Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 40

In an NLDS clash where both teams have given it their all, it was the Los Angeles Dodgers that came out on top against the San Diego Padres, advancing to the NLCS with a 2-0 victory in the decisive Game 5. In a game where runs were scarce, it was utilityman Kike Hernandez who broke […]

A new era is dawning on the NBA. Small ball may be a thing of the past. After all, there is a 7’4″ two-way monster primed to take over the league in Victor Wembanyama. The Dallas Mavericks appear to be wary of this threat; after all, they have 7’1″ Dereck Lively II on the roster […]

Stephen Curry has achieved everything there is for him to achieve in his professional basketball career. The Golden State Warriors star is a four-time NBA champion, a former unanimous MVP, and he finally earned the coveted Finals MVP award that has eluded him for years. Moreover, he already won the FIBA World Cup gold medal […]

Rarely does anyone make the leap to the professional level with as high expectations as Caitlin Clark had upon her and yet manage to surpass them all the same. That’s what Clark did in her rookie year with the Indiana Fever; she brought the same kind of flair that she played with during her historic […]

Many subscribe to the belief that going through adversity is necessary to build character. But for the Detroit Pistons, they would very much rather forget how terrible their 2023-24 season was. That season set the franchise back a few years; they set the record for the longest losing streak (within a single season) in NBA […]

The Los Angeles Lakers took a come from behind victory during their Thursday night preseason contest against the Milwaukee Bucks. Buoyed by some hot shooting from their unheralded players, the Lakers won the fourth quarter 33-20 en route to taking a 107-102 victory. However, one of the main players the Lakers are expecting to produce […]

Game 1 of the 2024 WNBA Finals brought plenty of fireworks for fans to enjoy. In the end, following a topsy-turvy end to the ballgame, it was the Minnesota Lynx that came out on top in overtime, 95-93, against the New York Liberty team that has been the WNBA’s cream of the crop all season […]

The Indiana Pacers arrived way ahead of schedule in their contending timeline, and it’s easy to forget that they made it all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals despite not having one of the brightest young talents on the roster in Bennedict Mathurin for their entire playoff run. Mathurin saw his 2023-24 campaign come […]

With their backs against the wall, the Cleveland Guardians needed a herculean effort from their players to avoid being another division winner to fall prey in the Division Series under the current playoff format. And somehow, someway, the Guardians keep on receiving heroics from the unheralded David Fry, the 28-year-old utility guy who has a […]

With the competitive stakes being at their highest during the playoffs, it’s no surprise that professional athletes are becoming too caught up in the moment as they let their emotions bubble over. In Game 4 of the ALDS matchup between the New York Yankees and the Kansas City Royals, tempers flared between the two teams […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are striking fear in the hearts of fans around the league. The Thunder began to stockpile draft assets in 2019, which meant that they had a bright future ahead of them, but now, the reality of their impending multi-year dominance is setting in — with the Chicago Bulls, perhaps, giving the […]

On Wednesday night, the Los Angeles Dodgers stared at the face of their past demons and said, “Not today.” They staved off a second elimination at the hands of the San Diego Padres in three seasons with an emphatic 8-0 win to send the series to a decisive Game 5. Considering the Padres’ ability to […]

It was obvious from many months ago that the 2024 offseason was going to be a crucial one for the Philadelphia 76ers. They had been preserving their cap space for that very moment, refusing to sign James Harden to the max contract he desired while running out the huge contract Tobias Harris signed in 2019. […]

Ben Simmons is at a crossroads; the max contract that he signed with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2019 is set to expire at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season. Thus, it’s imperative for Simmons, if he were to earn more than a prove-it contract next offseason, to bounce back in what has been a tumultuous […]

Despite some positive reports coming out of training camp, the first two preseason games have done no favors for Bronny James’ fan perception. Nevertheless, there remains plenty of hullabaloo surrounding his eventual regular-season debut for the Los Angeles Lakers. After all, when he steps on the court alongside his father, LeBron James, it will be […]

After barely missing out on the 2024 NBA playoffs, the Sacramento Kings pulled off one of the biggest moves of this past offseason, bringing six-time All-Star DeMar DeRozan in to bolster their De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis-led core. DeRozan might be getting up there in age (he’s already 35 years old), but he has been […]

The San Antonio Spurs may not be among the best teams in the league quite yet, but it shouldn’t be long before they emerge as a powerhouse yet again, thanks to the presence of generational talent Victor Wembanyama. Wembanyama, in his rookie season, already showed the transcendent two-way talent that would make him an unsolvable […]

The 2024-25 season is shaping up to be a year of change for the Golden State Warriors. After 13 seasons, Klay Thompson decided to leave the Warriors in free agency; while this was necessary for both parties as the situation had gone south over the past two years, this still leaves a major void for […]

The New York Knicks brought in Karl-Anthony Towns via a blockbuster trade with the expectation that he’ll be the final piece to the team’s championship puzzle. Towns’ greatest asset as a basketball player is his ability to space the floor from beyond the arc, although during the Knicks’ Wednesday night preseason game against the Washington […]

