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LeBron James is the biggest superstar in the NBA which means he can get away with things that the average player just can’t swing. For instance, there have been plenty of times where LeBron was just a bit too aggressive but didn’t actually get a foul or severe punishment. Now, LeBron is avoiding repercussions again, this time when it comes to the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols.

Earlier this morning, we reported on how LeBron was actually in violation of the league’s rules after attending an event with Drake and Michael B. Jordan on Monday. LeBron went and played with his team a couple of nights later, where the Lakers cemented their spot in the playoffs. On Friday, the league came out and warned the Lakers about LeBron’s actions, but now, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, LeBron will not be punished.

The timing of this decision makes sense when you consider how the NBA Playoffs start today. Without LeBron in the postseason, the NBA would suffer some severe consequences in terms of ratings, and after last season, the league would rather avoid that sort of disaster.

For some fans, this comes across as yet another instance of the rules not applying to LeBron although when you’re a massive superstar, it’s to be expected.

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Those damn Americans and their skinny jeans! That was probably the thought going through Kim Jong-Un’s mind when e decided to ban the popular clothing style in North Korea. That wasn’t all tough. Jong-un also banned ripped jeans, mullets, sloganed T-shirts, and lip and nose piercings. As reported by New York Post, the ban is meant to crack down on “decadent” Western style and culture. 

“We must be wary of even the slightest sign of the capitalistic lifestyle and fight to get rid of them,” Kim wrote in an article. “History teaches us a crucial lesson that a country can become vulnerable and eventually collapse like a damp wall regardless of its economic and defense power if we do not hold on to our own lifestyle.” 

Just last year, it was rumored that Jong-un was dying, however, those rumors appeared to be false. The recent bans come during a strange time in North Korea. The government has been trying very hard to crack down on foreign influence, going as far as banning and regulating the K-pop music coming from the southern half of the peninsula. As the world gets smaller due to the internet, North Korea keeps finding it more and more difficult to restrict outside influence. 

 

 

 

 

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When the NBA season started in December, there were a select group of teams that most fans could have guessed would be title contenders. Of course, the defending champion, Los Angeles Lakers, were near the top of that list, while the Brooklyn Nets were a close second. After all, Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving are two of the best in the league and with both players healthy, the Nets were projected to do some damage. In the end, the Nets also finessed James Harden onto the team, which turned them into a bonafide super team and immediate title favorites, even over the Lakers.

Meanwhile, teams like the Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, and even the Milwaukee Bucks, came into the season with the weight of their world on their shoulders. All of these teams fell short last season and for teams like the Clippers and 76ers, this season was going to be all about revenge. For the most part, revenge was handed down swiftly, with the 76ers taking the top spot in the Eastern Conference, and the Clippers showing everyone why they should be feared heading into the postseason.

With the playoffs starting this weekend, these franchises have a real opportunity to demonstrate just how ready they are for the big stage. At the time of writing this, there are still some play-in games to be dealt with, although none of those teams have any real shot at a title. Having said that now is the best time to dive into these playoff matchups, and determine who is going to come away with an NBA title.

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Eastern Conference

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In the Eastern Conference, it truly feels like it is a two-team race, with everyone else lagging significantly behind. The 76ers finished the season with the best record out East at 49-23. Meanwhile, the Nets were just one game behind them with a solid record of 48-24. Perhaps the most impressive part of Brooklyn’s season is that they were able to win two-thirds of their games, despite rarely having their big-three on the court at the same time. With everyone healthy for their first-round series against the Boston Celtics, everyone in the league should be shaking in their boots right now.

As for the rest of the conference, the Milwaukee Bucks were solid, finishing in third place, however, they are known as perennial playoff chokers and despite Giannis’ presence, they simply do not have a strong enough team to contend with the 76ers and the Nets. Aside from the Bucks, the rest of the Eastern Conference is a bit of a mess. The New York Knicks remain a great story, however, aside from an easy series against the Atlanta Hawks, they will be hard-pressed to beat a team like the 76ers in the second round. Miami Heat fans are hoping for yet another deep playoff run although, beyond a potential upset against the Bucks, they really don’t have much of a chance against the Brooklyn Nets, who, once again, will be at full strength. This ultimately leaves the Nets and the 76ers as the last two teams standing once we get to the Eastern Conference Finals.

