Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 119

The Los Angeles Clippers’ season is getting away from them, and Russell Westbrook knows it. Repeatedly on the back foot in the middle of a third quarter offensive flurry from the Phoenix Suns, Westbrook had to, one way or another, take out his frustration. After all, the Clippers point guard was also in the middle […]

Fans all over the world have been treated to many exciting first-round matchups in the 2023 NBA playoffs. But there hasn’t been a series that has captured the imagination of fans to this degree in quite a while as the battle between two Northern California teams in Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings — and […]

The Atlanta Hawks’ 2022-23 season seemed to be marching to its inevitable conclusion, especially when they entered Game 5 of their first-round series against the Boston Celtics missing the services of Dejounte Murray, their offseason blockbuster acquisition. The Celtics looked dominant in their first two games at TD Garden, so the smart money definitely was […]

The Milwaukee Bucks entered the 2023 NBA playoffs looking like the presumptive favorites to win the NBA championship. and for good reason. After all, the Bucks won 16 straight games from mid-January to early March, overtaking the Boston Celtics for the number one seed in the Eastern Conference and overall homecourt advantage in the postseason. […]

In the playoffs, letting one’s foot off the gas pedal is just about the worst mistake anyone could make. If there’s any team that knows all too well about the dangers of complacency, it’s the Denver Nuggets, especially after taking advantage of two teams that let a 3-1 lead slip away back in the 2020 […]

The last time Jamal Murray set foot in the playoffs, the Denver Nuggets made a run towards the Western Conference Finals, losing a competitive five-game series against the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers. During the 2020 NBA playoffs in the bubble, Murray was on fire, carrying the Nuggets on his back on multiple occasions as […]

Boasting the services of a player who elevates his game in the playoffs is a must for any aspiring championship contender. And the Denver Nuggets certainly do, as Jamal Murray, yet again, showed that he saves his best basketball for when it matters most. During the Nuggets’ 122-113 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game […]

The Milwaukee Bucks have been here before. After the Bucks’ Game 1 loss to the Miami Heat where they saw Giannis Antetokounmpo suffer a back injury that was serious enough to keep him out for Game 2, there was slight concern that the 1-seed would be in for much more of a fight against the […]

LeBron James has always had a huge target on his back; that, simply, is the way of life for one of the best basketball players of his generation. After all, outplaying the King is close to impossible, so winning the mental warfare seems like the best way to throw him off. And that’s exactly what […]

Momentum appeared to be on the Los Angeles Lakers’ side in their first-round matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies. After a resounding Game 1 win, the Lakers entered the following contest facing a team without its biggest star in Ja Morant, who was out with a hand injury. Morant joined Steven Adams and Brandon Clarke on […]

Not a lot of people gave the Los Angeles Clippers much of a chance against the star-studded Phoenix Suns in the first round of the 2023 NBA playoffs. But here the Clippers are, heading back to LA with the series tied at one game apiece, thanks largely to Kawhi Leonard’s steadying presence and Russell Westbrook’s […]

Narratives are what make NBA games such a treat to follow even for the most casual fans. And the first round matchup between the Los Angeles Clippers and the Phoenix Suns in the 2023 NBA playoffs is certainly full of them. In fact, it seemed like another narrative was brewing between the two sides, as […]

It seemed like everything was going to break the Los Angeles Clippers’ way in Game 2, as they started off the contest having carried over the momentum from their rousing Game 1 victory over the Phoenix Suns. They led by as many as 13 points, and with both Kawhi Leonard and Russell Westbrook on point […]

After a resounding Game 1 win punctuated by a Russell Westbrook block on Devin Booker, it seemed like the momentum of the first-round NBA playoff series was strongly in the Los Angeles Clippers’ favor.  Scott Foster’s involvement as the officiating crew chief only fanned that flame even further. And for the first 18 minutes of […]

The New York Knicks had the opportunity to seize a convincing 2-0 lead with the series shifting back to Madison Square Garden, but they simply could not keep up with the Cleveland Cavaliers’ firepower. After a solid performance that led to a back-and-forth first quarter affair, the Knicks simply ran out of gas in the […]

Julius Randle has been an iron man for the New York Knicks during the 2022-23 season. Randle may have missed the last five games of the regular season due to an ankle injury, but he played in 77 consecutive games before that and he surely wouldn’t miss any playoff action for the world. However, in […]

It has not been the easiest 2022-23 season for OG Anunoby and the Toronto Raptors. The Raptors dealt with a slew of problems on the court as they scuffled to a 41-win season. But that has not precluded Anunoby from making massive money moves off the court as he aids in the growth of basketball […]

This iteration of the Golden State Warriors has been through some considerable adversity in the past; just last season, on their way to winning the NBA championship, the Warriors had to dig themselves out of a 2-1 hole, on the road no less. However, Stephen Curry and the Dubs have never been through the kind […]

The Sacramento Kings surely heard all the outside noise entering their 2023 NBA playoff series against the Golden State Warriors — their first foray into the postseason since 2006. Many fans and pundits believed that the Warriors, despite being the lower seed, entered the series as favorites, and their justification for that belief wasn’t particularly […]

