Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 139

It has been a rollercoaster for Evan Fournier since he was traded from the Orlando Magic during the 2021 trade deadline. For six and a half years, Fournier and his All-Star teammate, Nikola Vucevic, led Orlando to some semblance of respectability, nabbing two playoff appearances during that span. This is why Vucevic, now with the […]

Khris Middleton missed the start of the season for the Milwaukee Bucks after undergoing wrist surgery to repair an injury back in July. The Bucks have remained one of the best teams in the NBA despite his absence, thanks to Giannis Antetokounmpo, but Middleton’s return was expected to put the Bucks over the top. After […]

The NFL playoff picture is beginning to take shape. The San Francisco 49ers clinched their playoff berth after defeating the Seattle Seahawks, 21-13, on Thursday night. That loss may be damaging to the Seahawks’ playoff chances, as they stand on the outside looking in at the moment, and Pete Carroll knows it. He knows that […]

For a variety of reasons, Nickeil Alexander-Walker just failed to carve out a solid role in his three years as a member of the New Orleans Pelicans. Thus, the Pelicans did not hesitate to include Alexander-Walker in a trade that landed them CJ McCollum, with the Jazz buying low on the third-year scoring guard. To […]

Jimmy Butler hasn’t had the best of seasons with the Miami Heat. He has missed a considerable amount of time due to knee soreness, and he hasn’t been available in back-to-back sets due to load management. However, with the Heat still looking to gain ground in the standings, every game matters. And Butler returned just […]

Two games during Thursday’s four-game slate were blowouts. The Memphis Grizzlies destroyed the Milwaukee Bucks, and the Phoenix Suns are giving the shorthanded Los Angeles Clippers the business. However, the matchup between the New Orleans Pelicans and Utah Jazz offered enough excitement to compensate for whatever those other games may have lacked. And that’s all […]

More often than not, things that could go wrong will go wrong. It’s called Murphy’s Law for a reason. But there are just some nights when everything falls into place. This is one such night for Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies. It’s not too often that any NBA team loses by 41 points. And […]

Many expected a heated Thursday night battle between the Milwaukee Bucks and Memphis Grizzlies. After all, these are top-two seeds in their respective conferences thus far this season. Moreover, they have superstars Giannis Antetokounmpo and Ja Morant squaring off, a matchup that’s sure to exhilarate even the most casual fan. But the game became ugly […]

Russell Westbrook has received plenty of criticism during his tenure with the Los Angeles Lakers, whether warranted or unwarranted. After all, the Los Angeles Lakers gave up solid role players for a past-his-prime superstar who isn’t the best fit alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis. However, it seems as if the former MVP has done […]

More often than not, free agency is a time for players to say goodbye to a place they’ve called home for the past few years. Rafael Devers penned a heartfelt goodbye to former Boston Red Sox teammate Xander Bogaerts last week, while Atlanta Braves manager Brian Snitker became sad just thinking about the possibility of […]

Bam Adebayo had already urged the Miami Heat to treat their next three games like any other despite going up against the three worst teams in the Western Conference. But with the Heat’s main man Jimmy Butler out due to injury, the Oklahoma City Thunder gave the Heat everything they could handle. But Tyler Herro, […]

It’s no secret that the Detroit Pistons, at 8-22, are looking to sell off some veteran pieces, most notably Bojan Bogdanovic, to add to their treasure chest of draft picks and young assets. While some Pistons are definitely untouchable in a potential trade (Cade Cunningham, Jaden Ivey, and maybe even Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart), […]

Reports came out earlier this week that the Milwaukee Bucks almost pulled off a three-team trade for Phoenix Suns outcast Jae Crowder, with the hold-up being the Houston Rockets’ desire for a first-round pick for their involvement. However, the Bucks have stiff competition for Crowder’s services, with the Utah Jazz and Atlanta Hawks involved in […]

After winning a grand total of 25 games for the entirety of last season, no one expected the Indiana Pacers to be any good entering the 2022-23 season. However, the Pacers have already won more than half of the games they did last year, with 15 in only 29 games, thanks in no small part […]

The Chicago Bulls appeared to be turning their fortunes around following the acquisitions of DeMar DeRozan and Lonzo Ball. They made the playoffs last season as the sixth-seed, and things appeared to be looking up. Fast forward to now and the Bulls have become mediocre once more amid Ball’s injury and Zach LaVine’s struggles, going […]

The San Antonio Spurs, despite being in contention for most of the past 20 years, are clearly in rebuild mode. And with Jakob Poeltl in the last year of the three-year, $26.3 million extension he signed in 2020, it’s no wonder why other teams with dreams of playoff contention, namely the Golden State Warriors and […]

The Portland Trail Blazers have plenty of guys in their roster who are capable of magic with the basketball on any given night. Damian Lillard and Anfernee Simons always dazzle the crowd with their impressive imagination, sublime ball-handling, and incredible shot-making. But on Wednesday night, it was Jusuf Nurkic’s turn to turn some heads after […]

Nikola Jokic and the Denver Nuggets took advantage of the Washington Wizards’ shorthandedness on Wednesday night, defeating them, 141-128, by having their way with their defense all night long. In fact, in the process of doing so, the Nuggets set a record the NBA hasn’t seen in the past 25 years. Led by Jokic’s 43-point, […]

For so long, the Los Angeles Clippers franchise had been the laughingstock of the league due to poor decision-making and an overall ineptitude. Former owner Donald Sterling had a huge part to play in making the Clippers the butt of many jokes. But the Clippers are clearly no longer the franchise they were under the […]

