Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 113

Winning a championship is the most difficult task for any NBA player. Just ask the laundry list of Hall of Famers who failed to achieve the pinnacle of team success. Thus, Nikola Jokic, Jamal Murray, and the Denver Nuggets could do whatever they so please (as long as they remain within legal and ethical boundaries) […]

It’s not always easy to make an impact for a contending team in one’s first year in the NBA. But that’s exactly what Christian Braun did. Braun, the 21st pick of the 2022 NBA Draft, was a huge part of the Denver Nuggets rotation all season long. And now his (and the entire Nuggets team’s) […]

The end of the 2022-23 regular season was dominated by pro-Joel Embiid and anti-Nikola Jokic narratives. Talking heads and even other NBA players believed that Embiid deserved to win the 2023 NBA MVP because the Philadelphia 76ers star was better defensively, and that the gap between the two on offense wasn’t that big for the […]

It’s unclear what the exact figure is, but the city of Sombor in Serbia has a population of around 40-70,000 people depending on where one draws boundary lines. And yet from Sombor hails one of the greatest NBA players in history, and the latest to achieve basketball immortality, Nikola Jokic, the winner of the 2023 […]

Winning an NBA championship is never easy — even for teams with plenty of talented players. But the Denver Nuggets have done it. After 56 years of the franchise’s existence, the Nuggets have finally reached the pinnacle of team success, closing out the 2023 NBA Finals with a 94-89 victory over the Miami Heat. Understandably, […]

The Portland Trail Blazers have been unable to get over the playoff hump over the past two seasons, instead choosing to punt on the end of the season for the sake of receiving a much better draft pick. And it worked; the Blazers drafted promising youngster Shaedon Sharpe in 2022, and they’re now in position […]

Even with the clock close to striking midnight on the Miami Heat’s Cinderella playoff run, Jimmy Butler will be receiving plenty of praise for months, or perhaps even years, after proving once again that he is one of the game’s premier playoff performers. However, Butler hasn’t had the best of performances through the first four […]

The Miami Heat’s backs are against the wall for only the second time in this year’s playoffs. But this time, the end of their blistering postseason run may be imminent, as Jimmy Butler and company have found it difficult coping with the sheer talent and cohesion of the Denver Nuggets team. But a series isn’t […]

The Chicago White Sox simply have not been able to build off of their strong 2021 season. Not even two years ago, the White Sox won 93 games on the back of strong seasons from the likes of Tim Anderson, Lucas Giolito, and other noteworthy players who remain in a White Sox uniform, such as […]

The Golden State Warriors front office will have crucial decisions to make this offseason. Will they bring back Draymond Green, a player who proved just how valuable his defense and playmaking are to the Warriors’ chances of competing, in free agency? And will they choose to deal away players not named Stephen Curry, such as […]

The Golden State Warriors franchise finds itself in a bit of a transitory phase. They recently said goodbye to longtime general manager Bob Myers, while the team’s heart and soul, Draymond Green, will be hitting unrestricted free agency. However, with the Warriors already footing an expensive luxury tax bill to surround Stephen Curry with the […]

The Memphis Grizzlies — a team that has been on a rapid ascent atop the NBA’s totem pole — have a huge offseason ahead of them. There’s no clear resolution to the Ja Morant situation at the moment, but plenty of analysts believe that the league will lay the hammer down on the Grizzlies’ star […]

If there’s anything this year’s iteration of the Miami Heat has shown, it’s that they’re not going to give up without a fight. The Heat have seven comeback wins after trailing by 10 or more points in this postseason alone, which ties the record the 2021-22 Golden State Warriors set. Thus, even with the Denver […]

The seven-game format of an NBA playoff series may not lead to the most unpredictable outcomes, but it transforms every series into a game of micro-adjustments. At the moment, it’s looking like Michael Malone and the Denver Nuggets are one step ahead of Erik Spoelstra and the Miami Heat, as the Nuggets take a 3-1 […]

It was on April 12, 2021 when Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray’s career hit its biggest snag. With around 50 seconds left in the fourth quarter of that fateful game against the Golden State Warriors, Murray’s knee buckled on a strong drive to the hoop. He writhed in pain on the ground for a […]

The NBA playoffs is the great differentiator. The greatest stars shine when the lights are at their brightest.  Given the grueling grind that it takes to make the NBA Finals, much less to win an NBA championship, it is an incredible feat whenever an NBA star reserves their best for when the stakes are at […]

The Denver Nuggets are officially one win away from winning its first-ever championship in its 56 years of existence. Even with Nikola Jokic in foul trouble late in Game 4 of the 2023 NBA Finals, the Nuggets managed to protect their fourth-quarter lead against the greatest playoff comeback team of all time, the 2023 Miami […]

The Los Angeles Lakers went through a rollercoaster of a 2022-23 season. For a great part of the season, it looked like another twilight year in LeBron James’ career would go to waste, as the Lakers had a record below .500 until March 28, 2023 — a grand total of 162 days from their season-opening […]

The Portland Trail Blazers have a huge offseason ahead of them. After two years of trying their best to contend for a playoff spot, only to give up on the season by its tail-end, they no longer have any intentions of wasting away one more elite year of Damian Lillard’s career. Lillard, despite being 32 […]