In three games this season, the 76ers defeated the Nets twice, although the games were relatively close and the Nets weren’t always fully healthy. This potential Eastern Conference Finals series will ultimately come down to Joel Embiid & Ben Simmons Vs. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden. At first glance, this seems completely one-sided towards the Nets, and quite frankly, it is. KD, Kyrie, and Irving are all top 10 players in the NBA, and in any given year, they can make their own case for league MVP. On the flip side of that, Embiid has made a massive case for MVP, however, he and Simmons’ lack of deep-run playoff experience could prove to be the deciding factor. Over the course of seven games, the Nets’ big three will be too much to handle, and they will likely come away with the win despite a valiant effort from the 76ers. 

Conference Champion: Brooklyn Nets

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Western Conference

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While the Eastern Conference is relatively easy to predict, the Western Conference proves to be a much more difficult task. Perhaps the biggest reason for this is the fact that the top two seeds are occupied by teams that no one thought would have as much success as they did. The Utah Jazz finished with the best record in the entire league at 52-20 while the Phoenix Suns finished second at 51-21. From there, the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers finished with the same record, although due to a tie-break, it was the Nuggets who got the third seed. Clearly, the biggest surprise here is the Los Angeles Lakers, who nabbed the seventh-seed after injuries forced them into a play-in situation.

As for the actual matchups, it feels like we could be in for a wild. Starting with Lakers-Suns, we are met with perhaps the evenest Western Conference series, despite the gap in seeding. The Lakers come in as the defending champs, and they are also healthy. LeBron James and Anthony Davis are a monstrous duo and they will be determined to get back to the NBA Finals. With this in mind, it wouldn’t be a shock to see a seventh-seed dismantle a team like the Suns, who only have one experienced player in Chris Paul. At the end of the day, the Lakers are an artificial seventh seed, and had the season gone differently, they would be at least top three. From there, the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers are on track to play each other in the second round. These are two teams that have had playoff issues over the last few years, although when it comes to experience, the Clippers should be heavily favored, and we fully expect them to come away with the win. Meanwhile, the Lakers will take on the Denver Nuggets on the other side of the bracket, and just like last year, the Lakers will prove to be the dominant team.

Once the Western Conference Finals come around, it will be the two teams from Los Angeles left standing. This is the matchup we were supposed to get last year, although the Clippers choked the opportunity away. In 2021, it feels like the stars are aligning and it’s going to be an incredible series. This will probably go the distance and there will be a ton of twists and turns throughout. However, players like Paul George have yet to prove their credibility in the playoffs, which makes it hard to pick them in a series against a team like the Lakers. PG could definitely prove us wrong although until then, it seems like the purple and gold would be the safest prediction here.

Conference Champion: Los Angeles Lakers

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NBA Finals

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Lakers Vs. Nets is the NBA Finals we have all been hoping for. I mean, let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to see LeBron James take on Kyrie, KD, and James Harden over the course of a seven-game series. It’s a Herculean task that only LeBron could complete, or better yet, even have a shot at conquering. Unfortunately, the Nets are looking like the Warriors super team of old, and we know how that worked out for LeBron and the Cavs in 2017 and 2018.

Of course, LeBron has a much better group of teammates this time around. From Anthony Davis to Kyle Kuzma to Andre Drummond, and even Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, LeBron has a lot to work with. However, the Nets are scary and have some of the best players in the NBA. Not to mention, their support cast has been solid this year and with LeBron getting up there in age, this Nets team has the ability to break LeBron down as a series goes on. As for Anthony Davis, he has been neutralized quite a bit this season and if he runs into injury problems as he did during the regular season, the Lakers could wind up losing control very fast. On the opposite side of that, the Nets have also run into injury issues and if someone like KD goes down, then it’s hard to imagine the Nets winning.

Barring any injuries, it seems pretty apparent that the Nets should be the favorite. On top of their big three, they have Blake Griffin, who has had a huge resurgence since signing with the team. He has proven his keep amongst three superstars and it’s going to be hard for the Lakers to handle all of that talent. Make no mistake, this series could easily go six or seven games but at the end of the day, the Nets firepower is just too much.

NBA Champion: Brooklyn Nets

Who do you think is going to win the Championship this season? Let us know in the comments below.

Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni gave the Star Wars franchise new life when they created The Mandalorian. The series gave a western feel to the Star Wars world, and made fans fall in love with Grogu (aka Baby Yoda). Last year, Disney revealed that there would be several The Mandalorian spin-off shows coming, with one of them being Rangers of the New Republic. The show was allegedly going to star Gina Carano, who was infamously fired after making controversial comments on Twitter. 

