Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 80

The Orlando Magic fielded a skeleton crew on Friday night against the Denver Nuggets. Franz Wagner headlined the list of seven Magic rotation players who were out with injury, and to make matters worse, rookie guard Anthony Black had to exit their game against the Nuggets with an illness. In the first half, it looked […]

There may be no bigger star in college basketball right now than the sharpshooting guard for the Iowa women’s Hawkeyes, Caitlin Clark. Clark continues to be a singularly unstoppable offensive force who racks up stats like she breathes air, and on Friday, she dropped 29 points, 10 rebounds, and 10 assists — an epic triple-double […]

The Los Angeles Lakers and Memphis Grizzlies, as expected after their heated 2023 first-round playoff battle, were engaged in yet another emotional affair on Friday night. The Lakers, in particular, are expected to give it their all amid rumors of disconnect between Darvin Ham and the locker room. Memphis, on the other hand, is still […]

The Boston Celtics made some winning moves this past offseason to try and take a core that fell short in the playoffs for the past few years to another level. They even sacrificed core pieces of last season’s 57-win team to do so, trading away Marcus Smart, the team’s heart and soul, for Kristaps Porzingis, […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder, on the back of a stellar end to 2023 and promising start to 2024, were garnering some loud buzz as one of the most legitimate contending teams in the association. After all, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who received All-NBA First Team honors last season, has taken his game to even greater heights while […]

The Pittsburgh Steelers, after winning two consecutive games, are still in the running for a playoff spot. With a 9-7 record, the Steelers can sneak into the postseason if they manage to come away with an upset victory over the Baltimore Ravens and other results fall in their favor. However, the Pittsburgh top brass may […]

The Atlanta Falcons still have a puncher’s chance at making the playoffs. Heading into the final gameweek of the season, the 7-9 Falcons can still make the postseason as the NFC South division champion, and all that needs to happen for that to materialize is a victory over the New Orleans Saints and a Tampa […]

At the time of writing, eight Friday night NBA games would have concluded. Tonight’s slate of games brought some interesting matchups that could have gone down to the wire. The New York Knicks took on the Philadelphia 76ers, the Indiana Pacers would renew their high-octane matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, and the Los Angeles Clippers […]

At this point in free agency, there remains plenty of talented players on both sides of the ball that are available. On the hitting side of things, the likes of Cody Bellinger, Matt Chapman, and Joc Pederson are all available, not to mention the returning Rhys Hoskins. However, for teams that are operating on more […]

There is a bit of drama swirling around the Los Angeles Lakers as of late. After losing their ninth out of their past 12 games on Wednesday, to a shorthanded Miami Heat team no less, reports came out about the rumored disconnect between head coach Darvin Ham and the rest of the Lakers locker room. […]

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is capable of the most dazzling feats on an NBA court. On Thursday night, against the Golden State Warriors, he made arguably the most impossible shot of his career when he nailed a bank shot near the halfcourt line right over the outstretched arms of Kevon Looney to complete the […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers have flexed their financial might throughout the free agency process leading up to the 2024 season. They were the ones who secured Shohei Ohtani’s signature for a record-setting $700 million over 10 years (with much of it deferred). In addition, they also won the Yoshinobu Yamamoto sweepstakes for an astounding $375 […]

The Texas Rangers have a difficult task ahead of them in 2024 as they try to defend their World Series crown. Rich teams such as the Los Angeles Dodgers are only getting richer, and their status as reigning champion would mean that everyone will be gunning for their heads. Thus, it’s imperative that they remain […]

On Thursday night, the Golden State Warriors needed to protect an 18-point lead with less than seven minutes to go in the game to take home a huge win over the reigning champion Denver Nuggets. One would think that the Warriors, given their veteran pedigree, would know how to handle their business. But in the […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are in dire straits at the moment. They have won just three of their past 12 games since hoisting the inaugural NBA Cup, and due to their subpar results on the hardwood, there’s been reported disconnect between head coach Darvin Ham and the Lakers locker room. Ham may be feeling the […]

The Golden State Warriors looked like they had their Thursday night game against the reigning champion Denver Nuggets won. After all, they had built an 18-point lead with 6:51 left in the fourth quarter. However, the final minutes of the game were an unmitigated disaster for the Warriors. The Dubs ended their night in defeat […]

Nikola Jokic may be the most unguardable player in the NBA. On Thursday night, he showed that there may not be a player in today’s NBA who’s as capable as he is when it comes to making impossibly difficult shots after he made an astounding game-winner — a 3-pointer along the hash line — to […]

There was much anticipation for the San Antonio Spurs’ Thursday night battle against the Milwaukee Bucks. After all, this was going to be the first time that Victor Wembanyama would face Giannis Antetokounmpo on an NBA court. And Wembanyama delivered the goods. He retaliated against Antetokounmpo’s 44-point night in a 125-121 heartbreaking Spurs loss with […]

The Detroit Pistons may have already snapped their historic 28-game losing streak, but the fact of the matter that they’re bad remains. Thus, it remains very much in the realm of possibility that the Pistons would dangle some of the team’s veterans, including sharpshooter Bojan Bogdanovic, as trade bait — and the Orlando Magic could […]

On Thursday night against the Milwaukee Bucks, the San Antonio Spurs finally made the much-awaited decision to bring Tre Jones back into the starting lineup. Head coach Gregg Popovich has tried Jeremy Sochan and Devin Vassell at the point, and the results haven’t been great. On multiple occasions, the Spurs had windows for an easy […]

