Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 103

Derrick Jones Jr.’s calling card, ever since coming into the league during the 2016-17 season, has been his hops. Now playing for the Dallas Mavericks seven years into his career, Jones continues to defy gravity, and on Wednesday night, one of his athletic feats came at the expense of his former Chicago Bulls teammate Zach […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder, for most of their Wednesday night battle against the New Orleans Pelicans, were on cruise control, even going ahead by as many as 22 points in the second quarter after a Chet Holmgren and-one layup. But as we’ve seen in just the past week, there is no such thing as a […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers, after the 2021 season, decided to let Corey Seager leave for the Texas Rangers in free agency as they had belief that the options they had in the organization were more than capable of replacing his production. But Seager, despite already being elite in a Dodgers uniform, appears to have only […]

The Toronto Raptors have been one of the hardest teams to figure out thus far in the 2023-24 season. Coming off an embarrassing loss against the terrible Portland Trail Blazers, it was unclear which version of the Raptors would show up against the mighty Milwaukee Bucks. But the Raptors set the pace with a torrid-shooting […]

The Texas Rangers, after 62 years of existence as a franchise and 51 years of stay in the Lone Star state, have finally accomplished the ultimate goal of baseball — to win the World Series. The Rangers memorably fell short in back-to-back years to start the 2010s, heartbreakingly choking away a 3-2 lead with the […]

No one expected the Arizona Diamondbacks to mount that serious of a push for the World Series title after barely qualifying for the postseason. They entered the 2023 MLB playoffs with the second-worst odds of winning a championship, per FanDuel; after all, they won just 84 games and limped to the finish line. But Diamondbacks […]

The entire population of the state of Texas (or at least the subset of its population that are not fans of the Houston Astros) awaited Wednesday night with bated breath as the Texas Rangers faced off against the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 5 of the 2023 World Series with a chance to secure the franchise’s […]

The Los Angeles Clippers have, once again, renewed hopes when it comes to winning a championship after finally pulling off the much-awaited blockbuster trade that brings James Harden to town. Now, the Clippers have three All-Star-caliber players in Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George, with a high-variance player in Russell Westbrook leading the way for […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves, against all the criticisms they’ve received over the past year or so, wanted to give the Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert twin-tower experiment more time to figure things out. After all, Towns played in just 29 games last year, and members of the reigning champion Denver Nuggets said that their toughest matchup […]

The reputation hit Russell Westbrook took during his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers must be studied by future generations; that’s how damaging his one-and-a-half year stint with the Purple and Gold was to how fans perceived Westbrook’s value. It has now reached the point where fans are convinced that Westbrook is simply a losing […]

It was concerning for the Phoenix Suns when, before their opening night clash against the Golden State Warriors, Devin Booker popped up on the injury report with a toe injury. Nonetheless, Booker was able to play, and in fact, he was great during that game. He put up 32 points, six rebounds, and eight assists […]

At first glance, the package the Philadelphia 76ers received from the Los Angeles Clippers in the James Harden trade is exceptionally underwhelming. The Sixers received four of the Clippers’ power forwards in Robert Covington, Nicolas Batum, Marcus Morris, and KJ Martin, and none of those players particularly move the needle for a team hunting for […]

Bradley Beal hasn’t suited up for the Phoenix Suns since he missed their preseason game against the Portland Trail Blazers back on October 12. While there were no indications back then that the back injury he was dealing with at the time was anything serious, it’s certainly looking as though this knock will linger far […]

San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama, in the lead-up to the 2023 NBA Draft, was drawing lofty comparisons to Phoenix Suns star Kevin Durant for his incredible ball-handling skills for his size as well as Minnesota Timberwolves rim protector Rudy Gobert for his impeccable timing and positioning as a rim protector. And on Tuesday night, […]

James Harden, after a drawn-out leverage battle involving the Philadelphia 76ers and Los Angeles Clippers, finally got his wish as the Sixers sent him packing to the Clippers four months after the Beard initially requested a trade after opting into his contract for the 2023-24 season. This, according to a few reputable analysts, was a […]

The San Antonio Spurs had no business winning their Tuesday night affair against the Phoenix Suns; after all, for most of the night, Victor Wembanyama and company looked off the pace, thoroughly outclassed by the veteran execution of the Kevin Durant-led squad. But the Spurs simply do not know when to quit. They came roaring […]

The Memphis Grizzlies were expected to at least remain afloat, hovering around the .500 mark as they await Ja Morant’s return from a 25-game suspension. However, the Grizzlies have had a disastrous start to the 2023-24 season thus far. They have gone winless in four tries, including a defeat to the moribund Washington Wizards. Simply […]

Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs looked outclassed for the majority of their Tuesday night battle against Kevin Durant and the Phoenix Suns. The Suns led by double digits for the majority of the game, all the while Wembanyama was having his fair share of struggles in putting the ball through the hoop. But […]

The Texas Rangers didn’t exactly enter Game 4 of the 2023 World Series on the highest of notes despite coming off a 3-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in Game 3. The Rangers, despite being in a promising position, will have to continue their pursuit of the franchise’s first-ever championship without the services of both […]

