Diego Vergel de Dios Articles - Page 18

The Los Angeles Lakers entered their 2021-22 campaign with 11 new players. The beginning of their season was filled with home games and non-playoff opponents, but they have suffered heartbreaking losses to non-playoff contenders. One key acquisition to the franchise is superstar point guard Russell Westbrook. Rob Pelinka added Westbrook to have another reliable scorer […]

Over the last two seasons, the Golden State Warriors have failed to earn a playoff spot in the stacked Western Conference. At the start of their 2021-22 campaign, Stephen Curry is back to his MVP ways, while Draymond Green is putting himself back into contention for Defensive Player of the Year. These two stars have […]

The Dallas Mavericks had plenty of offseason turmoil in their front office and coaching staff, but that has not affected the 2021-22 season too much so far. While newly hired head coach Jason Kidd has been criticized for some of his decisions, he has led this Mavs franchise to a 6-3 start to their campaign, […]

After letting go of Lloyd Pierce last season, the Atlanta Hawks went on a fantastic run to the Eastern Conference Finals. Despite being undermanned without De’Andre Hunter and Cam Reddish, the defense did not deteriorate in the playoffs. It was the first postseason appearance for majority of their key cogs, including budding superstar Trae Young. […]

Toronto Raptors forward Pascal Siakam is set to return from his shoulder injury, and the rest of the league better be ready. The Raptors are thriving under head coach Nick Nurse, thanks in large part to the productions of Fred VanVleet, OG Anunoby and their prized rookie from the 2021 NBA Draft, Scottie Barnes. With […]

The Philadelphia 76ers were all over the news in the offseason of the issues surrounding the Ben Simmons saga. Everyone was wondering if it would affect their play on the court whether Simmons eventually decides to suit up or just sit down for 82 games. In their first nine games of the season, the Sixers […]

When Kristaps Porzingis was drafted No. 4 overall in the 2015 NBA Draft, there were only a few fans familiar with his playing style. In his first three seasons at the Mecca of Basketball, Porzingis’ was a phenomenal 7’3″ center that could put the ball on the floor and protect the rim consistently. On February […]

Over the last few years, there has been some clamor to eradicate the conferences in the NBA and just select the top 16 franchises to advance to the playoffs. That’s because in the recent past, the Western Conference has looked far superior to the squads out East. But with the Eastern Conference teams stacking up, […]

With another disappointing start for the Detroit Pistons, it is difficult to find any optimism for a franchise that has not seriously contended for a championship for several years already. They were able to snatch the No. 1 overall pick Cade Cunningham in the 2021 NBA Draft, but he has not found his touch yet […]

Even with the departure of Kawhi Leonard four years ago, the San Antonio Spurs have still been a constant staple as a contender in the deep Western Conference. Their team is not the most talented, but Gregg Popovich has manufactured ways for them to flourish as a well-oiled unit. Many of the key pieces of […]

Over the last 17 years, the Minnesota Timberwolves have only made the playoffs once in the 2017-18 season wherein they were led by the trio of Jimmy Butler, Karl Anthony-Towns and Andrew Wiggins. The composition of their team has drastically changed in the past four years with the young core of Towns, Anthony Edwards, and […]

The Denver Nuggets enter their 2021-22 campaign with heightened expectations to achieve another deep playoff run. Nikola Jokic is coming off his phenomenal MVP season wherein he tallied 26.4 PPG, 10.8 RPG and 8.3 APG. However, the Nuggets are missing the services of star point guard Jamal Murray as he continues to recover from an […]

The Indiana Pacers have been one of the more competitive teams in the Eastern Conference in recent years, but they’ve never been able to make noise in the playoffs. The Pacers fired Nate Bjorkgren after a disappointing 2020-21  season and made a splashy head coaching hire by bringing back Rick Carlisle. Carlisle has the track record […]

After Kawhi Leonard’s departure, the San Antonio Spurs have gone through a drastic drop-off from their usual deep playoff runs. RC Buford and the organization has decided to bolster their squad by drafting young individuals that have massive upside. It’s a hit-or-miss approach for any front office honcho, but one jackpot for the Spurs is […]

The All-Star Game may just seem like one game where the 24 best players in the league showcase their talents in front of millions of fans. For the players, this achievement means a ton because they are able to receive certain financial incentives and further burnish their reputations. Since the regular season tipped nearly two […]

Entering the 2021-22 NBA season, the consensus opinion was the Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks were the overwhelming favorites to claim the Eastern Conference championship. Others put them on a separate tier from the rest of their competitors, but there is one proven team that has overwhelmingly contradicted that statement early in the season. Hello […]

In the first season of Buddy Hield, he was traded right away to the Sacramento Kings where has spent majority of his career. It has been a tumultuous ride for Hield as there are games where he would convert over six three-point shots, then there are instances wherein head coach Luke Walton would limit his […]

Over the last two seasons, the Dallas Mavericks were ousted by the Los Angeles Clippers in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. One glaring weakness of the franchise was their difficulty of finding a secondary ball handler and shot creator that could complement their budding superstar Luka Doncic. Defenses would focus on containing him […]

The Atlanta Hawks suffered two early-season losses to the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards, but they are oozing with confidence entering their first matchup against the Philadelphia 76ers. In this specific post, we’ll be making our Hawks predictions for their game against the 76ers. Despite being the underdog in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals, they toppled […]