Thursday night marked the first time that two of arguably the most freakish players in league history in terms of physical dimensions in Giannis Antetokounmpo and Victor Wembanyama squared off. And despite the gulf in quality between the Milwaukee Bucks and San Antonio Spurs, this matchup on national television delivered. Antetokounmpo dropped 44 points to […]

The Los Angeles Lakers find themselves in a very similar position to where they were last year. Yes, their start to the 2022-23 season was even more disastrous. But their mounting desperation when it comes to righting the ship is reminiscent to the sense of urgency they had last year. Following their 110-96 loss to […]

It was shaping up to be a promising season for the Los Angeles Lakers, as seen in their triumph in the inaugural NBA In-Season Tournament. However, it has all gone downhill for the Lakers since. After winning the NBA Cup, the Lakers proceeded to lose five of their next six games, prompting head coach Darvin […]

The Los Angeles Clippers were getting panned by critics left and right in the immediate aftermath of their trade for James Harden. They rocked the boat too much, analysts pointed out. But the Clippers have righted the ship in a major way. It may have taken some time, but Harden, Kawhi Leonard, and Paul George […]

The Los Angeles Clippers became the laughingstock of the NBA when they proceeded to lose their first five games with James Harden on the roster. They even nearly lost a sixth consecutive outing with the Beard (and seventh overall) if not for an incredible shot from Harden in the clutch. Even during those struggles, however, […]

It’s no secret that things are starting to heat up between the Indiana Pacers and Milwaukee Bucks. Some fans are even seeing it as the league’s newest rivalry. But no one could have ever foreseen that the tension between these two teams would start to heat up in a way where Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo […]

The Atlanta Braves remain one of the most stacked teams in the MLB. They have some enviable position player depth, which they used to trade for talented, albeit injury-prone southpaw Chris Sale to bolster a pitching rotation that already has Spencer Strider, Max Fried, Charlie Morton, and Bryce Elder — four top-level pitchers who can […]

It was a common line of thinking among NBA fans on social media that the New York Knicks were on the losing end of the trade that brought OG Anunoby to the Big Apple. Many fans rued the fact that the Knicks traded away Immanuel Quickley to get Anunoby. However, Anunoby is performing at quite […]

At first glance, it seemed like the stars had aligned for Blake Snell and Jordan Montgomery in their respective forays into free agency. Snell had one of his best seasons as a professional in 2023 with the San Diego Padres, even winning NL Cy Young award honors for his excellent play. Meanwhile, Montgomery was part […]

The Dallas Mavericks entered their Wednesday night matchup against the Portland Trail Blazers wanting to erase the lingering stench of their lackluster performance in their blowout loss to the Utah Jazz this past Monday. During that game, head coach Jason Kidd did not like the Mavs’ defensive effort and communication; but on Wednesday, Kyrie Irving, […]

The Carolina Panthers aren’t just getting panned for their poor performance on the field, but also for the franchise owner’s actions off of it. During the Panthers’ embarrassing 26-0 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on New Year’s Eve, David Tepper lost all composure and threw a drink down the stands towards the Jaguars fans that […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have been plagued with injury woes to start 2024; the Purple and Gold entered their Wednesday night clash against the Miami Heat without D’Angelo Russell, Rui Hachimura, and Gabe Vincent. This has necessitated an emergence from one of their more unheralded players to provide LeBron James and Anthony Davis with some […]

There’s no question that the San Francisco Giants are willing to splash the cash to improve the team to try and compete with the likes of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Atlanta Braves for National League supremacy. The Giants were reportedly willing to match the contract that Shohei Ohtani eventually signed with the Dodgers — […]

One of the greatest criticisms old heads have of the current NBA is that players are too friendly with one another. There are no rivalries anymore, they would contend. They’re all pals now, and the NBA has lost the must-see television that comes with seeing teams or players that loathe each other go to war. […]

The Indiana Pacers continue to sing the sweetest melody on offense during the 2023-24 season, and it’s thanks in large part to the masterful job All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton has done as the team’s offensive conductor. On Wednesday night, the Pacers blitzed the Milwaukee Bucks yet again, walloping them to the tune of 142 […]

The Boston Celtics, as presently constructed, are already the best team in the NBA. In fact, according to the latest FanDuel Betting Odds for the 2024 NBA championship, the Celtics are the favorite to win it all. Their odds to win the title are currently at +320, which is even better than that of the […]

The Los Angeles Lakers are in a precarious position in the Western Conference standings to open 2024. At the time of writing, the Lakers have a 17-17 record, and they’re only half a game above the 11th-seeded Golden State Warriors. Head coach Darvin Ham has diligently been searching for combinations that work, hence the benching […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers expected to take the next step in their bid to compete for a championship in the 2023-24 season. After all, they added Max Strus, a battle-tested, three-point marksman who helps improve the team’s greatest weakness last year, to a rapidly improving core led by Donovan Mitchell, Darius Garland, Evan Mobley, and Jarrett […]

There was plenty of optimism surrounding the Phoenix Suns’ chances of competing for a championship in the 2023-24 season in the immediate aftermath of their blockbuster trade for Bradley Beal. Analysts wondered how in the world opposing teams would deal with three players in Beal, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker who can score from all […]