Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 37

Houston Rockets big man Steven Adams has emerged as a major thorn in the Golden State Warriors’ side during their first-round matchup in the 2025 NBA playoffs. Adams continues to provide a world of difference for the Rockets, with his mere presence on the floor being a huge threat to the Warriors’ small-ball approach. On […]

Will the Memphis Grizzlies ever consider starting from scratch this offseason? They have spend the past seven to eight years assembling their post Grit and Grind core, and the farthest they’ve gone since then is the second round of the playoffs, and that was back in 2022. In the three years since, the Grizzlies have […]

The Memphis Grizzlies are in the middle of a crossroads and they will have to make plenty of tough decisions this offseason. The team has failed to make forward progress over the past few seasons; the 2023-24 season was an all-out disaster amid the team’s injury woes, and then during the 2024-25 campaign, they lost […]

Dallas Mavericks general manager Nico Harrison became arguably the most reviled person in professional sports when he decided to trade Luka Doncic, a perennial first-team All-NBA player and MVP candidate, to the Los Angeles Lakers for a return deemed to be pennies on the dollar for a superstar in the middle of his prime. But […]

The Denver Nuggets are heading into Game 6 of their first-round matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers on Thursday night up 3-2 in the series thanks in large part to Jamal Murray’s incredible play in Game 5. Murray caught fire and didn’t cool off, finishing with 43 points on eight made threes for his sixth […]

The Los Angeles Lakers decided that the risk that came with acquiring Luka Doncic in a trade was minimal compared to the reward. But while the Lakers should still be lauded as the runaway winner of that trade, that deal still did cost them Anthony Davis, a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate and […]

When the Los Angeles Lakers decided to trade Anthony Davis away in the Luka Doncic trade, they were widely regarded as the big winner of that blockbuster deal. Nonetheless, the Doncic trade depleted further what already was a shorthanded frontcourt for the Lakers, and it stripped the roster of their only legitimate rim protector. So […]

What started off as such a promising season has ended in yet another heartbreak for the Los Angeles Lakers. On Wednesday night, they were eliminated from the playoffs by the Minnesota Timberwolves with a 103-96 win in Game 5 of their first-round matchup. This is shaping up to be a crucial offseason for the Lakers, […]

Luka Doncic went from making it all the way to the NBA Finals last season with the Dallas Mavericks to yet another first-round exit, this time in his first half-season as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. Doncic was a major defensive target for the Minnesota Timberwolves to expose, and expose him they did […]

Despite being favored by many experts to make it to the next round of the playoffs, the Los Angeles Lakers have seen their season come to a premature end after suffering a 103-96 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 5 of their first-round matchup. This was not what the Lakers envisioned for themselves when […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves have managed to play above expectations in their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, and on Wednesday night, they sent the favored third-seeded Lakers packing with a 103-96 win in Game 5. Anthony Edwards continues to blossom as a major force, and it’s no mean feat to be able to send […]

The Los Angeles Lakers, hyped up by many as a potential dark-horse to make it deep into the playoffs, couldn’t even make it past Game 5 of their first-round matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves bested the Lakers yet again in the fourth quarter and eliminated the much-ballyhooed team led by Luka Doncic and […]

The Boston Celtics have been through a frustrating first-round series against the Orlando Magic; they have been complaining about how physical the Magic have been all series long and it looked like these frustrations of theirs were persisting during the first half of Game 5. But the Celtics, like the reigning champion they are, managed […]

Russell Westbrook looms as perhaps the biggest X-factor on either side of the Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Clippers’ first-round matchup. And after missing Game 4 with a foot injury, Westbrook came back with a vengeance in his return to the active lineup for Game 5. In just 25 minutes off the bench, Westbrook scored […]

The Denver Nuggets can only go as far as Nikola Jokic takes them, but Jokic can only do so much if his teammates don’t provide him with the requisite support. But Jokic got more than just support on Tuesday night in the crucial Game 5 of their first-round series against the Los Angeles Clippers, as […]

Facing elimination, the Detroit Pistons needed a major effort from Cade Cunningham to extend their season. And even with the Pistons down 3-1 on the series, there has barely been any separation between them and the New York Knicks, so it came as a surprise to exactly no one that Game 5 gave fans another […]

The Milwaukee Bucks looked like they were dead in the water after they lost Damian Lillard to an Achilles injury. But the Bucks didn’t get the memo and didn’t just roll over in Game 5 of their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers. Alas, thanks to a legendary choke job, the Bucks have now been […]

In the second quarter of the Golden State Warriors’ 109-106 win over the Houston Rockets, Stephen Curry and Dillon Brooks got into a dust-up that had the officials whistle both of them (as well as Draymond Green) for a technical foul. Brooks, after getting Curry on a switch, bumped into the Warriors star, knocking him […]

Jimmy Butler went down with a pelvic injury after he was undercut while grabbing a rebound during the early goings of Game 2 of the Golden State Warriors’ first-round clash against the Houston Rockets. Butler then proceeded to miss the rest of Game 2 and the entirety of Game 3, and there was much concern […]

