Jedd Pagaduan Articles - Page 88

In what was sure to be a heated matchup between Luka Doncic’s Slovenia and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s Canada in the quarterfinal of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, it was Doncic who fell prey to his usual habits. With the Dallas Mavericks, Doncic routinely loses his cool whenever the whistle doesn’t go his way, and that’s exactly […]

The Denver Nuggets, of all teams, know how important it is to nail their draft picks, as the Mile High City isn’t a particularly attractive destination for superstar free agents. And to their credit, they have made the most out of their picks, especially in the 2010s, where they built the core of their 2023 […]

From 1975 to the early 2010s, misery kept piling on and on for the Golden State Warriors franchise. They traded away future Hall of Famers for scraps, gave a high-potential rookie a shocking contract that allowed him to enter free agency after just one season, and failed to capitalize on whatever momentum they had been […]

The Los Angeles Lakers, after much ado, have finally added Christian Wood to their roster, inking him to a two-year deal with a player option for the second year. As maddening as Wood is as a player at times, this is nothing short of a big get for the Lakers. For a low price, the […]

The Philadelphia 76ers are still in a considerable state of uncertainty, as there’s still no end in sight for the Sixers’ James Harden situation. But amid all the uncertainty, the Sixers front office remained busy adding pieces that should be of help to Joel Embiid and company next season, with or without The Beard. On […]

The Cleveland Guardians need every win they could muster, with the Minnesota Twins holding a comfortable lead over them in the AL Central standings. But with the way their 2023 season has gone, the Guardians found it difficult to keep up, as they suffered a 20-6 defeat against the team they’re looking up to in […]

The Seattle Supersonics’ NBA return is long overdue. 15 years have passed since the new owners of the Supersonics franchise decided to move the team to Oklahoma City and rebrand them as the Thunder, snatching away the city of Seattle’s beloved NBA franchise. It remains unclear when the NBA will officially greenlight its expansion plans. […]

The Seattle Mariners, after an uneven start to the 2023 season, have managed to climb their way to the top of the AL West over the likes of the Houston Astros and Texas Rangers, thanks in large part to Julio Rodriguez’s incredible performances as of late. During the month of August, there was simply no […]

The Atlanta Braves recently came out on top of a heavyweight clash against the Los Angeles Dodgers, winning three out of four against one of the teams that’s most likely to threaten their status as the overlords of the National League. With Ronald Acuna Jr. leading the way for a stacked Braves squad, they were […]

The Washington Wizards franchise, like most others, isn’t exactly the most attractive destination for top-tier free agents. Nothing beats the glitz and glamour of signing with a big market team based in Los Angeles or New York, after all. But that doesn’t mean that the Wizards franchise hasn’t made its fair share of impressive signings […]

Shohei Ohtani’s unfortunate injury adds to the avalanche of tragedies that have beset the Los Angeles Angels’ 2023 season. Ohtani, the runaway candidate to win AL MVP, tore his UCL, preventing him from performing his pitching duties for the foreseeable future. Nevertheless, there’s a glass half-full approach to the Angels star’s major injury. Some pundits […]

With 24 games left in the regular season, the Tampa Bay Rays, barring an epic collapse reminiscent of the 2011 Boston Red Sox, will be heading into the postseason. While nothing is set in stone at the moment, it doesn’t hurt to prepare early for what should be a playoff bloodbath. At least the Rays […]

Austin Reaves’ ascent into stardom has been nothing short of impressive. From being a plucky undrafted guard who impressed during the 2021 Summer League to someone even the most casual NBA fan recognizes, the Los Angeles Lakers guard’s star has exploded beyond imagination. And it seems like Reaves is only in the infancy stages of […]

The Los Angeles Angels’ playoff hopes have, once again, gone by the wayside despite making a few moves prior to the trade deadline. Just to further rub salt on the Angels’ wounds, Shohei Ohtani proceeded to tear the UCL on his throwing elbow, preventing him from suiting up on the mound for the foreseeable future, […]

It’s no secret that the Los Angeles Lakers and Golden State Warriors have the biggest fanbases among NBA teams. Such is the life for teams boasting the services of LeBron James and Stephen Curry, respectively. But not all fans have level-headed takes. In fact, the bigger the fanbase is, the more likely it is for […]

Entering the second round of the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Team USA’s confidence was at an all-time high. Anthony Edwards even told reporters that they’d win both of their crossover games against Montenegro and Lithuania, believing that the team would continue to roll along after three dominant victories in the first round. But as Lithuania […]

Team USA received a wake-up call on Sunday morning when Lithuania (figuratively) punched them in their collective mouths en route to a 110-104 victory to hand the international powerhouse its first loss of the 2023 FIBA World Cup — the only one they could afford if they were to win the entire competition. The Lithuanians, […]

