Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 73

The Dallas Mavericks were able to hold off the Los Angeles Lakers’ strong comeback charge on Wednesday night, hanging on for the victory after taking a 20-point lead heading into the fourth quarter thanks to some heroics from Kyrie Irving and some crunch-time gaffes from LeBron James. This saved the Mavs from a world of […]

LeBron James was already doing so well in leading the Los Angeles Lakers all the way back from a 20-point deficit in their Wednesday night game against the Dallas Mavericks. James dropped 16 of his 26 points in the final frame, and in fact, it was him who gave the Lakers a two-point lead with […]

The Orlando Magic put their four-game winning streak on the line against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets on Wednesday night. On paper, this looked like as difficult a matchup as it can get for the Magic, especially when Nikola Jokic, time and time again, has shown that there are no defensive coverages that he can’t […]

The Dallas Mavericks were on a roll for the first three quarters of their Wednesday night contest against the Los Angeles Lakers. However, that didn’t come without its fair share of heart-in-your-mouth moments, with the Mavs’ prized rookie Dereck Lively II exiting the game prematurely after suffering a concerning back injury. With around seven minutes […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder, after a few years of taking a plunge down the standings, have finally arrived as the league’s pre-eminent up-and-coming team, and it’s thanks in large part to the continued excellence of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. On Wednesday night, with a chance to improve to 11-4, Gilgeous-Alexander was once again at the top of […]

Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is always capable of feats of wizardry on the hardwood. And during the Mavs’ Wednesday night battle against the Los Angeles Lakers, Doncic was once again deep in his bag, pulling out a must be seen to be believed nutmeg pass through the legs of LeBron James. With the Lakers’ […]

The start of Jordan Poole’s life as a member of the Washington Wizards organization hasn’t exactly been smooth-sailing. Pegged by many as a potential breakout candidate now that he doesn’t have to share touches with Stephen Curry on the Golden State Warriors, Poole has fallen way short of expectations. His shot selection has remained questionable, […]

It’s no secret that LeBron James is getting up there in terms of age. In fact, the Los Angeles Lakers star was literally flabbergasted when he realized that he’s older than Will Hardy, the head coach of their opponents on Tuesday night, the Utah Jazz. But time after time, James comes up with feats of […]

The Atlanta Hawks found themselves in a high-octane scoring battle against the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night in the NBA In-Season Tournament; Trae Young, in particular, had his best game of the 2023-24 season to this point. Not only did he score 38 points, which is his second-best scoring total of the season, he did […]

The Indiana Pacers and Atlanta Hawks NBA In-Season Tournament clash on Tuesday night had all the makings of an instant classic. Both the Pacers and Hawks benefitted from amazing shot-making, with defense taking a backseat to high-octane scoring outbursts en route to a huge 157-152 win for Indiana that clinched them a spot in the […]

The Indiana Pacers are off to the knockout stage of the NBA In-Season Tournament, and Tyrese Haliburton has been the main reason as to why. Haliburton was already an elite floor general during the 2022-23 season, but he appears to have ascended to another level for this campaign. On Tuesday night, during the Pacers’ group-clinching […]

The Houston Rockets have not seen a third-year leap from athletic shooting guard Jalen Green; to start the 2023-24 season, Green’s scoring numbers have been down, his efficiency metrics have been discouraging, and his overall fit alongside a core of Alperen Sengun and Fred VanVleet appears to be up in the air. In fact, during […]

The Washington Wizards have been nothing short of a dumpster fire to begin the 2023-24 season. Their offense is all sorts of disjointed, better performances from Jordan Poole and Kyle Kuzma on Monday night against the Milwaukee Bucks notwithstanding, and the defense is virtually non-existent. The environment the Wizards have at the moment may not […]

Winning on the second night of a back-to-back is always a tough task. Losing that game when you had a golden chance to win the game is even more excruciating to accept. For Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics on Monday night, they simply could not have lost in a more demoralizing fashion against a […]

It’s been a tough go for Victor Wembanyama and the San Antonio Spurs as of late. Following a strong start to the season marked by two statement victories over the Phoenix Suns, the Spurs have resembled their 2022-23 version much more closely over the past few games, losing eight straight games entering their Monday night […]

Even though they’ve been without Jamal Murray for the past few weeks due to a hamstring injury, the Denver Nuggets have been finding ways to tally victories, thanks in large part to the MVP-caliber efforts of Nikola Jokic. But on Monday night, with Jokic exiting the game in the first half of the Nuggets’ contest […]

Jordan Poole has been such an easy target for criticism from fans and pundits as of late, and it has clearly been weighing him down. Following an offseason trade to the Washington Wizards, he has declined across multiple levels, suffering drop-offs aplenty in scoring numbers instead of blossoming into an All-Star caliber player in a […]

The Dallas Mavericks’ decision to pair Kyrie Irving with Luka Doncic wasn’t met with universal affirmation among basketball analysts in terms of fit on the hardwood. Both Doncic and Irving need the ball in their hands to flourish; but to start the 2023-24 season, the Mavs, justifiably, have shifted Irving into more of an off-ball […]

LeBron James, as painful as it may be to admit, is creeping ever so closely to his retirement, making every one of his remaining game in the NBA must-see for fans who would want nothing less than to take his greatness for granted. And James continues to be a dominant presence on the hardwood; on […]