During the dying minutes of the first half of Game 4 of the Golden State Warriors and Houston Rockets’ first-round matchup, Jimmy Butler had some spicy words for Dillon Brooks while Tari Eason was at the free-throw line. Butler called Brooks “a bum and a b***h” and called him “weak” as well, although the Rockets […]

The Golden State Warriors are one win away from booking their place in the second round of the 2025 NBA playoffs after they took a 3-1 series lead courtesy of a 109-106 win over the Houston Rockets on Monday night. This is quite the turnaround for the Warriors, a team that had its championship window […]

When Jimmy Butler was undercut during a battle for a rebound in Game 2, there was much concern about his physical well-being and whether or not he’d be able to suit up for the rest of the Golden State Warriors’ first-round matchup against the Houston Rockets. Butler was ruled out for the rest of Game […]

Draymond Green spent the final few weeks of the regular season vociferously campaigning for himself to win the 2025 Defensive Player of the Year award. But in the end, it was Evan Mobley who won the award, with the Golden State Warriors forward finishing third in the voting (behind Mobley and Dyson Daniels). However, on […]

The Golden State Warriors decided to take a major risk when they pulled off a trade for Jimmy Butler at the deadline. Butler had burnt his bridges with the Miami Heat organization, his team of five and a half seasons, and he wasn’t quite performing at the level everyone was accustomed to seeing out of […]

Towards the end of the regular season, Draymond Green’s case to win the second Defensive Player of the Year award of his career was picking up steam, and it reached a point where the Golden State Warriors veteran was openly clamoring for voters to reward him with the acclaim. In the end, the voters decided […]

Under the watchful eye of head coach Erik Spoelstra, the Miami Heat have usually played above expectations. It’s a testament to the Heat’s development and coaching staff that they managed to make it to the NBA Finals in 2020 and 2023 despite fielding a roster filled with diamonds in the rough. Thus, heading into their […]

Zach Edey entered the 2024 NBA Draft as one of the most divisive prospects in recent memory. With the modern NBA trending more towards speed and skilled size, Edey’s game appeared to be a relic of an older period. Edey, who stands at 7’4″ and is listed at 305 lbs., is not the fleetest of […]

Jonathan Kuminga’s future with the Golden State Warriors has been clouded in so much doubt over the past few weeks; head coach Steve Kerr decided to phase him out of the rotation completely during their crucial final regular-season matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers and was not in the rotation to begin their first-round series […]

The Detroit Pistons have made life more difficult for the New York Knicks than many expected, and yet here they are, down 3-1 in their first-round series after suffering a 94-93 loss in Game 4. That loss, however, did not come without its fair share of controversy. In the dying seconds of the game, the […]

The Indiana Pacers are on course to send the Milwaukee Bucks home from the playoffs for the second straight year, as they took a 3-1 lead in their first-round matchup courtesy of a 129-103 win on Sunday night. A playoff series isn’t over until a team wins four games, but the Bucks may be dead […]

Giannis Antetokounmpo has nothing else left to prove in his career; he could have retired yesterday and he’d be a lock for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. But Antetokounmpo has said in the past that he wants to win as many championships as he can, and he would prefer to stay with the […]

Tyrese Haliburton and the Indiana Pacers have built up a bit of a rivalry with Damian Lillard and the Milwaukee Bucks over the past two seasons. The Pacers most notably eliminated them in the 2023 NBA In-Season Tournament as well as in the first round of the NBA playoffs, and it’s clear that there is […]

Damian Lillard made a miraculous recovery from a deep vein thrombosis just in time to make his return for the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 2 of their first-round series against the Indiana Pacers. This was a major cause for celebration, as this is the sort of injury that cut the career of Hall of Fame […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves had to dig deep, and in the end, they got the job done in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Los Angeles Lakers, taking a 116-113 win to put LeBron James and Luka Doncic on the brink of elimination. Anthony Edwards was the star of the show, putting up 43 […]

Damian Lillard’s miraculous recovery from a deep vein thrombosis in his right calf was one of the best stories of this year’s playoffs; it meant that Lillard’s career was back on track and that the Milwaukee Bucks are going to be full strength in their playoff matchup against the Indiana Pacers. But in an unfortunate […]

The Los Angeles Lakers’ 2025 playoff run isn’t going according to script so far; after being hyped up by many in the aftermath of the blockbuster Luka Doncic trade, the Lakers now find themselves on the brink of elimination after suffering a heartbreaking 116-113 loss in Game 4 of their first-round series against the Minnesota […]

A season that had so much promise is coming undone in a hurry for the Los Angeles Lakers. On Sunday night, it looked like the Lakers were going to tie up the series at two games apiece after a dominant third quarter, but it all fell apart in the fourth quarter as they suffered a […]

Game 3 of the Los Angeles Lakers’ first-round matchup against the Minnesota Timberwolves was quite the barnburner. But in the end, the Lakers ran out of gas, with Luka Doncic not being his best self in a 116-104 loss that wasn’t as lopsided as the final score line would indicate. Doncic was clearly under the […]

The 2024-25 season could not have gone any further from plan for the New Orleans Pelicans. Coming off a 2023-24 campaign where they went 49-33 and made it to the playoffs as the eighth-seed, the Pelicans were perhaps the team in the NBA that was most ravaged by injuries. Dejounte Murray suffered a season-ending injury […]