got some news on Thursday as well: Hayden Christianson will return to play Darth Vader in Star Wars: Kenobi.

Disney also showed off some behind-the-scenes shots of Andor, which will return Star Wars to the characters who made Rogue One a blast.

Still, the Marvel aspect of that big announcement is much more well-established as the Star Wars roadmap at this point. And fans will certainly be excited to know more Ahsoka is on the horizon.

Bulleit Frontier Whiskey is a fan-favorite and a household name. Its bourbon often ranks among the best-selling bourbon expressions in America. In fact, if you look only at sales numbers from online ordering sites like Drizly.com, Bulleit often clocks in as the most purchased bourbon month-by-month. It’s a well-known whiskey brand, is what we’re getting at.

With that ubiquity come plenty of fans. And, of course, some detractors.

As a brand, Bulleit has a long history, going all the way back to 1830. Its current iteration was re-created in the late 1980s by Tom Bulleit at the Four Roses Distillery (where the whiskey was made until 2017). Those are the bottles we’re here to talk about today. Bulleit Bourbon stands out by embracing a very high-rye mash bill with 28-percent rye grain in the recipe. That’s on par with Jim Beam’s Old Grand-Dad, another fan-favorite. The company’s rye, on the other hand, was sourced from Indiana’s rye icon, MGP, and carries the classic 95 percent rye mash bill.

To rank these bottles, we looked at one thing: Taste. When it comes to price, Bulleit’s whiskeys are squarely in the affordable mid-range of $30 to $60 per bottle. None of these will break the bank, so we didn’t consider price when tasting them.

It should also be noted at the outset that Tom Bulleit was removed from the brand by Diageo in the summer of 2019. Allegations of homophobia and abuse from Bulleit’s daughter and global brand ambassador, Hollis B. Worth (formerly Hollis Bulleit), led to his ouster and bigger conversations about inclusion at the company. Part of the brand’s course correction in 2020 was to lean into Eboni Major’s role as Master Blender with a new release this year — a move that’s helping to promote Black women in the very white-male dominated world of American whiskey.

Read on for the six expressions in the core Bulleit whiskey line, ranked.

6. Bulleit Bourbon

ABV: 45%
Average Price: $32

The Whiskey:

This whiskey embraces a high-rye mash bill that’s comprised of 68 percent corn, 28 percent rye, and four percent malted barley. The juice is then rested for six years before blending, cutting down to proof, and barreling.

Tasting Notes:

This has a very classic, spicy bourbon nose with clear hints of vanilla, oak, spice, and wood. The spice is squarely in the cinnamon category, with creamy vanilla, warm tobacco, and a hint of orchard fruit lurking in the background. The end is warm but not hot. The oak, dark spice, brown sugars, and whisper of corn linger on your senses through the medium finish.

Bottom Line:

This is a really solid workhorse whiskey at an accessible price. While it’s not the ideal sipper, it’s a perfectly fine shooter, highball mixer, or cocktail base.

5. Bulleit Bourbon Barrel Strength

ABV: 59.6% (varies)
Average Price: $60

The Whiskey:

This is the standard bourbon above, but a little more dialed-in and left to shine on its own. The juice is small-batched from hand-selected barrels and bottled at the old Stitzel-Weller Distillery in Louisville (of Pappy Van Winkle fame) without any filtration or cutting down to proof.

Tasting Notes:

These will vary depending on which release you snag. Expect sweet woody notes next to oily vanilla and a big note of black pepper. The taste delivers ripe peaches next to more peppery spice and a hint of Christmas spices, with the vanilla taking a backseat and the oak really stepping in to shine. The end is spicy, hot, oaky, and peachy, with a hint of caramel corn.

Bottom Line:

This is a perfectly fine dram without the “wow factor” you want from a barrel strength expression. The spice levels and ABVs are high, which makes this a solid candidate for mixing up some cocktails. It also works on the rocks too.

4. Bulleit 95 Rye

ABV: 45%
Average Price: $32

The Whiskey:

Indiana’s MGP rye is one of the most popular ryes on earth. Their rye is has a mash bill of 95 percent rye and five percent malted barley. The juice is aged for four to seven years before blending, proofing, and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

This dram opens up with a mix of resinous cedar, sharp rye spiciness, creamy vanilla, and a hint of fresh mint. The taste delivers on those notes while folding in hints of dark cacao (with water added), savory fruits, and a buttery/crumbly biscuit somewhere deep in the bottom of the sip. The end lasts awhile and circles back around to that cedar and sap, with plenty more sharp spiciness.