There are no easy games moving forward for the struggling Los Angeles Clippers, a team that hasn’t won since trading for James Harden. But on Friday night, Harden showed why the Clippers upended their wing-heavy core and went all-in on his talent. With less than 10 seconds left and the game tied at 100 apiece […]

Ausar Thompson was already highly regarded as a prospect before the Detroit Pistons drafted him with the fifth overall pick of the 2023 NBA Draft. But Thompson has done nothing but shatter expectations since then. Thompson is such a live-wire on the court, always jumping for rebounds while being so active on the defensive end […]

The league’s decision to bring in specially-designed courts for the NBA In-Season Tournament gave those games its special vibe, setting them apart from ordinary regular season games. However, these courts have been divisive. Not only have some courts drawn the ire of some fans due to their color schemes that are difficult to look at, […]

LeBron James is going to turn 39 years of age on December 30, 2023 — let that sink in for a moment. It’s hard to internalize that James is nearing the end of his illustrious career, but for some, like Portland Trail Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups, they know better than to take the Los […]

The NBA, in an effort to spice up the action early on in the regular season, introduced the In-Season Tournament that, apart from giving teams bragging rights, would reward the winning team with a cash prize of $500,000. While this may not matter much to the top one percent earners in the NBA, this has […]

Amid the absence of Jamal Murray, who remains out with a hamstring injury, the Denver Nuggets have needed one herculean effort after another from Nikola Jokic, the reigning Finals MVP. And that’s exactly what they’ve gotten from their star center. On Friday night, facing an upstart New Orleans Pelicans team on the road in the […]

The Milwaukee Brewers, despite winning 92 games and the NL Central crown in 2023, appeared headed for a tough offseason with a lot of roster churn. According to the rumor mill, the Brewers are looking for prospective trade partners that would give them pitching prospects for some of their veterans who are approaching free agency, […]

Joel Embiid has always been one of the most hilariously expressive players in the entire association. He relishes ruffling the feathers of opposition fans, and on Friday night, in an away game against the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA In-Season Tournament, the Philadelphia 76ers star had an opportunity to rub some salt on Hawks’ fans […]

The Los Angeles Clippers, by virtue of the James Harden trade, gutted their frontcourt depth as they sent away three of the power forwards in their rotation to the Philadelphia 76ers. And then in Harden’s very first game with the team, the Clippers proceeded to lose backup center Mason Plumlee to a knee injury, making […]

With Stephen Curry out due to a knee sprain, it seemed fitting that the Golden State Warriors’ opponent on Thursday night, the Oklahoma City Thunder, paid homage to the greatest shooter of all time by simply refusing to miss from three. As a team, the Thunder made 19 of their 32 three-point attempts on the […]

The Atlanta Braves are always on the lookout for ways to improve their roster, especially as they try to overcome the playoff demons that have come to haunt them for the past two years. According to Bob Nightengale of USA Today, the Braves reportedly swung a massive trade to upgrade their bullpen, sending five guys, […]

There still may be seven games to go in the Cincinnati Bengals’ 2023 season, but it’s not looking good as far as their playoff hopes are concerned. Following a 34-20 loss to AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens, the Bengals are now 5-5, good for dead-last in the division. And to make matters worse, the Bengals […]

The Baltimore Ravens continue to go on a roll. Facing Joe Burrow and the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 11, the Ravens took care of business handily, with Lamar Jackson and Odell Beckham Jr. even partying like it’s 2019 en route to a 34-20 victory that moves them to 8-3 on the season — convincingly in […]

Despite the injury to Tyler Herro that would keep him out for at least one more week, the Miami Heat have gone on a roll, winning six straight games heading into their Thursday night battle against the Brooklyn Nets. Without Herro, the onus to create offense has fallen on Jimmy Butler, Bam Adebayo, and Duncan […]

It’s not too often that a star of Shohei Ohtani’s caliber reaches free agency, triggering a bidding war of unprecedented proportions. After all, Ohtani is as transformative as a player can get in the MLB; not only is he an elite pitcher, he is also one of the best sluggers in the league, giving whatever […]

The Phoenix Suns may not have gotten the regular season debut of their new Big Three of Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal on Wednesday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves, but the Suns were still at the top of their game, especially on the offensive end. They simply could not miss, as they shot […]

Winning on the second night of a back-to-back is always a difficult task. It becomes even more challenging when the first game of the back-to-back set was an emotional affair, with the Minnesota Timberwolves’ win against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday night marked by multiple ejections and an iconic chokehold. Thus, on Wednesday night, […]

On Wednesday night, there was much excitement surrounding the Phoenix Suns, as according to reports, this will be the first regular season game in which their new big three of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, and Bradley Beal will all be playing in the same game. That, however, ended up being too good to be true. […]

The Los Angeles Lakers were always going to face an uphill climb on Wednesday night against the Sacramento Kings, with that game being the second of a back-to-back set for the Purple and Gold. LeBron James, despite sustaining an injury that kept him out during the weekend, put up a valiant effort, dropping 28 points, […]

The Chicago Bulls may be the team that has the bleakest outlook in the league; in light of their disappointing performances to start the year, the Bulls have finally faced the music and are now reportedly open to trading away Zach LaVine, marking an end to their two-and-a-half years’ worth of attempt to contend for […]