Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 132

There may not be a more physically-imposing, dominant presence in today’s NBA than Philadelphia 76ers big man Joel Embiid. Possessing such a rare combination of agility, soft touch, and shot creation ability (particularly in the midrange) for a guy his size, Embiid confounds opposing defenses like few others. And on Thursday night against the Portland […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder appear to be on the up and up. In fact, the Thunder have been blasting through their expected rebuilding timeline. Through 45 games in the 2022-23 campaign, they have already matched their win total two seasons ago in 72 games (22). These improvements from the Thunder have come even without one […]

With there being 1,230 regular season games in a single season, it’s difficult to ascribe a ton of stakes to a single matchup, especially in mid-January. However, a game between the defending champion Golden State Warriors and championship runner-up Boston Celtics is no ordinary matchup. Stephen Curry and the Warriors will want to prove their […]

To say that Paul George and the Los Angeles Clippers have not had the best 2022-23 campaign is a huge understatement. Touted by many pundits as one of the league’s most legitimate title contenders, the Clippers have sputtered to a 23-24 record, hardly befitting of a championship team. The Clippers’ troubles on the court may […]

Los Angeles Lakers guard Russell Westbrook has been on the wrong end of many blooper reels over the years. Who could forget the time when Westbrook simply forgot to dribble the basketball against the Golden State Warriors, even mouthing the words “I don’t know” when Stephen Curry asked him what he was doing. But on […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves paid a hefty price when they acquired D’Angelo Russell from the Golden State Warriors in February 2020, trading away Andrew Wiggins and the pick that became Jonathan Kuminga for his services. Russell’s career had been on the upswing at that point; he made the All-Star team in 2019 as the leading scorer […]

The Golden State Warriors are attempting to pull off one of the trickiest roster-building exercises in professional sports. They are trying to maintain their status as contenders, their veteran core led by none other than Stephen Curry, all the while developing young prospects that could soon take up the mantle once the veterans move on […]

The Washington Wizards are in the middle of yet another uninspiring season; ever since their last postseason berth in 2018 with the John Wall and Bradley Beal-led core, they have made the postseason just once, a miracle second-half turnaround that culminated in a play-in tournament triumph. Even with that small consolation thanks to Russell Westbrook’s […]

DeMar DeRozan has missed the Chicago Bulls’ past three games after suffering a quad injury against the Boston Celtics on January 9. In his absence, the Bulls have won one and lost two, their most recent result a much-needed victory over the reigning champion Golden State Warriors. And with Chicago hanging on for dear life […]

The Golden State Warriors and Charlotte Hornets are two NBA franchises that have found themselves intertwined over the past few years or so. Stephen Curry has always said that if he were to play for another franchise besides the Warriors, he would only do so if it were the Hornets. But there may not have […]

The Chicago Sky, after losing to the Connecticut Sun in the semifinals of the 2022 WNBA playoffs, are at a crossroads as a franchise. After four straight postseason berths, which includes a championship win in 2021, the Sky appear to be in danger of losing multiple core players in free agency, including longtime floor general […]

Fred VanVleet is at a crossroads in his career. With the Raptors struggling to even make it into a play-in spot, they may soon find themselves willing to deal away a few crucial members of their core. Among the Raptors’ core players, however, VanVleet appears to be one of the likeliest to go, especially with […]

John Wall has been making headlines lately, not for his play on the court with him being out for around two weeks due to an abdominal injury, but due to the noise he’s been making off it. In a podcast with Dallas Mavericks guard Theo Pinson, Wall recently doubled down on his six-year old take […]

The Atlanta Hawks have not met expectations for the 2022-23 season due to a myriad of reasons. One major reason behind their underperformance has been the decline in their offensive production. They have tumbled all the way to 22nd in points scored per 100 possessions after ranking second last season – a steep drop-off. And […]

On Monday night, Draymond Green had his second-best scoring tally of the season after he scored 17 points, all in the second half, to help the Golden State Warriors to a rare victory on the road against the Washington Wizards. Thanks to a fan that kept on talking trash and questioning Green’s Hall of Fame […]

The Washington Wizards of the mid to late 2010s were an exciting, up-and-coming bunch, thanks in large part to the exploits of what was once one of the best backcourts in the entire NBA in John Wall and Bradley Beal. In fact, in 2017, they had a golden chance to advance to the Eastern Conference […]

It’s no secret that the San Antonio Spurs, owners of a terrible 14-31 record, plan to sell with the trade deadline fast approaching. One such Spurs player that has found himself involved in trade talks for the past few months is starting center Jakob Poeltl, who, in turn, has attracted interest from the Golden State […]

There are no two bigger stars in the world of European football than Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. For the span of almost 20 years, no two superstars have lit up the pitch more than those two, from Portugal to England, then to Spain, onwards to Italy, and then to France, and then Saudi Arabia. […]

With the Milwaukee Bucks missing Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton on Tuesday night against the Toronto Raptors, Jrue Holiday and Brook Lopez had to step up. And step up they did. But their solid night didn’t come without its foibles. With 6:40 left and the Raptors trying to mount a comeback, Lopez and Gary Trent […]

The Houston Rockets are, to put it bluntly, the worst team in the NBA. Even beyond their league-worst record, they have caught some flak from their peers in recent weeks. John Wall, the former Rockets guard, didn’t mince words and put Jalen Green and Kevin Porter Jr. on blast. However, as Austin Rivers said, those […]