The Philadelphia 76ers have been all over the news in the offseason because of the Ben Simmons shenanigans that have continued for several months already. Their Saturday night matchup will be against the Atlanta Hawks, who beat them in the Eastern Conference Semi-Finals in seven games. Their Game 7 loss to the Hawks was a […]

James Harden last won the NBA MVP in 2018 when he was suiting up for the Houston Rockets. However, his chances of replicating such success has been slowed down by the NBA’s new foul-baiting rules. Expectations were high on Harden to compete for MVP. After all, with Kyrie Irving still refusing to get vaccinated and […]

The Chicago Bulls had one of the best off-seasons as they signed DeMar DeRozan, Lonzo Ball, and Alex Caruso to complement the current core of their squad. Moreover, an integral piece of their first unit is Patrick Williams because of his defensive prowess and decent jump shot. The No. 4 pick in last year’s draft […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers are off to a scorching hot start in their 2021-22 campaign. They are in the midst of their West Coast road trip as they have won their first two games versus the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers. Their next match will be against the 2020 NBA Champions Los Angeles Lakers led […]

The Los Angeles Clippers and Portland Trail Blazers have had heated encounters over the past few seasons. It has been an entertaining sight to see these two franchises face off with each other, but the Clippers started their first matchup this season with a 30-point victory last Monday night. That win of the Clippers is […]

The new-look Los Angeles Lakers are off to an abysmal start to their 2021-22 campaign. The squad acquired 11 new faces for this season after their first round exit to the Phoenix Suns last season. With a 2-3 record to begin the year, their two wins were a close squeaker against the Memphis Grizzlies and […]

After a long hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the 2019-20 NBA season resumed their festivities at the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida. No one knew what to expect from the players and teams. One of the unexpected results was the fifth seed Miami Heat and Tyler Herro reaching the NBA Finals against the Los […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2020 World Series crown by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays in six games. Their organization is known to spend a ton of money to shore up their lineup despite winning the crown already. As the Washington Nationals started selling their best players, Trea Turner and Max Scherzer were two […]

Even with no NBA basketball for a couple of months, the Philadelphia 76ers continued to flood the news in the sporting world because of all the Ben Simmons shenanigans. There have been negative progress with the relationship between Simmons, his teammates, and the 76ers franchise. Currently, Simmons has approached the team and admitted that he […]

In the first game of the 2021-22 campaign, the Boston Celtics dropped a double overtime squeaker to the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Jayson Tatum shot 7/30 from the field, but it was an all-around phenomenal performance by the Celtics in head coach Ime Udoka’s debut. In their home opener versus the Toronto […]

After Jalen Suggs led Gonzaga to an impressive college season, his draft stock immensely ascended despite losing to Baylor in the National Championship. Suggs has the impressive ball-handling skills and long-range abilities for fans to notice his all-around skillset. With that, as Toronto Raptors selected Scottie Barnes with the No. 4 overall pick in the […]

The Detroit Pistons had an atrocious 2021-22 campaign, but the silver lining is they had the opportunity to select the number one overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft. The Pistons decided to choose Oklahoma State’s Cade Cunningham as draft experts compare his game to Slovenian superstar Luka Doncic. Cunningham is nursing an ankle injury […]

The Washington Wizards lost the second best player on their team in Russell Westbrook, but they were able to acquire prominent players to complement their main man Bradley Beal. He has been rumored to be in trade discussions for numerous years already, but Beal has expressed his loyalty to the franchise that selected him third […]

After the miscommunication and departure of Kawhi Leonard from the San Antonio Spurs, the team has not been able to become a consistent threat in the deep Western Conference. Gregg Popovich continues to be at the helm for the prominent franchise, but none of their youthful draftees have ascended to All-Star caliber level yet. With […]

After their opening day loss to the Golden State Warriors, the Los Angeles Lakers played their first home game against the defending Western Conference Champions Phoenix Suns. The Lakers got off to a decent start, but the Suns went on a spurt in the second quarter to increase the lead to double digits. As tensions […]

In the 2019-20 season, the Toronto Raptors still finished second in the Eastern Conference despite the departure of superstar Kawhi Leonard. The following season, Toronto played all their games away from their home floor because of the COVID restrictions mandated in Canada. The Raptors dropped all the way down as they did not even contend […]

Just two years ago, the Houston Rockets reached the Western Conference Semifinals, but their performance has taken a drastic hit over the last two years. They were the worst team in the NBA last year. Fortunately, they received the second overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft and used it by selecting athletic wing Jalen […]

The Atlanta Hawks went on a terrific run in the 2021-22 season after their coaching change from Lloyd Pierce to Nate McMillan. They reached the Eastern Conference Finals before succumbing to the eventual champion Milwaukee Bucks in six games. Unfortunately, Cameron Reddish, Deandre Hunter, and Trae Young sustained injures in the midst of their run. […]

In an unprecedented season with a slew of COVID-related absences and recurring injuries, the Utah Jazz stood out in the 2021 NBA regular season. They coasted through the number one seed in the Western Conference. They had a phenomenal point differential as they were almost unbeatable in their home floor at Vivint Arena because of […]

The New York Knicks began their campaign on an impressive note in a double overtime victory over their archrival Boston Celtics. The team was led by first time All Star Julius Randle as he tallied 35 points, eight rebounds, and nine assists, while new acquisition Evan Fournier recorded 32 points, six rebounds, and four steals. […]