Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 68

The Detroit Pistons ownership group’s quest to restore the franchise back to its former glory continues. Following a terribly disappointing 14-win season, the Pistons are looking for a new executive to fill the role of president of basketball operations as the team continues its attempt to build a contending team. And it looks like owner […]

During the day of the announcement of the 2024 MVP winner, a member of the illustrious TNT Inside the NBA crew, Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, made it clear to the winner of the award, Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic, that he thought Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was a more deserving awardee. Shaq usually has strong opinions […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves’ feelings of vindication about their 2022 blockbuster trade for Rudy Gobert was at an all-time high on Monday, May 6. In Game 2, even though Gobert was absent due to the birth of his son during the day of his coronation as the 2023-24 Defensive Player of the Year, the Timberwolves wreaked […]

The Denver Nuggets have come back from the dead. Written off by many after the Minnesota Timberwolves ran out in dominant fashion to a 2-0 series lead in their second-round matchup in the 2024 NBA playoffs, the Nuggets showed why they are the reigning champion. Led by Nikola Jokic and Aaron Gordon, who scored 35 […]

After Game 2, it seemed like all the momentum in the world was in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ hands. After all, which other team could say that they went into the Denver Nuggets’ homecourt and ran them off the floor? However, the Nuggets are the reigning champion for a reason. Game 3 was never going to […]

The Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks were engaged in another dogfight in Game 3 of their second-round matchup in the 2024 NBA playoffs. The Pacers had to dig deep after entering the fourth quarter down by five, and in the dying seconds of the game, the score was tied at 106 after Jalen Brunson, […]

Tyrese Haliburton has woken up in a huge way after he started off the Indiana Pacers’ second-round matchup against the New York Knicks in the 2024 NBA playoffs on a poor note. Catching fire despite their Game 2 loss, Haliburton carried over his hot shooting into Game 3 and ended up with 35 points on […]

The Phoenix Suns didn’t take long to make seismic changes in the aftermath of a first-round sweep at the hands of the Minnesota Timberwolves. Not even 24 hours after relieving Frank Vogel of his head coaching duties, the Suns have reportedly hired Mike Budenholzer as his replacement, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. According to […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder weren’t at their best on Thursday night as they suffered their first loss of the 2024 NBA playoffs in Game 2 of their second-round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks, 119-110. Apart from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who had 33 points, 12 rebounds, and eight assists, and Jalen Williams, who put up 20 points […]

Things went off the rails for Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle in the dying moments of Game 2 of their second-round matchup against the New York Knicks in the 2024 NBA playoffs. Carlisle’s frustrations were already mounting as the Pacers blew the double-digit they built in the first half en route to a 130-121 […]

The outcome of playoff battles between two teams of a similar caliber tend to boil down to the performance of role players, and whether they can capitalize on the open looks they get from the sheer amount of attention the star players draw. On Thursday night, it was the Dallas Mavericks role players’ who shone. […]

The Boston Celtics looked like they were going to put the Cleveland Cavaliers to the sword and make quick work of them following a dominant 120-95 victory in Game 1. The Celtics made it rain from deep, tallying 18 makes from three to open the series, forcing the Cavs to adjust. And adjust they did. […]

They say good things come to those who wait. But in an unforgiving NBA landscape, can the Milwaukee Bucks afford to be patient? Tabbed by many as a legitimate championship contender prior to the start of the season after pulling off a blockbuster trade for Damian Lillard, the Bucks’ season never really got going the […]

Jalen Brunson is on a roll. Even on days where he looks like he’s in for a bad night, he somehow finds a way to will the New York Knicks to victory in the 2024 NBA playoffs. On Wednesday night, in Game 2 of their second-round matchup against the Indiana Pacers, Brunson went off to […]

The New York Yankees’ blockbuster offseason acquisition of Juan Soto is going according to plan. Brought in to elevate the Yankees’ lineup and give them another top-10 hitter alongside Aaron Judge, Soto has raked to begin his life in pinstripes. In fact, on Wednesday night, following the Yankees’ 9-4 victory over the Houston Astros, Soto […]

The 2023-24 season was a lost one for the Memphis Grizzlies. After three straight seasons of making the playoffs, everything that could go wrong for them went wrong. Ja Morant already began the season on the sidelines after the league suspended him for 25 games for his off-court troubles, and then just as the Grizzlies […]

Losing the first two games of a playoff series is never ideal. Suffering two defeats in heartbreaking fashion is even more suboptimal. This is exactly what the Indiana Pacers experienced after they lost two very winnable games to start off their second-round matchup against the New York Knicks. In Game 2, the Pacers blew a […]

The New York Knicks continue to find ways to win even amid the mounting adversity that makes their quest to advance deeper into the playoffs a steeper uphill climb with each passing day. No one embodies the Knicks’ will to win in a greater way than Josh Hart does. Hart does whatever it is the […]

The 2023-24 MVP award announcement has come and gone, and Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic has now won the prestigious award for the third time in his career, garnering 79 out of a possible 99 first-place votes. In the end, despite the Dallas Mavericks’ torrid stretch to end the season, Luka Doncic ended up finishing […]