Bottom Line:

This is really solid rye that hits those classic rye notes precisely. It’s also a solid workhorse whiskey to have on hand for drinking on the rocks, highballs, and cocktails (especially Manhattans).

3. Bulleit 95 Rye Aged 12 Years

ABV: 46%
Average Price: $52

The Whiskey:

The popularity of Bulleit’s Rye led to the brand (finally) expanding their rye category with this expression in 2019. The juice is the same as the rye above. The main difference is time. This juice spends 12 long years mellowing in oak before getting cut down to proof and bottled.

Tasting Notes:

There’s a subtlety to this dram that stands out, with hints of worn leather, spicy pipe tobacco, vanilla, anise, and a slight roasted nut. The taste carries on that path and adds in dark chocolate and a bit of toasted coconut with a peppery edge that never overpowers the body of the whiskey. The end is warming, spicy, and full of toasted oak leaning towards cedar.

Bottom Line:

Sourcing aside, this is a really fine dram that works really well with a little water or a few rocks. That being said, it’s also a killer cocktail base for Sazeracs or old fashioneds.

2. Bulleit Bourbon 10

ABV: 45.6%
Average Price: $48

The Whiskey:

This is classic Bulleit Bourbon that’s aged for ten years. There’s really not much more to say than that those extra years really dial this bourbon into something unique and very tasty.

Tasting Notes:

This is bourbon with a capital “B.” There are rushes of Christmas spices next to savory herbs, butter-soaked sourdough, and cinnamon-baked apples in maple syrup. Hints of vanilla, toasted oak, and maybe even dried flowers lurk beneath the surface as all that spice, buttery toffee, and soft-yet-sweet fruit fill your senses.

Bottom Line:

This would have been number one had Bulleit not dropped a fantastic new expression this year. Still, this is a solid candidate for anything from neat to on the rocks to a base of a cocktail.

1. Bulleit Bourbon Blenders’ Select

ABV: 50%
Average Price: $60

The Whiskey:

This new expression was crafted by Bulleit’s Master Blender Eboni Major. The release is the first in a series that’ll celebrate the women who make Bulleit bourbon. The juice is a hand-selected blend of three out of the ten bourbons Bulleit uses across their line. The bourbons were aged at least nine years before blending, proofing, and bottling.

Tasting Notes:

There are wisps of cedar bark, salted peanuts, oily vanilla pods, and plenty of Christmas spices. The taste is a nuanced dance of those notes, mingling with red cherries, worn leather, dry tobacco leaves, sweet and buttery toffee, and plenty of rye pepperiness. The end is long, lush, and full of oak, vanilla, and those Christmas spices that leave you wanting more.

Bottom Line:

This is shockingly easy to drink. You really don’t need water or a rock to enjoy it but adding water lets it bloom to its full potential.

During a fiery segment on Thursday, CNN’s Jake Tapper unloaded on the over 100 Republican House members who backed a lawsuit from the Texas attorney general that seeks to overturn the 2020 election results by challenging how other states held their elections, which would set a “horrible precedent.” Like every legal attempt to flip the election in Donald Trump‘s favor, this one has a snowball’s chance in hell of accomplishing its goal, but that hasn’t stopped the president from urging Republicans to support it, much to Tapper’s disbelief.

After citing legal experts who have referred to the lawsuit as “insane” and “garbage,” Tapper kicked things over to legal correspondent Kim Coates for her analysis. Via Mediaite:

“It’s so completely counter to common sense what is happening,” Coates pointed out. “The Supreme Court doesn’t want to weigh in on a political matter where there hasn’t been some basis for them to hear it, where a state that says even if we’re not affected by it we want to lodge a complaint after we see the outcome and only after our person is bringing the lawsuit.”

While Coates continued to explain the absurdity of the lawsuit, and the fact that Texas attorney general Ken Paxton is currently under indictment, Tapper jumped in to call the whole thing “absolutely undemocratic” and “seditious.” After hearing from White House correspondent Kaitlin Collins who noted that most conservative Texas lawmakers are refusing to back the lawsuit, Tapper shared more of his thoughts on the GOP politicians who are willing to jump on this grenade for Trump. “These members of Congress and these attorneys general, they’re going to be forever associated with this crap, with this insane, un-American, undemocratic lawsuit,” he said.

