Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 31

On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Clippers began a new era. They are no longer sharing a home with their rival Los Angeles Lakers, moving instead to the highly-regarded Intuit Dome. But some of the Clippers’ past demons keep on haunting them. A new season may be upon the Clippers as they begin life in […]

On opening night, Rudy Gobert was once again the subject of mockery among fans. During the same night in which Gobert’s camp finalized a three-year, $110 million extension with the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Los Angeles Lakers dominated the paint en route to a 110-103 defeat for the Timberwolves — with Anthony Davis popping off for […]

Many eyebrows were raised when the Denver Nuggets decided to allocate their limited offseason funds to signing Russell Westbrook to a two-year deal worth the veteran’s minimum. Westbrook’s stock was at an all-time low in the aftermath of a dreadful run of games in the playoffs which saw him shoot 26 percent from the field […]

When the Golden State Warriors lost Klay Thompson, there was only one player who stood out as the ideal replacement for the three-point marksmanship that they lost: Buddy Hield. Hield has made 1,929 threes since entering the league — only second to Stephen Curry during that span (Curry has 2,157). In what’s looking like the […]

LaMelo Ball has been bitten by the injury bug over the past two seasons, but on Wednesday night, he showed why he remains one of the brightest young stars in the today’s game with the way he led the Charlotte Hornets to a 110-105 win over the Houston Rockets. Ball dropped 34 points, eight rebounds, […]

Opening night did not exactly go according to plan for the New Orleans Pelicans despite their 123-111 win over the Chicago Bulls. Their past few seasons have been beset by injuries, and it’s an absolute nightmare for them to lose one of their best players for an extended period during the very first game of […]

Last season, Josh Giddey was hit with allegations that he was having inappropriate relations with an underaged girl. The authorities later determined that no legal action against Giddey was needed, although this did not affect the way fans viewed him anyway. His stock fell off a cliff, paving the way for the Chicago Bulls to […]

The past two seasons have been an extended nightmare for LaMelo Ball. He missed a total of 106 games over the past two years, which can be attributed mostly to the freak ankle injuries that he has suffered. But in the opening night of the 2024-25 season, Ball is back better than ever for the […]

Tyrese Haliburton had himself quite the offseason; he may not have played a ton of minutes for Team USA in their gold medal run in the 2024 Paris Olympics, but being part of the team gave him the opportunity to learn from the best of the best — including Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry. […]

Heading into the 2024-25 season, the Toronto Raptors aren’t expected to contend for a playoff spot. Even Jakob Poeltl admitted as much on media day. But they expect to at least put up a fight every night, especially with rising star Scottie Barnes leading the way. But their opening night performance gave everyone no reason […]

In what was a testy affair that saw Nic Claxton be ejected for a flagrant foul penalty two, it was the Atlanta Hawks that came out on top on opening night against the Brooklyn Nets, 120-116. Both teams may be expected to compete for lottery balls for next year’s Cooper Flagg sweepstakes, but with Trae […]

The New York Knicks are coming into the 2024-25 season as one of the most hyped-up teams in the NBA. Following a playoff run in which they fell one win short of making it to the Eastern Conference Finals, the Knicks decided that it was time to go all-in, trading away a boatload of picks […]

The biggest subplot of the Los Angeles Lakers’ offseason was their search for a new head coach following their decision to dismiss Darvin Ham from his position. In the end, the Lakers decided that bringing in first-time head coach JJ Redick, following a fruitful stint as a podcaster and as an on-air analyst, was for […]

Fresh off a deep run in last season’s playoffs, the Minnesota Timberwolves have high expectations from themselves as they look to get over the hump and bring home the franchise’s first championship. But on opening night, the Timberwolves slipped on a banana peel, suffering a 110-103 defeat to a Los Angeles Lakers team that looks […]

The Golden State Warriors held Stephen Curry out of action for their final preseason game — a 132-74 demolition of the Los Angeles Lakers. This put Curry’s status for opening night in some doubt, as his name popped up on the injury report leading up to the Dubs’ regular-season opener against the Portland Trail Blazers. […]

When the New York Knicks traded away a boatload of first-round picks to bring Mikal Bridges in, they envisioned that they’ll be getting closer to the Phoenix Suns version of him — an uber-efficient three-and-D wing who can elevate the team and get them over the hump. However, during preseason and training camp, concerns grew […]

The Boston Celtics showed no signs whatsoever of a championship hangover with the way they ran the New York Knicks off the court in their 132-109 opening night win. Joe Mazzulla has been waxing poetic all offseason long about how the Celtics, instead of embarking on a title defense, should be in attack mode, maintaining […]

Hyped up as one of the most improved teams of the offseason, the New York Knicks went out and produced an all-time stinker in their opening night loss to the Boston Celtics. From the get-go, the new-look Knicks, bolstered by Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges, did not look right at all, allowing one three after […]

Julius Randle will be entering the 2024-25 season with the fourth team of his professional career following the blockbuster trade that sent him and Donte DiVincenzo to the Minnesota Timberwolves in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns. Randle will be raring to go on opening night, especially when an unfortunate shoulder injury ended his 2023-24 campaign prematurely, […]