To begin the 2023 NBA playoffs, the Denver Nuggets showed that they truly are a class above the rest, dispatching of the Minnesota Timberwolves with ease in Game 1. Now, can they do it again and protect homecourt? Here we will be making a few predictions for Game 2 of the Western Conference 1-8 matchup. […]

It’s incredible how much the intensity of the NBA ratchets up in the playoffs. After all, teams need to win 16 more games to win a coveted championship, so there’s no use in leaving anything on the table. Thus, it’s no surprise to see how much physicality there has been during the Golden State Warriors’ […]

Since 2015, Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriors have been unstoppable forces in the playoffs, specifically when healthy. Even with their backs against the wall, the Warriors seemingly have always found a way to overcome adversity. But for the first time in Curry’s 14-year career, he’s staring at a playoff deficit he has never […]

Given how unconvincingly the Denver Nuggets ended the 2022-23 regular season, a few pundits believed that they could be vulnerable to a first-round upset. Even head coach Michael Malone believed that if the Nuggets didn’t get their act together, they might as well be first-round fodder. But the Minnesota Timberwolves learned the hard way that […]

Many wrote off the Los Angeles Clippers before the 2023 NBA playoffs even began. After all, facing the new-look Phoenix Suns with Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Chris Paul was already a difficult enough task on its own, but with Paul George out, the Clippers will have to rely on other more inconsistent role players […]

It has been a long time coming, but the Sacramento Kings have done it. They won their first playoff game in 17 years, outlasting the defending champion Golden State Warriors in an explosive back-and-forth affair. But can the ascendant Kings repeat their impressive offensive performance in Game 1? Here we will take a look at […]

The Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings treated neutral fans to such an enthralling contest in Game 1 of their 2023 NBA playoff first round series. Both teams played at such a breakneck pace, with either side trading baskets and exchanging leads in the fourth period. Here we’re making a few bold predictions for […]

The gap between the 1-seed and 8-seed is as big as it is for a reason. As the Denver Nuggets showed in their debut performance in the 2023 NBA playoffs, their sustained excellence throughout the course of the regular season can be too much to overcome, especially for a team that just came out of […]

The Memphis Grizzlies have had to weather adversity to end the year, particularly with Ja Morant’s off-court troubles, but it doesn’t seem like it’s going to become a distraction in their series against the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are coming off a huge play-in tournament victory against the Minnesota Timberwolves, so they will be […]

The Golden State Warriors did not have one of the best title-defending regular seasons ever. They were excellent as per usual at home, as they played like their championship-winning selves in the friendly confines of Chase Center, but they seemed to forget how to play basketball away from San Francisco. Throughout the 2022-23 campaign, the […]

The New Orleans Pelicans surely did not expect that they would be sitting from the confines of their own homes to watch the rest of the 2023 NBA playoffs unfold like the majority of fans around the world, but here we are. Four months after sitting atop the Western Conference standings, the Pelicans’ fortunes quickly […]

The New Orleans Pelicans will have the next three or so months to have a long and hard think about all the missed opportunities they had during the 2022-23 regular season. For the first few months of the campaign, the Pelicans were in such a good position in the Western Conference standings, even sitting in […]

It has been quite the rollercoaster 2022-23 season for the Toronto Raptors. They began the season as a discombobulated unit, their lack of a true center proving costly en route to a below .500 start. This uninspiring start was disappointing, especially for a team that won 48 games last season and played a competitive series […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have been one of the biggest disappointments in the NBA this season. After starting the 2022-23 campaign with a 23-12 record, the Pelicans went 19-28 the rest of the way, a stretch that included a 10-game losing streak that ended up dooming their season. From having the look of a championship […]

It has been an inexplicable downfall for the Miami Heat in just the span of a year. Despite bringing back most of the core members of their 53-win, first-seeded 2021-22 team, time has not been kind to the Heat’s veteran roster, as they are now one loss away from seeing a premature end to their […]

Fans of the New Orleans Pelicans will have to take all of the social media clowning on the chin, especially from the ever-raucous fanbase of the Los Angeles Lakers. After beginning the season as one of the top seeds in the Western Conference, the Pelicans’ season reached its premature end after they failed to overcome […]

There’s a huge chance that the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that finished with 46 wins during the 2021-22 season, jumped the gun after trading away a good chunk of their future, along with valuable role players, for Rudy Gobert. Last season, the Timberwolves boasted a modern offensive attack while starting five capable shooters from deep. […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have arrived well ahead of schedule. For a team pundits expected to win around 20 or so games, the Thunder are one step closer to making the playoffs in surprise fashion after they managed to defeat the ninth-seeded New Orleans Pelicans in the 9/10 matchup of the 2023 NBA Play-In tournament. […]

This definitely isn’t where Brooklyn Nets executives thought their team would be come April 2023 when they went on a tear back in December, but here they are, back to where they were before they signed Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving — the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. In fact, the parallels go beyond […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are on the up-and-up. Even though their playoff future remains uncertain, as they will need to win one more play-in tournament game following their impressive 123-118 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans, it’s clear that their future is blindingly bright. And that’s especially the case after Josh Giddey turned in arguably […]