Being a part of a stacked Team USA roster is an undisputed honor. However, with that honor comes the need to set one’s ego aside for the betterment of the team. Sacrifice is imperative, and nobody embodied that mindset better than Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton did. Haliburton played the fewest games and total minutes […]

The career of Indiana Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton is on a rapid ascent. His stock as a player is at an all-time high after leading the Pacers all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals last season, and then he proceeded to have himself an exceptional summer, being a part of the 12-man Team USA […]

The San Diego Padres are well on track to pulling off another upset against the NL West champion Los Angeles Dodgers in the NLDS. Buoyed by another electric performance from star right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., the Padres took a 6-5 win in Game 3 to take a 2-1 lead in the series, putting them […]

The Golden State Warriors are defiant in that they are looking to contend for another championship even though they have fallen down the league’s totem pole over the past two seasons. Now, this is not very delusional of them. Any team with Stephen Curry leading the way has a fighting chance of mounting a deep […]

The NLDS matchup between division rivals San Diego Padres and Los Angeles Dodgers has been an emotionally-charged affair. But so far, it’s the Padres that have come out on top against the reigning NL West champion. In Game 3 of the series, the Padres managed to secure a 6-5 victory, thanks in large part to […]

The Minnesota Lynx, much like the Minnesota Timberwolves, are excelling in their respective leagues. As a show of solidarity, Timberwolves guard Mike Conley congratulated the Lynx for advancing to the WNBA Finals after defeating the Connecticut Sun, 88-77, in Game 5 of the semifinals, with a two-emoji tweet. “💪🏾💪🏾,” Conley wrote on his official account […]

The Brooklyn Nets are embracing a rebuild after coming up short in their contending years with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in the fray. They brought in new head coach Jordi Fernandez to try and steer the ship back to the right direction, but make no mistake about it, getting the Nets back to playoff […]

All the makings are there for the Oklahoma City Thunder to take another leap as a team during the 2024-25 season. Last year, they broke out as a contending team, but this time around, they look like the favorite to win the Larry O’Brien trophy. However, competing for a championship is never easy. No team […]

Not even two weeks have passed since Karl-Anthony Towns became a member of the New York Knicks following the blockbuster trade that ended his nine-year stint with the Minnesota Timberwolves in a flash, and yet Towns is already endearing himself to the Knicks faithful. In fact, Josh Hart has already bestowed upon Towns a new […]

There wasn’t much to separate the Cleveland Guardians and Detroit Tigers for most of Game 2 of their ALDS clash. The Guardians could not have asked for much more than to give the ball to closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth inning while protecting a 0-0 score line to set up a potential walk-off run. […]

Game 2 of the ALDS did not go according to plan for the New York Yankees. The highest-scoring team in the AL could not manufacture more than two runs, and in the end, the Kansas City Royals tied up the series with a 4-2 win. The Royals did their damage during a fateful fourth inning […]

The Detroit Tigers continue to stun the world as they look to make a Cinderella run in this year’s playoffs. In Game 2 of their ALDS matchup against the Cleveland Guardians, the Tigers stole homefield advantage from their division rival, taking a 3-0 win as the series heads to Comerica Park — the first playoff […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers have not begun the first two games of their NLDS clash against the San Diego Padres on the best of notes. While going down 3-0 early in the contest did not cost them in Game 1, they could not muster the same comeback magic in Game 2, with the Padres running […]

The San Antonio Spurs figure to be one of the most exciting teams to watch for the upcoming season, and it’s not hard to see why. All the makings are there for Victor Wembanyama to have a monster sophomore season, and the Spurs have assembled a roster that complements Wembanyama’s strengths quite well. Moreover, the […]

The Orlando Magic are continuing on in their path to sustained playoff contention. On Monday night, the Magic kept a member of their starting lineup for the long haul after coming to terms to a three-year, $59 million extension with Wendell Carter Jr., per Shams Charania of ESPN. Carter still had two years left on […]

The Las Vegas Aces may have refused to go down without a fight, but in the end, their 2024 season met its premature end and their bid for a three-peat falls at the hands of the New York Liberty after suffering a 76-62 defeat in Game 4 of the WNBA semifinals. Many believed that the […]

The early reports coming out of Los Angeles Lakers training camp regarding Bronny James were very promising. The word was that James was turning heads in camp, especially when he drained a triple over his father, LeBron, during one of the scrimmages. Thus, hope began to spring that, maybe, Bronny might be more ready to […]

Before Game 2 of the NLDS completely got away from the Los Angeles Dodgers after a late home-run barrage from the San Diego Padres (en route to a 10-2 win for the latter), things had already gotten heated between the two teams. The NL West rivals were engaged in a highly emotional affair, with Jurickson […]

The NFL has caught on to Taylor Swift fever ever since the 14-time Grammy Award-winning pop icon became Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce’s significant other. Swift has been a prominent part of Chiefs broadcasts, and her name has been featured by the NFL in multiple marketing efforts in an attempt to broaden their […]

The Las Vegas Aces stared at the face of elimination as they entered Game 3 of their WNBA Semifinals clash against the New York Liberty. The Liberty has gotten the best out of them over the past two games, with Sabrina Ionescu and Breanna Stewart doing whatever it takes to avenge their loss to the […]