For the second consecutive season, the Los Angeles Lakers’ championship hopes were dashed by none other than the Denver Nuggets. Regardless of how hard LeBron James and company tried, the Nuggets seemed to have every answer. Now, all that’s left for the Lakers to do is reflect upon how they couldn’t seem to overcome the […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder are coming off a huge 117-95 victory in Game 1 of their second-round matchup against the Dallas Mavericks in the 2024 NBA playoffs. Thanks to an electric fourth quarter from Jalen Williams and an all-around solid effort from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder could not have asked for a better start to […]

The New York Knicks continue to weather injury problems, and at the worst possible time as well. They already lost Julius Randle to a season-ending shoulder injury prior to the start of the playoffs, and then they witnessed Bojan Bogdanovic endure injuries to his left foot and wrist that required season-ending surgery. And then, following […]

Winning Game 1 of their second-round matchup against the Oklahoma City Thunder was always going to be a difficult task for the Dallas Mavericks. The Mavericks were coming off a hard-fought six-game series against the Los Angeles Clippers, which ended on Friday night, while the Thunder had already punched their ticket to the second round […]

The 2024 offseason is shaping up to be a crucial one for the Los Angeles Lakers. The pressure to maximize the twilight of LeBron James’ career is greater than ever, necessitating wholesale changes for one of the league’s most historically successful franchises. But before the Lakers look towards making the necessary moves to build a […]

It was in December 2022 when Tyrese Haliburton, who was in the middle of a breakout campaign for the Indiana Pacers, drew the ire of Wally Szczerbiak, a retired professional basketball player who now works as an analyst for the New York Knicks’ MSG Network. Szczerbiak called Haliburton a “wannabe All-Star”, which seemed rather harsh, […]

One of the main stories leading up to Game 2 of the Minnesota Timberwolves and Denver Nuggets’ second-round clash in the 2024 NBA playoffs was whether or not Rudy Gobert, who played a starring role in the former’s Game 1 victory, would be able to suit up. Gobert is not injured; rather, he was back […]

The Denver Nuggets looked like they were ripe for a bounce-back game after the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated them at home, 106-99, to start off what should be a very competitive second-round matchup between division rivals. After all, the Timberwolves were without Rudy Gobert, and Gobert was instrumental in slowing down the Nuggets’ high-powered offense. Instead, […]

The reigning champions are on the ropes. The Minnesota Timberwolves did not have Rudy Gobert for Game 2 of their first-round matchup against the Denver Nuggets, but it did not matter; the Timberwolves came out of the gates motivated to choke the life out of the Nuggets, and that’s exactly what they did with a […]

On Monday night, it became official: San Antonio Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama won the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year Award after an outstanding debut season. Wembanyama won the award in unanimous fashion, which speaks volumes to how well he finished his rookie campaign that the debate as to who was more deserving of […]

If ever there was a game for the Denver Nuggets to strike back in what’s shaping up to be an epic clash against the Minnesota Timberwolves in the second round of the 2024 NBA playoffs, it’s in Game 2. Rudy Gobert was not able to suit up after the birth of his first child, and […]

The Madison Square Garden has been home to some of the most exhilarating games of the 2024 NBA playoffs to this point, and on Monday night, the Indiana Pacers gave the New York Knicks one hell of a fight to open up their second-round matchup and rekindle the two franchise’s old rivalry. In the end, […]

The Los Angeles Lakers wasted no time relieving Darvin Ham of his head coaching duties in the aftermath of their first-round exit in the 2024 playoffs against the Denver Nuggets. Now, the Lakers will be conducting a thorough search for the next voice that would lead the team, and a few names have already come […]

There may not be a bigger tragedy in sports than when injury problems derail a superstar’s career. Mike Trout appears to be headed for that fate. Trout, who has gone through a plethora of injury woes over the past three seasons, recently underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus, forcing him out of action for […]

The 2024 offseason is shaping up to be a big one for the Los Angeles Clippers. On the heels of a second consecutive first-round exit, there seems to be greater disappointment surrounding the 213 iteration of the team than ever. In the NBA, with disappointment potentially comes major changes. Amid all the uncertainty, there is […]

It’s now two years in a row that the Los Angeles Clippers saw their championship hopes come to an end in the first round of the playoffs. In 2023, they came crashing and burning against a Phoenix Suns team as they were unable to weather their injury problems. And now, in 2024, they went down […]

On Sunday afternoon, it seemed as though the Los Angeles Clippers had turned the momentum in their favor. They pulled off an epic Game 4 victory as they staved off a 31-point comeback from the Dallas Mavericks, and with homecourt advantage back on their side, they had a legitimate chance to advance to the second […]

The Baltimore Orioles are on a roll; following their 7-2 win over the New York Yankees on Thursday, they are coming off a huge 3-1 series victory over their closest rival in the AL East standings. And the Orioles, surprisingly, turned to their pitching to lead them to victory. Now, this is not to say […]

Any team with Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey on it has a legitimate shot at mounting a deep playoff run. But the 2023-24 season always seemed like it was meant to be a transitional campaign for the Philadelphia 76ers. After James Harden requested for a trade, the 76ers prioritized bringing back expiring contracts in return […]

Nikola Jokic is continuing to climb the NBA’s all-time totem pole. Jokic is the league’s preeminent unsolvable puzzle, as there seems to be no defensive coverage in existence that has a chance in the world to slow down the Denver Nuggets star other than to hope that he misses. In fact, Jokic’s greatness has gotten […]