You can watch the full segment with Tapper above.

(Via The Lead CNN on Twitter & Mediaite)

Tamika Lawson is a storyteller.

As a writer, she’s penned award-winning shorts and gained entrance into prestigious fellowships from the likes of Disney and AFI. As a producer and director, she’s crafted dozens of films, some starring the kind of A-list talent that draws awards voters’ notice and blockbuster-sized crowds.

But you’ve never seen her work in a movie theater before, and you likely never will.

That’s because Lawson is using her insider knowledge of Hollywood and her passion for bringing diverse storytelling to the screen to help the next generation of creatives build a legacy that will outlast them on film.

It all started with a bad check.

Lawson has graduated from the New York Film Academy before moving to L.A. and selling a script for six figures. The production outfit that bought had financing problems so she never got to cash it.

“I was going to direct that project, produce it,” Lawson tells UPROXX. “It would have literally launched my career in a whole different way. It was so disappointing, but I just thought, ‘I don’t want all my energy to just be focused on me selling a script or me getting the job that I’ve been wanting to have,’ or any of that. I feel like my talent and my purpose in life is bigger than that.”

She had worked with nonprofits before, teaching screenplay writing and filmmaking basics to kids at places like Inner-City Filmmakers and the Greenway Arts Alliance. One day a friend asked Lawson what she wanted to do with her talents, long-term.

“I’d probably grant wishes to kids in the Make-a-Wish Foundation” is how she replied.

“I felt like, ‘Well, that’s an idea,’” Lawson recalls. “How could I combine those two passions and create an entirely new organization?”

She took a couple of self-empowerment courses, learned a valuable lesson about holding herself accountable – “Tell everybody that this is what you’re doing so they hold your feet to the fire” she advises – and Make A Film Foundation was born.

The organization was, and still is, a small nonprofit but it’s grown bigger than Lawson ever dreamed. At first, the director relied on friends and family to keep it afloat. She knew she wanted to help sick kids create movies – she’d seen how powerful an outlet the medium could be to young people struggling and wanted to grant that as a final wish to children battling terminal illnesses. So she launched callouts, asking people she knew if they knew of any kid who fit the bill; asking writers, producers, and directors she’d worked with in the past if they might be interested in contributing their time and skills to pull this off.

“This is how the first one really got made,” Lawson explains. “We asked friends and family for money. I think we ended up getting one or two small grants and getting a crew …”

A friend recommended Jabril Muhammad, a young college student suffering from Sickle Cell Anemia, as a potential collaborator, and the foundation’s first project, Put It In A Book, began. Written and starring Muhammad, the short film tells the story of two brothers whose lives are forever altered by gang violence. Lawson was able to bring Rodrigo Garcia (Albert Nobbs) on board to direct and recruited Kerry Washington (Little Fires Everywhere) and Michael Ealy (Stumptown) to star in the film.

“When you say living your purpose, I tell people, ‘On the actual first day of shooting when this kid was making his movie and Kerry Washington was there and Michael Ealy was there, I still didn’t have a job.’ I was like, ‘Why am I so happy?’ I’m completely fulfilled. I know everything is going to be okay. And this is magical. It’s not just my vision unfolding, but it’s this kid’s vision unfolding, all happening at the same time. It was so beautiful.”

More projects would follow.

Lawson’s foundation creates star-studded shorts and easier-to-make documentary films for kids who are often recommended to them by hospital staff, family members, or fans of the foundation. Sometimes that means spending a day shooting other types of narratives – short docs, music videos, whatever interests the kid in question. Other times that means teaming up with organizations like Starlight Children’s Foundation or the Muscular Dystrophy Association to profile the incredible work these teams are doing while also helping the children they serve to mark an item off their bucket list.

But the short-form narrative program is the highlight of Make A Film Foundation’s work, partly because it attracts some big-name talent – Hailee Steinfeld, Diablo Cody, J.K. Simmons to name a few – and partly because it gives young creators an almost unlimited framework in which to tell the stories that matter to them.