A rush of adrenaline makes a human capable of something they never thought was within their capacity. People don’t feel as much pain whenever they’re in the heat of the moment. (Kobe Bryant and Klay Thompson’s free-throw feats post-injury immediately come to mind.) But in this instance, it’s Jaylen Brown who had no idea what […]

Alex Caruso endeared himself to fans all over the globe with his hard-nosed defense and penchant for making winning plays. Caruso was crucial to the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship in 2020, and he was then able to parlay his strong play into a four-year, $36.9 million. So for him to get dropped on a nasty […]

The Sacramento Kings drew a lot of flak when they traded second-year guard Tyrese Haliburton to the Indiana Pacers in exchange for Domantas Sabonis. However, despite Haliburton’s potential as one of the best point guards in the league, it’s hard to argue against the results of the trade, with both teams getting what they wanted […]

The Baltimore Orioles, after a putrid past few seasons, appear to be coming into their own as a plethora of young prospects, led by Adley Rutschman begin to break through into the majors.  Thus, Baltimore entered the offseason looking to plug the biggest hole in their roster – their pitching. They have targeted Noah Syndergaard […]

The 5-8 Atlanta Falcons, led by head coach Arthur Smith, made a huge decision with the playoffs still within plausible reach. Instead of rolling with Marcus Mariota, their starting quarterback since Week 1, they decided to hand the keys to the offense to rookie Desmond Ridder, who hasn’t even touched the grass in the NFL. […]

The Charlotte Hornets, at 7-20, are one of the worst teams in the NBA. However, help may come soon enough in the form of LaMelo Ball, who has been out for the majority of the season thus far with various ankle injuries. Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, Ball is optimistic that he could make […]

Plenty of critics rolled their eyes when the Los Angeles Lakers used their taxpayer mid-level exception on Lonnie Walker IV. Walker was not the 3 and D wing many fans wanted alongside LeBron James. He was coming off a season where he shot only 31.4 percent from deep, and he hasn’t received the best reviews […]

It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers’ Achilles heel is perimeter shooting. In the three-point driven meta of today’s NBA, the Lakers are lagging behind. On a nightly basis, the Lakers are making the least amount of triples at 9.7 per game, with the second-worst percentage in the entire association, behind only the New […]

One thing that will never change for as long as LeBron James is around is that people will always expect his teams to contend, or, at the very least, fans will always be drawn to the gravity of his greatness. Alas, the reality of the situation is that the Los Angeles Lakers aren’t good at […]

Giannis Antetokounmpo is arguably the best player in today’s NBA, no small feat given the greatness of his contemporaries. Antetokounmpo possesses the rare blend of all-world athleticism, elite finishing, power dribbling, and stifling defense, making him one of the best ever to play the game of basketball. Alas, no one’s perfect, and Antetokounmpo, despite how great […]

It appears as if the Boston Celtics were faltering late in the second game of a back-to-back. After leading the Los Angeles Lakers by double digits for most of the game, the Celtics let their foot off the gas. In the span of around 10 game minutes, the Lakers, led by their big three of […]

Following the departure of starting pitcher Jameson Taillon, the Yankees are still looking to plug a huge gap in their rotation. After all, Taillon logged 177.1 innings for New York, the second-most in the team behind only ace Gerrit Cole. While Cole, Nestor Cortes, and Luis Severino (returning from a severe injury) are still in […]

LeBron James is no stranger to pulling off dunks that would have ended someone else’s career had they actually gone through the net. Back in the dying seconds of Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals, James went soaring through the air, almost sending Draymond Green to the shadow realm with a ferocious hammer that […]

There are few players in the NBA that make the blood boil more than Phoenix Suns point guard Chris Paul. Paul not only gets in the head of his opponents with his sneaky tactics, he is also constantly yapping at the ears of officials. Simply put, Paul has mastered the art of controlling the game. […]

Death may be an inevitable part of life, but processing grief never gets easier at any point. Losing a loved one hurts, no matter the circumstances and no matter how prepared someone thinks they are. One can only imagine the heavy feeling in Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas’ heart after his father, the legendary […]

Jordan Clarkson may not be the most complete player in the league (even though he is pretty darn good). However, if there’s anything the Utah Jazz guard can do at a high level, it’s put the ball through the hoop in a variety of ways. He can slither his way into the hoop for easy […]

It’s always difficult to accept when things aren’t going your way. This is especially the case for professional athletes, who hold themselves to ridiculously high standards. Such is the case for (perhaps former) Atlanta Falcons quarterback Marcus Mariota, who was told by head coach Arthur Smith that he will no longer be the team’s starting […]

For almost two decades now, Lionel Messi has lit the football world ablaze with his quick feet, sublime technical ability and the sheer magic that emanates from his feet, particularly from his left boot. Messi, now 35 years old, remains one of the best footballers in the world, for both club and country. And Messi […]

It’s not easy to accept that one’s best days are behind them. That is especially the case if one has reached lofty heights in their careers. Such is the case for Russell Westbrook, the all-time triple doubles leader and the 2016-17 MVP. Westbrook, after a rough start to his stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, […]

There is no question that Carmelo Anthony, the third overall pick of the 2003 NBA Draft, has had a Hall of Fame-caliber career. For around 15 years, Anthony scorched the nets with his combination of deadly shot creation, explosive bursts to the hoop and his overall offensive versatility. However, Father Time knows no bounds, and […]