Diego Vergel de Dios Articles - Page 16

Fred VanVleet will always be known as one of the best undrafted players in NBA history, especially after signing a four-year, $85 million extension last offseason. He barely made the Toronto Raptors roster in 2017, but he is now the catalyst of their offense and the best player on the team. Despite the early season […]

Ben Simmons has not been all over the news anymore for the past few weeks, but he has still not suited up for a single second for the Philadelphia 76ers this season. It is still an empty roster spot for the 76ers who could use any sort of help to still continually develop alongside arguably […]

The Eastern Conference has immensely improved from the previous seasons, and there are many young individuals that have propelled their certain squads to serious playoff consideration this season. Surprising squads like the Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls have exceeded expectations, thus prompting them to have plausible candidates to be selected to play in the 2022 […]

The NBA All-Star Game selection process incites one of the main debates every season because every fan has their own opinion and biases on who should be selected in the 24 prestigious spots. This could arguably be the hardest year to fill up the ballot because a plethora of possible players have missed a slew […]

Even with the new format in the NBA All-Star game, the selections before the draft is still divided between the Eastern and Western Conference. Stephen Curry is currently the leading the votes among the west guards, but the second spot could be open to a slew of other players ranging from Luka Doncic, Chris Paul, […]

The Atlanta Hawks franchise surprised most NBA fans last season by reaching the Eastern Conference Finals via convincing victories over the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers. Moving onto this year, the target was already on the back of the Hawks. The composition of their roster has been decimated for majority of the season, but […]

After missing 10 consecutive games, Luka Doncic is back in the fold for the Dallas Mavericks’ Sunday night matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Doncic suffered an ankle injury against the Denver Nuggets and then entered health and safety protocols when he was due to return from the injury. At the beginning of the season, […]

The Chicago Bulls made an unexpected sign-and-trade move in the offseason by acquiring DeMar DeRozan to form a dynamic scoring duo with Zach LaVine. There were a slew of doubts surrounding the pairing because both are ball-dominant scorers with question marks on defense, but they have shut all the critics down as the Bulls sit […]

When Stanley Johnson finally got another crack at an NBA job, he entered health and safety protocols instantly. He failed to even play a single second for the Chicago Bulls. But the Los Angeles Lakers gave him another chance to prove himself worthy of a guaranteed NBA deal. Johnson’s first game for the Lakers was […]

After the Atlanta Hawks reached the Eastern Conference Finals last season, there was a ton of clamor for them to keep their core intact for the foreseeable future. For their 2021-22 campaign, they still have majority of the team back, but young studs De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish are two key pieces that are due […]

When the Orlando Magic traded Nikola Vucevic for multiple draft assets, little did they expect to have an incredible player already in just his rookie season. The own pick of the Magic was Gonzaga’s Jalen Suggs, but it is the Bulls pick that was traded to Orlando that they used to select Franz Wagner. Surprisingly, […]

The Chicago Bulls received a ton of scrutiny when they paired DeMar DeRozan with Zach LaVine in the offseason, but they have been a remarkable tandem so far. Despite being two ball-dominant individuals, DeRozan and LaVine found a way to make it work along with their other supplementary parts in Nikola Vucevic, Alex Caruso and […]

As the Boston Celtics were wrapping up 2021, they had a brutal last month of December as they only had a 6-9 record. All their opponents were over.500 for December, but the Celtics had some recent disastrous losses to the Minnesota Timberwolves and Los Angeles Clippers. As they were hosting their final match against the […]

Entering this 2021-22 season, the Los Angeles Clippers were already a depleted team due to the torn ACL injury Kawhi Leonard sustained in the playoffs last year. However, their goal was to still become a formidable playoff threat and hope for Leonard to come back just before playoff time. That could still be plausible in […]

With the Los Angeles Lakers having a massive overhaul in their roster from last season, continuity and chemistry has been a huge issue for this franchise. Most of their players have been in-and-out of the lineup and the Lakers coaching staff has had a difficult time finding the perfect rotation for his team. Many of […]

After playing nine seasons and winning one championship with the San Antonio Spurs, Patty Mills signed with the Brooklyn Nets for the taxpayer’s mid-level exception. Mills, with the Spurs since 2012, didn’t fit the extended timeline of San Antonio’s path toward contention, paving the way for him to chase another title alongside Kevin Durant and […]

The Miami Heat were expected to stand out as an NBA title contender in 2021-22 because of their big offseason acquisitions in Kyle Lowry and P.J. Tucker. Those two signings are the epitome of Heat culture, and they have proven that they can step it up despite the lengthy absences of Jimmy Butler and Bam […]

As the third matchup between the Golden State Warriors and Phoenix Suns was approaching, fans were anticipating for both franchises to be at full strength. However, the Warriors were undermanned as they were still missing several key pieces in Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Andre Iguodala, and James Wiseman. Phoenix was favored to win […]

The Los Angeles Lakers fell short of their miraculous fourth quarter Christmas Day comeback to the Brooklyn Nets, suffering their fifth straight loss, 122-115. There were numerous positives from this outing, such as the all-around performance of Carmelo Anthony in 38 minutes of play, and the tremendous energy of Stanley Johnson in defending superstar James […]