Like 16-year-old Anthony Conti’s post-apocalyptic zombie thriller, The Black Ghiandola.

Conti was battling stage four adrenal cortical cancer when Lawson first met him which meant the timeframe for shooting his film was tight. Lawson had two-weeks to recruit the people she needed to pull off his idea. Conti was a fan of The Walking Dead – obviously – and Lawson hit up her friend Chad Coleman (he played Tyreese Williams on the series) to act in the short, along with Simmons who she’d worked with on previous projects for the foundation. Because Conti’s vision was unique and required more time, special effects, and prosthetics, Lawson found three directors willing to donate a couple of days each to helm the project – Catherine Hardwicke (Twilight), Theodore Melfi (Hidden Figures), and Sam Raimi (Spiderman Trilogy). From there, stars like Johnny Depp and Laura Dern came onboard.

“Once we say yes, the kid says yes, everybody starts to say yes,” Lawson says of the process. “It’s a crazy deluge of magic and yeses, and that’s kind of how it went. It’s hard to try and say, ‘Well, how do you do it?’ The real answer is, ‘I don’t know. It’s alchemy.’

Lawson made sure Conti was involved in every aspect of the process, from casting to music – the closing credits song was written by Nine Inch Nails frontman Trent Reznor, Conti’s favorite band – to what the posters for the movie looked like. In the end, the project proved to be a bittersweet experience for Lawson and the crew.

“A lot of people don’t know what it is until they’re in it. They say yes to it because it sounds like an interesting thing but when they’re in it they realize, ‘Oh, now I know what we’re doing,’” Lawson says. “With Anthony, he was really sick the entire time. There’s really only one way to say it, he was dying before our eyes.”

Lawson had gotten the call about Conti in October. The group began filming in November. By the end of January the following year, Conti had passed away. Lawson was able to screen the film for him in his hospital room shortly before his death. But, while the loss of Conti was devastating, the point of Make A Film Foundation’s work was never to save lives. Instead, Lawson wants to give the kids she works with a goal to strive for, and a tangible legacy they can be proud to leave behind.

“Anytime I look at these films, I swear, I feel like these kids are with me,” Lawson says. “It’s like they’re right there. So yes, it’s bittersweet, but we’re all going to die one day. But I think [we’re] creating something that will live on forever. This accomplishment, their spirit, it’s forever.”

Projecting how exactly John Wall slots in alongside James Harden is a complicated task. Projecting who the Houston Rockets acquired last week and what caliber of player they have differs, depending on your perspective and optimism (or lack thereof). Understanding how Wall fits next to Harden cannot be achieved without first knowing who he is at this stage, nearly two seasons removed from his most recent NBA game and coming off surgeries to address a ruptured left Achilles and bone spurs in his left heel.

The last time we saw Wall, he labored through 32 games, settled for far too many contested midrange jumpers, looked noticeably less explosive, lacked rhythm as a passer, and showed scant defensive engagement. But Wall dealt with bone spurs the entire season before electing for surgery around the New Year. It’s a skewed lens through which to view him because a season earlier, he was still quite good, earning a fifth consecutive All-Star honor, consistently bolting into the paint, and manipulating defenses with his passing (the defense remained porous).

The problem, however, is expecting a 30-year-old following two surgeries who already owned a lengthy injury history to be the player he was three seasons ago also feels like an ill-advised proposition. I’d lean more toward his 2018-19 effectiveness (minus-0.32 PIPM) over his 2017-18 campaign (plus-2.02), though playing without bone spurs should help reinvigorate him and his offensive approach. The intention is not to reduce his performance to a singular data point, but to establish the contrasts between his previous two seasons and how we should expect him to look.

While predicting who Wall is and how he nestles into his new Southwestern digs is murky regardless of which season you gravitate toward, there are commonalities between each, on both sides of the ball, that should clarify some of the vision. Wall is highly deliberate as a handler. Some of that is slippery craft and deception, particularly as a finisher with ambidexterity and funky-footed or off-beat attempts at the bucket. He leverages his handle to set up screens well, varies his speeds to toy with defenders, and can manipulate defenders as a passer. His patience and savvy, cognizant that he mustn’t operate at full throttle 24/7, are advantages over his predecessor, Russell Westbrook.