The Dallas Mavericks endured a nightmare of a 2022-23 season. Not only did they have to witness Jalen Brunson’s full-on breakout into an All-Star caliber point guard in New York, but they then proceeded to miss the playoffs entirely. For a team that recently made the Western Conference Finals and is still boasting the services […]

The New York Mets surely envisioned having a much better record than 30-33 in June after their offseason spending spree. Alas, here the Mets are, languishing in fourth place in the NL East standings, with their nemesis Atlanta Braves starting to create more of a separation in the division. And their circumstances may have taken […]

The New York Mets entered the 2023 season with high hopes. After all, they finished the 2022 regular season with a 101-61 record, and then proceeded to splurge in the offseason on major talents such as Justin Verlander, Brandon Nimmo, and Kodai Senga. But the Mets haven’t found it easy to recreate the magic they […]

Fans of the Sacramento Kings have not known hope like this for ages. After 17 long years, the Kings made the playoffs, and they played well enough to merit more than a participation trophy. They took the Golden State Warriors to seven games, which is no mean feat given the disparity in playoff experience between […]

The Dallas Mavericks have always tended to shoot for the stars, to detrimental effect. Back in 2011 and 2012, the Mavs front office refused to keep their championship core intact. Instead, they let Tyson Chandler go for nothing in the hopes of making a run for Deron Williams and Dwight Howard in future free agencies. […]

Oh the mystery of what the Los Angeles Clippers would do this offseason. On one hand, the Clippers have Kawhi Leonard and Paul George under contract together for at least one more year, so as long as those two stay relatively healthy, they should still challenge for a playoff spot in the stacked Western Conference. […]

The New York Mets continue to struggle against their great white whale, the Atlanta Braves. Entering their three game-set from Junes 6 to 8, the Mets have lost three and won just one against the Braves this season. This is indicative of a greater struggle for the Mets in 2023, as they haven’t been able […]

The Los Angeles Clippers, ever since signing Kawhi Leonard and trading for Paul George in 2019, have been hunting for an upgrade at the point. Leonard and George are capable playmakers in their own right, but at this stage of their careers, it looks like they can function at their best playing alongside a table-setting […]

The Denver Nuggets have been on a warpath during the 2023 NBA playoffs. Despite entering the postseason coming off an uneven string of performances, the Nuggets have righted the ship at exactly the most opportune time. And now, thanks to monstrous efforts from both Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray in Game 3 of the NBA […]

The latest news surrounding the New Orleans Pelicans and its megastar, Zion Williamson, isn’t the most positive; while Williamson can do whatever he so pleases in his free time, his involvement in a nasty interpersonal entanglement with an adult star does not paint him in the best of lights. Amid all the Williamson hullabaloo, however, […]

This is shaping up to be a pivotal offseason for the Golden State Warriors — not only are they transitioning from one brain trust to another following the departure of longtime general manager Bob Myers, they’ll also have a ton of decisions to make regarding the futures of Jordan Poole, Klay Thompson, and Draymond Green […]

Nothing is final as of yet. But the Phoenix Suns made waves this past Wednesday after Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report reported that the team is planning to waive future Hall of Fame point guard Chris Paul after only three seasons with the team. With a divorce between the two parties looking like the most […]

This will be a huge offseason for the Washington Wizards; the Wizards have a new brain trust in town, led by newly-hired Michael Winger, who’s ready to mold the roster into contention. Alas, that may not be the easiest proposition. Not only will the Wizards have to re-sign Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis in free […]

Michael Malone has been the coach of the Denver Nuggets since the 2015-16 season, witnessing the many ups and downs the franchise has encountered for the past eight or so years. He has witnessed Nikola Jokic’s glow up from a 20-minute per game player to perhaps the league’s best, and he has also helped guide […]

The Orlando Magic aren’t that far off from challenging for, at the very least, a spot in the play-in tournament. Given the trajectories of budding stars such as Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, not to mention the rock-solid play of Wendell Carter Jr. and Markelle Fultz at the spine of their team, the Magic won’t […]

There is a dawn of a new era in the North. The Toronto Raptors, after a tumultuous 2022-23 season, have decided to part ways with Nick Nurse, the team’s head coach for the past five seasons, including their championship-winning 2018-19 campaign. With perhaps a rebuild in mind, the Raptors have extensively been searching for the […]

After a drawn-out vacation saga with Paris Saint-Germain, it was only a matter of time before Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest football player of the past 20 years, departed France. Many thought that a reunion with FC Barcelona, the club he called home from 2003 to 2021, was a mere inevitability. However, in the past […]

The Cleveland Guardians have not been able to carry over the magic they had during the 2022 season this year just yet. At the time of writing, the Guardians have posted a 27-33 record; the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins, however, are just 3.5 games ahead of them in the win column. Thus, it’s not too […]

It has been quite the rollercoaster 2022-23 season for Manchester United. With Erik ten Hag at the controls, United has gone through plenty of ups and downs; in fact, their low points were close to bedrock. They embarrassingly suffered a 7-0 defeat at Anfield against longtime rival Liverpool, while Brentford, a midtable side, thrashed them […]

Who knew that spending seemingly unlimited cash without regard for proper squad building would lead to suboptimal results? The Chelsea FC brass, after a wild £600 million spending spree over the past two transfer windows, had to learn this lesson the hard way; despite splashing the cash for the likes of Enzo Fernandez, Mykhailo Mudryk, […]