Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 132

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, […]

Second place is never good enough for Real Madrid. Such is the standard for the one of the most successful clubs in the history of world football. Failing to defend their UEFA Champions League crown, bowing out to Manchester City in the semi-final is painful enough as it is. But to come second to sworn […]

Fans of the Oklahoma City Thunder see the light at the end of their rebuilding tunnel; they nearly made the playoffs as the eight-seed this past season, and with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, fresh off a first team All-NBA selection, still only 24 years old, better things are yet to come for the youngest team in the […]

The Denver Nuggets certainly did not underestimate the Miami Heat entering the 2023 NBA Finals. The Heat have earned the world’s respect after a blistering playoff run that included slaying two giants in the Eastern Conference. But as Michael Porter Jr. pointed out, the respect the Heat are earning from their opponents grow even further […]

Grant Williams is not the flashiest player ever. He doesn’t have highlight-reel hops or handles, and casual fans simply think he’s just taking up space on the court as an instigator for the Boston Celtics. However, every team needs their own version of Williams — a hard-nosed, unselfish player willing to do the little things […]

Christian Wood was always a per-minute stud; back when he was languishing on the Milwaukee Bucks, New Orleans Pelicans and Detroit Pistons’ bench, many thought all he needed to break out as a star was opportunity. Fantasy basketball players know this all too well. And to some extent, Wood did break out after the Pistons […]

The Houston Astros may not be leading the AL West at the moment; for five of the past six seasons, the Astros have been the best team in their division. (Now that the Oakland Athletics are the undisputed worst team in baseball, it’s a sight to see them being the team that broke the Astros’ […]

The clock is ticking on the Los Angeles Angels. Dual threat extraordinaire Shohei Ohtani is in the last year of team control, which means that the Angels will have greater urgency to bolster the roster ahead of the August 1 trade deadline so they could make Ohtani’s potential last season in Orange County as fruitful […]

The Indiana Pacers are in the middle of a crucial window in their rebuilding phase. Tyrese Haliburton, the crown jewel of their rebuilding effort, will soon command a max contract when he’s up for a rookie extension. Thus, before that happens, the Pacers may be able to make the most out of their existing cap […]

The Charlotte Hornets franchise isn’t exactly one that can afford to be picky in free agency. Charlotte is not a hot free agent destination, and to top it all off, the Hornets are coming off a terrible 27-win season. Nevertheless, there are plenty of reasons why some mid-tier free agents could opt to take their […]

It has been a strong decade for the Toronto Raptors; since the 2013-14 season, they have only missed the playoffs twice, even winning the NBA championship in 2019 as the culmination of years of roster building. However, the two times they have missed the playoffs have come in the past three seasons, which means that […]

Brock Purdy or Trey Lance? That is a question the San Francisco 49ers don’t know the definitive answer to just yet. But they drafted Lance third overall in 2021 for a reason — and they’re ready to see what they have in the 23-year old QB. Lance hasn’t had too many opportunities to prove his […]