The Detroit Pistons struck gold when they drafted Cade Cunningham first overall in 2021. A ballhandler that projects to be a stellar offensive force at his peak, Cunningham battled through characteristic ups and downs in his first professional season. However, after finishing the 2021-22 season strong, many hoped that he would take the next step […]

The Charlotte Hornets, after two straight seasons of making the play-in tournament, appeared to be a franchise on the up and up, especially after winning 43 games last season. With LaMelo Ball’s continued development as a bonafide All-Star caliber player, and other solid pieces in place such as Terry Rozier, PJ Washington, Kelly Oubre Jr., […]

There was a bit of palpable worry among Denver Nuggets fans when Nikola Jokic appeared to suffer a wrist injury that knocked him out for their clash against the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night. However, Jokic has put all those concerns to rest. Following a one-game absence, Jokic proceeded to drop a triple-double and […]

The Toronto Raptors, amid their 20-24 season, have found themselves at the center of plenty of trade rumors throughout the season, with Fred VanVleet and OG Anunoby as some of the most sought-after pieces in the market. However, Gary Trent Jr., has also drawn considerable interest, even with the 23-year old sharpshooter set to enter […]

Ever since Marc Gasol and Serge Ibaka’s departures following the 2019-20 season, the Toronto Raptors have been hunting for a new frontcourt partner for Pascal Siakam. However, that search still continues on to this day. In fact, the Raptors have just decided to throw Siakam out as their starting five. Thus, it’s no surprise that […]

The Atlanta Hawks, led by Trae Young, have definitely underperformed since shocking the world by making the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021. The Hawks saw it fit to shake up their roster with the addition of All-Star guard Dejounte Murray to try and bolster their 26th ranked defense last season that proved to be too […]

The Bojan Bogdanovic trade rumor mill hasn’t stopped churning ever since the Utah Jazz decided to blow up their Donovan Mitchell-Rudy Gobert core, understandably so. Even with the Detroit Pistons acquiring the 33-year old sharpshooter in the offseason, plenty of teams remain interested in swinging a deal for the Croatian forward. And with the NBA […]

One point of contention for the Los Angeles Clippers over the past few years is their point guard situation alongside Kawhi Leonard and Paul George. Thus, it’s no surprise that the Clippers have registered interest in veteran Utah Jazz floor general Mike Conley. However, the Clippers have competition in a potential trade for the 35-year […]

Dak Prescott had one of the worst games of his professional career when the Dallas Cowboys took on the Washington Commanders on the final week of the regular season. He completed only 14 of his 37 passes – a terrible 37.8 percent – and the Cowboys struggled all game long as a result en route […]

For much of the 2022-23 campaign, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers remained afloat amid their plethora of injury woes thanks to Tom Brady’s continued excellence despite his advanced age. Now 45 years old, Brady inexplicably remains one of the best quarterbacks in the game. Even with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ less-than-ideal 8-9 season, no team would […]

The New York Knicks, despite their Monday night loss against the Toronto Raptors, are currently in the middle of a solid, bounce back campaign built mostly off of their torrid stretch to begin December. The addition of Jalen Brunson has been immense, and Julius Randle is even posting comparable numbers to that of his All-Star […]

The Toronto Raptors have always been capable of playing above expectations, as evidenced by their stellar 2019-20 performance following the departure of Kawhi Leonard and their surprising 48-win campaign last season after bottoming out in 2021. However, the Raptors just have not been able to rekindle the same magic they conjured last season, as they […]

Almost everything has gone according to plan for Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys‘ NFL Wild Card round game against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Cowboys raced out to a 24-0 lead (currently 24-6), thanks to a monster three passing, one-rushing touchdown effort from Prescott. However, the Cowboys will definitely rue their […]

Charles Barkley is never one to mince words. During this season alone, Barkley has always been blunt in his assessment of the Los Angeles Lakers, especially as they continue to underperform relative to the usual expectations for a LeBron James-led team. And the Lakers weren’t able to escape Barkley’s scathing criticism once more on Monday […]

Chicago Bulls guard/forward DeMar DeRozan has missed the past three games after he injured his quad on a non-contact play when they took on the Boston Celtics on January 9. DeRozan was simply trying to get to his spot against Al Horford, but he proceeded to tweak his quad which had already been hurting to […]

This season definitely hasn’t gone according to the Atlanta Hawks’ plan. Following a down 2021-22 season where the Hawks, the 2021 Eastern Conference finalists led by Trae Young, scuffled to a first-round defeat following a play-in triumph, they hunted for a major offseason upgrade and got it in the form of 2022 All-Star guard Dejounte […]

The discussion around the game of basketball rarely gets as heated as it does when comparing superstars across eras. The Michael Jordan versus LeBron James debate, among other drawn-out, impossible to settle disputes, will rage on, perhaps even through the end of time as we know it. Nevertheless, this hasn’t stopped everyone with a pulse […]

The Los Angeles Clippers, despite their uneven play for much of the 2022-23 season, still have lofty championship aspirations, thanks in large part to Kawhi Leonard’s presence. The Clippers need only to remain healthy. However, the injury bug appears unwilling to leave the Clippers alone, with John Wall as its latest victim following an abdominal […]

On the night when LeBron James crossed the 38,000-point benchmark for his career, it was Russell Westbrook who, unfortunately for the Los Angeles Lakers, put a damper on what would have been a Hollywood-level celebration in Tinseltown. Following a crucial defensive stop on Joel Embiid, Westbrook and the Lakers still had a chance to claim […]