It’s always a treat when two of the best players on the floor, even if they don’t play the same position, end up being matched against each other. It becomes an even greater delight to watch when those players take on each other in isolation. On Tuesday night, that’s exactly what Phoenix Suns star and […]

There’s a certain sense of joy that comes with getting exactly what you wanted after waiting for it to come for a long time. And in the early hours of Tuesday morning, James Harden finally got his wish after the Philadelphia 76ers pulled the trigger on the deal that would send him to the Los […]

The James Harden trade saga, after nearly four months, has finally reached its conclusion for the Philadelphia 76ers. In the wee hours of Tuesday morning, the Sixers and the Los Angeles Clippers finally agreed on the trade that would send Harden, along with PJ Tucker and Filip Petrusev, to southern California in exchange for a […]

In the lead-up to the 2023 NBA Draft lottery, the San Antonio Spurs looked far and away the most appealing destination for generational prospect Victor Wembanyama, the 7’4 physical anomaly who, if he develops right, will drastically change the way the game is played. After all, with legendary head coach Gregg Popovich at the helm, […]

The Sacramento Kings, off to a strong start to the 2023-24 season as an encore to their remarkable 2022-23 campaign, will have to weather major adversity early on in the season after their star point guard, De’Aaron Fox, suffered an ankle injury during their Sunday night win over the Los Angeles Lakers. The shame is […]

Dejounte Murray and the Atlanta Hawks had a nightmare of a first half against the Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night; the Hawks’ defense was all over the place, allowing 79 points to the Timberwolves as they faced a deficit that ballooned to as many as 21 points. But the game of basketball is played over […]

With Kyrie Irving out for the Dallas Mavericks during their Monday night battle against the struggling Memphis Grizzlies, Luka Doncic was, once again, expected to take on a huge offensive burden. Coming off a 49-point outburst against the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, anything short of a herculean effort from Doncic would have been a […]

The Golden State Warriors, on the second night of a back-to-back, gave up no inch to the more rested New Orleans Pelicans thanks to an electric performance from Stephen Curry. Curry, after embarrassing the Houston Rockets on Sunday night with a slew of incredible shots in the fourth quarter, was back at it again, this […]

Stephen Curry shows no signs of aging; despite being 35 years of age already, the Golden State Warriors star remains at the top of his game. And on Monday night, the New Orleans Pelicans, Curry and the Warriors’ old playoff nemesis, bore the brunt of yet another nuclear explosion from the greatest shooter the NBA […]

There were plenty of discussions during the offseason about how the Golden State Warriors would plan to deploy Chris Paul, the veteran point guard they acquired for Jordan Poole. Paul isn’t exactly the most-ideal fit alongside Stephen Curry, and putting him in the starting lineup means benching one of Klay Thompson, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green, […]

Many pundits think that the addition of Victor Wembanyama will immediately vault the San Antonio Spurs into the playoff hunt. And on Friday night, following a huge win over the Houston Rockets, it seemed as though the Spurs would continue their climb atop the league’s totem pole. But the veteran Los Angeles Clippers served the […]

It’s hard to believe that Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry is already 35 years of age. After all, not only is he baby-faced, he also continues to tear up the opposition in the NBA. And on Friday night, facing the Sacramento Kings team which he eliminated with a dominant 50-point Game 7 performance, Curry […]

There was much consternation among fans of the Dallas Mavericks when Jason Kidd and company opted to roll with Maxi Kleber over Dereck Lively II as the team’s starting center during their season-opener against the San Antonio Spurs. However, Lively quickly showed that he’s such an athletic presence in the paint, passing the eye test […]

Entering the 2023-24 season, it wasn’t quite clear what role Cam Thomas was going to be having for the Brooklyn Nets. Thomas had a stretch last season where he looked like an unstoppable scoring force, but he didn’t do much else and struggled thereafter, leading to his eventual removal from the rotation. But during the […]

The Dallas Mavericks, in Game 2 against the Brooklyn Nets, found themselves in another dogfight after a nip-and-tuck opening game victory against the San Antonio Spurs. The Mavs, despite making a few upgrades over the summer, was the Luka Doncic show was once again, with the Slovenian star shouldering quite the heavy workload on offense. […]

Victor Wembanyama has all the makings of being a foundational star for the San Antonio Spurs. Aside from his otherworldly presence on the defensive end, he has also shown flashes of being an unstoppable shot creator and finisher. However, one of the main responsibilities of a superstar is to be the team’s go-to-guy in the […]

The San Antonio Spurs entered their Friday night matchup looking to get their first win of the 2023-24 season over their in-state rivals Houston Rockets. The Rockets, fresh off a blowout defeat at the hands of the Orlando Magic in their season-opener, may have been ripe for the taking, but that wasn’t the case, as […]

Throughout Gregg Popovich’s tenure as the head coach of the San Antonio Spurs, he has earned the reputation for being a mentor figure who isn’t afraid to dish out some tough love. But it seems as though in recent times, Popovich has mellowed down, especially when he has nothing left to prove in his Hall […]

The hype surrounding San Antonio Spurs rookie Victor Wembanyama is almost unlike any other; at 7’4, his incredible blend of shot-creating skills and elite defense make him such a tantalizing prospect, and Wembanyama, in his brief career thus far, has made believers in millions who believe he’ll reach his potential. But Houston Rockets wing Dillon […]