Westbrook can function at different speeds, but the linking together of altering paces is where he often falls short. Wall is more adept in this regard and the reps he does receive on the ball should look different than Westbrook’s, which often resulted in slow-cooking pull-ups, post-ups, or hyper-speed forays to the cup. Ushering in a ball-handler who brandishes stylistic diversity and is vastly more advanced as a passer (vision, accuracy, timeliness, manipulation) will represent a change. There’s certainly the possibility Wall’s post-Achilles burst prevents him from maximizing this trickery and that he’s not capable of a sizable creation burden, but the available evidence displays an initiator worth utilizing, albeit one with some prominent warts that we’ll get into.

Despite appearing less dynamic and zippy offensively in 2018-19, an offensive context wired closer toward optimization should aid Wall. Washington’s scheme was rather unimaginative, short on creativity and counters or avenues to simple points. Even though we’ve yet to see Stephen Silas’ plan, it is assuredly going to lean less on Wall commandeering the action and will likely find paths to featuring his standout traits: passing/manipulation, ball-screen craft, and (hopefully) horizontal explosion. Plus, a starting lineup with a quartet of floor-spacers is a boon as well. Wall missed Marcin Gortat’s timely, hulking screens in 2018-19, but new teammate Christian Wood, a big who spaces the floor (38.6 percent from deep) and is an elite finisher (97th percentile around the basket) provides versatility as a pick-and-roll partner, which should amplify Wall’s talents and ease the pressure.

The downside to Wall’s meticulous maneuvering is he doesn’t generate open or efficient shots for himself on a regular basis. His sustenance is a heavy diet of challenging rim finishes and mid-range jumpers, the latter of which it often feels like he seeks out rather than being resigned to by defenses. Off the ball, he doesn’t capitalize on advantages forged for him, bypassing many open catch-and-shoot looks or opportunities to slash downhill, and instead, initiating offense through his own preference. So, while he’s ranked in the 89th percentile (2018-19) and 59th percentile (2017-18) on spot-ups recently, that doesn’t account for all the times his tendencies prevent a spot-up chance to resonate or how his methodical approach enables defenders to play him differently than they would other effective catch-and-shoot guys.

Thriving next to Harden (are they ever going to play together?) necessitates far less of those stalled-out scenarios and excelling with the ball in his hands demands internal growth — a recognition that the play isn’t always there and early clock pull-ups will never be the solution, regardless of result. Wall’s off-ball presence is due for retooling, even beyond the spot-up conundrum. Among 49 guys who averaged 32 minutes per game in 2018-19, Wall finished last in distance traveled offensively. Maybe those bone spurs diminished his vigor, you say? A year earlier, he ranked 56th among 57 qualifiers. Dating back to 2016-17, across 151 regular season games, he’s logged nine cuts, according to Synergy.

The majority of his time off the ball is spent stationary, watching the action unfold. He does not lift or relocate around the arc to broaden passing angles. He does not slice into creases in the paint. Oftentimes, when he does catch the ball, he’s unprepared to shoot or drive, empowering defenders to aggressively play off of him, knowing they have a long recovery window.

An offensive scheme that requires more activity could alleviate some of this apathy, but there is much Wall must rework, on and off the ball, to discover his niche. Expecting an established star to change his ways a decade into his career is perhaps too optimistic, but he is the sidekick now. In Washington, Bradley Beal, curling around countless screens every night, catered his game to maximize that tandem. Harden, for as long as he’s around, is the sun in Houston, while Wall rotates in his orbit. Refining the shortcomings of his skillset is how this ecosystem can keep spinning and bring success for all parties involved. The Wizards permitted him to play on his terms because he was the offensive engine. That is not the case with the Rockets.

There are a few pathways to extracting value from Wall in a secondary creator role, some of which are scheme-driven, while others have to stem internally. For Wall, being more decisive off the catch, whether it’s priming himself for quick trigger 3s when open or torching hasty closeouts to collapse defenses is vital. Growing into that cutter-faciliator-finisher archetype that Westbrook embodied next to Harden would be wise, though Wall is a better passer and shooter, giving him some leeway.