The Golden State Warriors were involved in plenty of trade rumors involving some of the biggest names in the sport, including Lauri Markkanen and Paul George. But the Warriors’ search for another star to potentially bring in alongside Stephen Curry didn’t end with those two, as they also reportedly set their sights on a potential […]

The New York Knicks front office certainly believe that the roster they had entering the 2024 offseason was knocking on the door of legitimate title contention. They decided to trade away plenty of draft capital to bring Mikal Bridges in and then they went all-in, dealing away both Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo in a […]

The 2024-25 NBA campaign is nearly upon us, with two games set to kick off what will surely be an action-packed season. One of the games on opening night will see the Los Angeles Lakers take on the Minnesota Timberwolves — with Bronny James perhaps set to make his debut in what would be a […]

Throughout the 2023-24 season, it looked as though the Boston Celtics were finally going to break through in the team’s Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown-led era. They had the perfect blend of defense, shooting, and leadership, and in the end, the Celtics won banner number 18 after dispatching of the Dallas Mavericks in five games […]

In what was a scrappy Game 5 that went all the way to overtime, it was the New York Liberty that came out on top against the Minnesota Lynx, 67-62, to win their first championship in franchise history. But for a second, it seemed as though another golden chance to win a title would escape […]

Khris Middleton has been beset by injury problems over the past two seasons, and the way he’ll be starting the 2024-25 season won’t do much to quell the fears of Milwaukee Bucks fans. Middleton, according to Shams Charania of ESPN, is set to miss the Bucks’ season opener against the Philadelphia 76ers as he continues […]

The fruits of the Houston Rockets’ rebuilding labors began to sprout during the 2023-24 season. After a few years of finishing in the basement of the NBA, the Rockets, buoyed by the veteran signings of Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks, finished with a 41-41 record — a major improvement that had them knocking on the […]

The 2024 offseason saw plenty of changes for an Atlanta Hawks team that has fallen short of its goals over the past two seasons. They admitted that their blockbuster trade for Dejounte Murray back in 2022 was a failure, cutting their losses and sending him to the New Orleans Pelicans for a package headlined by […]

Kevin Harlan is considered by many to be one of the best play-by-play commentators working the NBA. His energy on the microphone always seems to elevate the moment, and he’s quick-witted to boot, coming up with iconic lines on the fly as he allows himself to be fully immersed into the action in front of […]

Los Angeles Lakers star Anthony Davis is one of the most versatile offensive big men in the entire association. He can score with his back to the basket and he can create his own shot while facing up from the perimeter. However, over the past few seasons, Davis seems to have lost his touch from […]

There’s nothing more heartbreaking in sports when one gets their hopes up after overcoming a dire situation only for them to be dashed yet again. This was the story of the New York Yankees’ ALCS Game 3 loss to the Cleveland Guardians. The Yankees overcame one of the best relievers in baseball, Emmanuel Clase, to […]

There are plenty of subplots that have come to the forefront amid the Los Angeles Dodgers’ run in the 2024 MLB playoffs. Their playoff record-tying consecutive shutout innings streak. The disparity in Shohei Ohtani’s numbers with the bases empty and with runners on base. Kike Hernandez’s October heroics. All of those have garnered plenty of […]

The action is heating up in both the NLCS and the ALCS, and at present, two of the most famous franchises in the history of the MLB are in the driver’s seat of their respective playoff series. On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers took a 2-1 NLCS lead over the New York Mets thanks […]

The 2024-25 season figures to be a huge one for the Los Angeles Lakers. There is always a sense of urgency when it comes to building a contending team under the bright lights of Hollywood, but the pressure is even greater with LeBron James’ days as an elite player being numbered, what with him being […]

Since 1985, the Chicago Bulls have been owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, a real estate magnate who purchased the franchise for $16 million. But Bulls fans feel as though a change in ownership is well overdue. Reinsdorf is a polarizing figure in the Windy City who has made his fair share of blunders as the chief […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers decided to push Walker Buehler’s NLCS start back, opting to go with a bullpen game in Game 2 against the New York Mets instead. This seemed to light a fire underneath Buehler. Even though it took him 90 pitches to get through four innings, Buehler still set the tone in what […]

The MVP race always emerges as one of the NBA’s most interesting subplots over the course of a season. During the 2022-23 season, the MVP discourse between Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid became very toxic, and then last season, Jokic emerged as the head and shoulders favorite to bag home his third such award. But […]

The Chicago Bulls’ Wednesday night contest against the Minnesota Timberwolves was not your typical preseason game. After all, this game saw the much-anticipated return of Lonzo Ball to action after missing the past 33 months while rehabbing from multiple operations on his knee. Ball not only played 15 minutes, which is already a major positive, […]

On Wednesday night, Lonzo Ball made his much-anticipated return to NBA action as the Chicago Bulls took on the Minnesota Timberwolves in preseason. This is nothing short of a cause for celebration, as Ball has endured a rough past two years while recovering from the knee injuries that, at some point, put his future playing […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers’ trust level in starting pitcher Walker Buehler seemed to have waned, with the team deciding to roll with a bullpen game in Game 2 of their NLCS clash against the New York Mets. The 2024 season has been a topsy-turvy one for Buehler in his return from injury after all, but […]