Per Variety, it appears Rangers of the New Republic has gotten the ax. Fans are speculating that the series was deflated because of Carano’s firing, however, there is no proof of that. Still, that hasn’t stopped the internet from bringing up Carano once again. 

The other shows that will spin-off The Mandalorian are The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka, and The Bad Batch. Disney+ also is bringing fans an Obi-Wan series, a Lando show, a Rogue One spin-off with Andor, and The Acolyte, which is based thousands of years before the movies. Are you excited for the new Star Wars shows, or were you really looking forward to Rangers of the New Republic?

Today, the NBA Playoffs will officially begin and fans couldn’t be any more excited about it. There are a lot of storylines to digest throughout these playoffs and it seems pretty clear that the league is about to bless us with some great basketball. Whether your team is in the Eastern or Western Conference, there is a lot to be excited about here and the unknowns that are at play are making this Playoff run one to remember.

On Saturday, there will be four matchups followed by the next four on Sunday. From there, Game twos will start on Monday where we will be seeing playoff basketball every single day for at least a month. It’s a time to rejoice as basketball fans and even if your team didn’t make it to the big show, you’ll have plenty of great games to watch. Below, you can find the NBA Playoff schedule for this weekend.

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SATURDAY, MAY 22 

Bucks vs. Heat – 2 PM EST (ESPN)

Clippers vs. Mavs – 4:30 PM EST (ESPN)

Nets vs. Celtics – 8 PM EST (ABC)

Nuggets vs. Trail Blazers – 10:30 PM EST (ESPN)

SUNDAY, MAY 23

76ers vs. Wizards – 1 PM EST (TNT)

Suns vs. Lakers – 3:30 PM EST (ABC)

Knicks vs. Hawks – 7 PM EST (TNT)

Jazz vs. Grizzlies – 9:30 PM EST (TNT)

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Michael Chandler is one of the more explosive fighters in the UFC and fans always love to see him in action. Last weekend, he fought against Charles Oliveira at UFC 262 and while he ended up losing, there is no denying that he put up a solid fight and that he was a blast to see in action. With this in mind, Dana White already has big plans for Chandler’s next fight and he is currently in the midst of figuring out who deserves the next shot at him.

While speaking to TMZ Sports, White teased UFC fans with a fight that would certainly satisfy those who want to see some chaos. White noted that Justin Gaethje could be a great matchup for Chandler and while it hasn’t been confirmed, there are definitely some talks in place.

“That’s a good question. I mean, there’s a few opportunities,” White said “He can fight Gaethje, we’ll see. We don’t have anything done yet but that makes sense and that’d be a fun fight. Imagine Chandler and Gaethje.”

The last time we saw Gaethje in the octagon, he lost to Khabib Nurmagomedov who immediately retired after the fight. Gaethje is still one of the best fighters in the UFC, and a comeback fight against Chandler would be a great show to watch.

Let us know who you think would win this fight, in the comments below.

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With COVID-19 raging on, the NBA has been very adamant about carrying out health and safety protocols. Every single day, NBA players are forced to get tested against the virus and they also must comply with social distancing orders. It’s been tough for the players although with the vaccine being rolled out all around the United States, the NBA has eased restrictions for teams who have a majority of their players vaccinated. 

Some players have expressed a strong desire to get the vaccine while others have avoided the topic. LeBron is among the latter group as back in March, he said the vaccine was something he would discuss with his family. Just a few weeks ago, Dennis Schroder told German media that he hadn’t gotten the vaccine and that LeBron was one of the few Lakers players who hadn’t gotten it either. 

On Friday, LeBron was asked by reporters if he had plans to get the vaccine, which led to an ambiguous answer.

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“Anything I do off the floor is predicated to my family, for the majority — for 99.9% of that,” James said. “So it’s about the health and safety of my family, and that’s what it came down to. Me being available to my teammates on the floor is me taking care of my body. Me doing everything I can do to make sure I’m available both mentally, physically and spiritually, as well. But anything of that nature, that’s all family talk.” This was then followed up by LeBron saying “It’s not a big deal,” when asked directly if he had gotten vaccinated.

It’s clear the vaccine is a sensitive topic for LeBron, especially since he is one of the most influential players in the league. No matter what his opinion is, it could sway people one way or the other, and for now, he has decided to be careful with what he says. In today’s social media age, you can’t really blame him.

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