With Westbrook’s jumper abandoning him the past few seasons, he found his stride in Houston by, essentially, eliminating threes from his profile and relentlessly carving his way inside. Wall, though, has made 40.1 percent of his catch-and-shoot long balls since 2017-18. Over that same span, Westbrook has only made 31.6 percent of his attempts. Wiggle room exists, but decisiveness is key on his end. For the Rockets, running motion-based actions, such as concepts from Delay and Pistol series, deploying Wall’s speed and playmaking to get him downhill against compromised defenses, will likely be how he yields equity as a handler.

Because Washington rarely called stuff like this for Wall and because he largely failed to play with purpose or urgency off the ball, seeing how he might attain success in this scenario is difficult, though a few guiding lines of film exist.

A lot of those examples surface within the flow of the offense, but the third play of that montage stands out most prominently. It leverages his burst and passing, offering a roadmap for usage alongside the ball-dominant Harden. With a well-spaced floor and dominant player finisher in Wood, that should be a popular action for Wall, assuming he sprints into the hand-off to initially puncture defenses and acts expeditiously — because, again, the decision-making cannot simmer slowly and end poorly as it did too frequently two seasons ago. Much of his potential success hinges on how much of his high-end burst still exists, which is tough to project because he’s both coming off a serious injury and looked less explosive in 2018-19, though the bone spurs may have been responsible for that decline.

Truthfully, I’m pretty pessimistic about his outlook. A ruptured Achilles is one of the more damaging injuries you can suffer and often saps athletes of their explosiveness, a hallmark of Wall’s game. If he doesn’t have the burst to collapse defenses and enact advantages, his worrisome habits as a shooter and decision-maker are accentuated.

He’s far removed from his All-Defense level, too, plagued by a litany of issues. He is torched on ball because of declining lateral quickness, switches pretty much any play possible, even when it coaxes suboptimal assignments for he and his teammate, rarely closes out, loses shooters around screens, and general lethargy invites a host of open shots. When he does close out, it is reckless and fails to contain anyone. He overhelps on stunts and rarely recovers back to his man effectively. He loves defending post-ups, but relies too heavily on quick hands for steals and gets out of position. When navigating screens, he is stiff and upright or pursues on-ball steals, taking himself out of the play.

His best defensive asset is playmaking (2.5 stocks per game the last two years), but that is easily overshadowed by his gambling and inactivity. If this all sounds harsh, it’s only because the film is brutal. Being a good offensive player is still possible for Wall — and I hope it arises — but the defense is saturated with possession-crumbling plays like these.

At this juncture, it seems unlikely John Wall and James Harden play many games together, let alone any, though they remain on the same team for now, tasked with leading Houston. If Wall brings the same conventions that defined him in Washington, the fit is fairly precarious, even before baking in concerns over his play post-Achilles. If Wall adjusts, being more ready to play off the catch and lively off the ball, there’s the outline of a workable pairing. Its viability is contingent on a refreshed approach from Wall and his zippy burst prevailing through the injuries. His passing, explosion, and general craft offensively are useful. His defense, though, is going to be problematic no matter where his athleticism lands.

A Wall-Harden partnership could steer the Rockets quite high up the Western Conference ladder. Given what we’ve seen from Wall in recent seasons, consider me quite skeptical of that. The evidence, while flawed, of who Wall is doesn’t convey much optimism for him in a scaled-down role, precisely the mantle he will carry next to his superstar teammate.

Haute Dog (HBO Max holiday special episode) — Dogs all dressed up and loving it means that one won’t be able to stop smiling while watching, and the head-to-tail dog grooming creative competition series is now doing the holiday thing. These dogs

House Of Ho (HBO Max series) — Inspired by Crazy Rich Asians, this reality series follows a wealthy Vietnamese-American family who lives in Houston and engages in mad power struggles from within their own ranks. In short, the adult children feel pressured to live up to their parents’ conquering of the American dream, but expect plenty of love and laughter along the way.

Station 19 (HBO Max original film) — Steven Soderbergh directs this comedy film that stars Meryl Streep, Candice Bergen, Dianne Wiest, Gemma Chan, and Lucas Hedges.

Alice in Borderland (Netflix series) — Based upon an original graphic novel by Haro Asu, this survival-thriller manga adaptation follows a group of friends who compete within dangerous games in an effort to survive. Usagi, a young woman who’s going it alone ends up transforming the life of Arisu, a video-game-obsessed dude who soon learn what it really means to live.