After acquiring Aaron Gordon before the 2021 NBA trade deadline, the Denver Nuggets were primed to have a deep playoff run and possibly even reach the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, Jamal Murray sustained a torn ACL injury in March, while Michael Porter Jr. incurred issues again with his back at the early juncture of this season. […]

At the early juncture of this season, the Washington Wizards were off to a hot start under their new head coach Wes Unseld Jr. Their defense was exceptional after being one of the worst defensive teams in the previous years. Three of the Los Angeles Lakers played they acquired in Kyle Kuzma, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, and […]

The Utah Jazz are on a roll once again to begin the season as they are currently the third best team in the association with a 22-9 record. Their style of play is still similar over the last few seasons, but the media attention is still not at a high level. The main reason for […]

The Dallas Mavericks entered the 2021 offseason with a chance to sign a couple of trustworthy reliables into their roster. They ended missing up on most of their rumored targets, but they were able to add two tremendous three-and-D players in Reggie Bullock and Sterling Brown. However, their acquisitions have been abysmal so far along […]

As the Omicron variant of COVID-19 has caused another wave in the United States, NBA players have been drastically affected with the virus. As players in the league are in great condition and fully-vaccinated, majority of them are asymptomatic. The league decided to lessen the testing on players this season, which has made it difficult […]

The New York Knicks were the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference last season. Some of the major reasons would be the hiring of Tom Thibodeau or Julius Randle’s All-NBA ascension, but the underrated reason for their success was the signing of Derrick Rose. After his impressive season, Rose has re-signed with the Knicks for […]

As the Sacramento Kings have been ravaged with numerous COVID-19 cases like most NBA teams, their depth has been severely affected causing them to lose six out of their last eight games. Starting point guard De’Aaron Fox has missed the last four games, while injuries to Harrison Barnes and Richaun Holmes have forced them to […]

The Washington Wizards started 2021-22 at an impressive pace, but have regressed to seventh in the Eastern Conference after losing seven of their last nine games. Though role players like Kyle Kuzma and Montrezl Harrell exceeded expectations early on, opponents have recently constructed a better game plan against the Wizards. As Washington slides down the […]

As Klay Thompson and James Wiseman near their respective returns for the Golden State Warriors, their fans are excited for a deep playoff run. Stephen Curry could possibly win his third MVP, while Draymond Green is one of the top contenders for the Defensive Player of the Year. One underrated factor of the 24-6 start […]

Kemba Walker signed a two-year, $17 million contract with the New York Knicks in the offseason as a replacement for Elfrid Payton. It seemed like a massive upgrade at the point guard position for Tom Thibodeau, but Walker struggled in the first quarter of the season by only scoring over 20 points twice during that […]

The Philadelphia 76ers finished the 2020-21 season with an unfortunate loss to the upstart Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. It was a massive upset, but the main headline for news outlets was the additional dysfunction Atlanta’s surprise victory sparked between the Sixers and Ben Simmons. At the moment, the front office has not […]

The Chicago Bulls approached the 2021 offseason with the assertiveness of acquiring talent to complement the duo of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic because they struggled immensely toward the end of last season. DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso have been remarkable for Billy Donovan and the Bulls as they sit currently third in […]

As the Brooklyn Nets played their last two games, they had numerous players exceed their normal playing minutes because the rest of the roster is in health and safety protocols. Many of these individuals are performing at an incredible level, but the majority of the scoring and leadership roles are tasked to one of the […]

The Boston Celtics reached the Eastern Conference Finals in 2017, 2018, and 2020, but last season was a massive disappointment and this season is off to a sluggish 14-14 start. There has been some buzz around the NBA about the Celtics shaking things up in a big way by trading Jaylen Brown and breaking up […]

The Los Angeles Lakers acquired superstar point guard Russell Westbrook in the offseason, thus raising the championship expectations for this prominent franchise. The star trio of Westbrook, LeBron James, and Anthony Davis has been an unfortunate disappointment because they are still searching for team chemistry and rhythm along with their plethora of offseason acquisitions. Still, […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves is having another up-and-down season, which has been a trend already for several years. It’s actually put a spotlight in and around Karl-Anthony Towns. The disappointment and uncertainty continues to grow for their organization because of the constant losing seasons, along with problems that continually arise, such as their lack of leadership […]

As the Houston Rockets traded James Harden and Russell Westbrook two seasons ago, their franchise decided to rebuild the composition of their roster and acquire young talent through the draft. 2021 NBA draftees Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun are still continuing to find their niche as the main rookies of this squad, while Kevin Porter […]

When a team starts stringing up numerous losses, people would normally blame the head coach on the main reason for the disaster that is occurring. Even if it seems unreasonable, the job of coaches could be temporary because of the scrutiny and criticism they receive from their respective fan bases. Players would rarely receive the […]

The Detroit Pistons are currently the worst team in the league with a 4-21 win-loss record, but there are more unfortunate news for this organization after their best player Jerami Grant suffered torn ligaments in his thumb and has been ruled out indefinitely. Cade Cunningham already missed several games in the beginning of the season, […]

The Boston Celtics went on a shocking run in the 2016-17 run as they reached the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time since 2012. The magnificent piece that propelled them to success was 5’9″ point guard Isaiah Thomas, who averaged 28.9 points and 5.9 assists per game in 76 games. He finished fifth in […]