Station 19 (ABC, 8:00pm EST) — The firefighter drama’s dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic in Seattle while attempting to diffuse a difficult domestic dispute while Travis copes with a family crisis, and Maya works on her relationship with Carina.

Grey’s Anatomy (ABC, 9:00pm EST) — The new COVID-19 reality continues for the Grey Sloan crew as a surge of Covid-19 cases causes Bailey to panic over her relatives in a long-term care facility. Teddy’s also feeling frayed while Catherine must battle both Jackson and Richard at the same time.

Star Trek: Discovery (CBS, 10:00pm EST) — The U.S.S. Discovery wagers itself in an effort to shut down squabbles and fighting with the Klingons.

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — James Corden, Fleet Foxes

Jimmy Kimmel Live — Emily Blunt, Kyle Chandler, Sturgill Simpson

The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon — Bruce Springsteen, Mandy Moore

The Late Late Show With James Corden — Andrew Rannells

In case you missed these picks from last Thursday:

Euphoria Part 1: Rue (HBO Max early sneak peek) — Need a little Zendaya to tide you over before the show returns (at an undetermined date) for Season 2? The Emmy award winner returns for the first of two special episodes. This one officially lands on HBO on Sunday, but you can catch it early on Thursday night, only on HBO Max. Rue’s relapsing and ends up in a diner whilst contemplating life after Jules leaves her along at the train station following their winter formal.

Heaven’s Gate: The Cult Of Cults (HBO Max documentary series) — Way back in 1997, the Heaven’s Gate cult made headlines with a comet-chasing mass suicide that echoed Jonestown. However, this incident turned out to be the most voluminous suicide on U.S. soil and also involved 20 people’s disappearances. An alien-conspiracy theory and applesauce and disturbing infomercials soon surfaced, and this documentary series surfaces never-before-seen footage and first-person accounts to fill in blanks and add some UFO weirdness to the mix.

Every year when the folks at NBA 2K release their new batch of preseason player rankings, there are some that take offense to their position relative to their peers. Part of being an elite athlete is having immense self-confidence and belief in your abilities, and as such, their feeling about where they should be rated is often much higher than what a more objective observer would believe.

On top of that, sometimes the 2K folks whiff on ratings even relative to public consensus on a player, inevitably leading to backlash from fans when the ratings list comes out. Unlike, say, the ESPN NBA Rank folks, the way 2K goes about promotion is by working with players and as such they have a direct line to complain about their placement when new ratings come out. On Thursday, Zion Williamson — who is on the cover of the next-generation edition of NBA 2K21 — was told he was an 81 overall while doing some preseason media shoots with the Pelicans.

The second-year star was taken aback by being just an 81 and had to call up Ronnie 2K to lobby a formal complaint about his rating and try to get some answers.

What Zion learned is that the Pelicans media team had pulled his rating from last year, and that he was actually an 86 currently, which seemed to appease Williamson. The funniest part is Zion telling Ronnie to “call Google” and fix what comes up when you search for his 2K rating, which is an incredible statement to make, but also given that he literally just effectively called 2K to get something straightened out makes total sense as to why he’d think that was possible.

Blackstarkids may be fresh out of high school, but they’ve already made a name for themselves. Sharing a label with musicians like Beabadoobee and The 1975, the Kansas City trio released their eclectic debut album Whatever, Man back in October. Now, they’re returning to display the intoxicating effects of a budding relationship with their devoted “Tangerine Love” video.

To film the visual, Blackstarkids members The Babe Gabe, TyFaizon, and Deiondre tapped their circle of friends to participate. The vibrant video opens with Ty getting in his feels at a friend’s high school party. Deiondre then takes over, pulling out all of his best moves to serenade his crush from outside her window. The Babe Gabe also joins in, gathering her friends to discuss how the little things are what truly matter in a relationship.

Speaking to Uproxx shortly just ahead of their LP’s release, all three members cited Odd Future as one of their biggest musical inspirations. “Seeing Black kids make that kind of music, it was like, wow. You can really do whatever you want and create whatever sound you want,” The Babe Gabe said. Ty added, “I just liked the creativity and their expression. And of course, the aesthetic that they had and how much music they put out.”

Watch Blackstarkids’ “Tangerine Love” video above.

Whatever, Man is out now via Dirty Hit. Get it here.