The New Orleans Hornets/Pelicans franchise hasn’t exactly been a hotbed for blockbuster signings in free agency. That distinction is reserved for the big market teams, which was made crystal clear when Anthony Davis decided that he wanted a trade out of the team back in the 2018-19 season. Nevertheless, the Pelicans franchise has still proven […]

There’s no guarantee that Pete Alonso stays with the New York Mets beyond the 2023 season. The Mets reportedly held trade talks involving the 28-year old first baseman prior to the deadline, and with the team undergoing a soft reset, Alonso could be end up being an established veteran who gives way. But Alonso is […]

Oklahoma City has never been a particularly attractive free-agent destination, so it wasn’t too easy to conjure up a list of the Thunder franchise’s best signings since 2008. The Thunder also notoriously found it difficult to keep the best free agent in their history, failing to come to terms with a new contract with Kevin […]

The 2023 season is Miguel Cabrera’s swan song, the closing chapter in the Detroit Tigers slugger’s illustrious career. Even then, Cabrera is not yet done climbing the all-time ladder, as he looks to put an end to his MLB career in style. And he seems to be doing just that if his performance against the […]

The Toronto Blue Jays are hanging tough in the playoff race, as they trail the Texas Rangers by 1.5 games in the AL Wild Card standings at the time of writing. It hasn’t been smooth sailing at all for the Blue Jays, as two of their best position players, Bo Bichette and Matt Chapman, are […]

By almost every criteria for judgment, the New York Yankees have had a disappointing 2023 season. They’re in danger of finishing with a record below .500 for the first time since 1992, a harsh fall from grace for one of the MLB’s most prestigious and iconic franchises. However, even in a season filled with heartbreak, […]

Trea Turner hasn’t had the most productive 2023 season after signing a big money deal with the Philadelphia Phillies this past offseason. He hasn’t nearly been as stellar as he was last year, dropping off across the board in multiple key stats. However, Turner is proving that it’s not too late for him to make […]

The mythos of how driven and competitive Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan was in his playing days (and still is even in his off-court pursuits) grew even stronger when the Last Dance documentary came out in 2020. Jordan always willed himself to be better than his peers, and it resulted in six championship wins across […]

The Los Angeles Clippers, for much of its existence, have been one of the most terrible teams in the entire NBA. Nevertheless, even a broken clock is right twice a day — and the Clippers, for all of their ineptitude over the years, have nailed some of their signings in free agency. One particular move […]

Hard-hitting outfielder Hunter Renfroe became a casualty of the Los Angeles Angels’ inability to keep up in the playoff race. Renfroe hit waivers as cost cutting took center stage in the mind of Angels owner Arte Moreno. But another team’s loss in another’s gain, and the Cincinnati Reds, a team that has unexpectedly crashed the […]

Not too many fans and analysts expected the Cincinnati Reds to make much noise in 2023. For example, in ESPN’s preseason predictions, they projected the Reds to finish with a 70-92 record, giving them a three percent chance to make the postseason before the season began. But fast forward to the start of September, and […]

The Atlanta Braves are rolling, towering over their peers with an 87-45 record — the best in the league. One reason behind their dominance has been the excellence of Ronald Acuna Jr., an incredible slugging threat at the dish and an elite presence on the basepaths. And on Thursday night, with the Braves facing another […]

The Los Angeles Angels have, once again, fallen off the playoff race pace. Despite making multiple trades before the deadline (then later waiving those acquisitions) to bolster the Shohei Ohtani-led roster, the Angels will, more likely than not, miss the postseason for the ninth consecutive year. Nevertheless, that doesn’t make the last 28 games of […]

The Chicago White Sox have finally settled on who to appoint as the next leader of the team’s brain trust. On Friday morning, Jon Morosi of MLB Network reported that the White Sox have appointed Chris Getz as the team’s new general manager after the firing of Rick Hahn. Getz has been a longtime servant […]

The Charlotte Hornets may be coming off a terrible 2021-22 season, but it seems like brighter times are right around the corner. With the young, high potential duo of LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller leading the way for the moribund franchise, the Hornets should be on the rise soon enough. At the very least, the […]

The Dallas Cowboys remain as one of the most legitimate contending teams in the NFL, with the team boasting solid to incredible depth at almost every position. One trendy topic regarding the Cowboys as of late was their trade for quarterback Trey Lance, a former first-rounder who should help push QB1 Dak Prescott to be […]

The Los Angeles Dodgers are sitting pretty atop the NL West, as they entered their Wednesday night clash against division rival Arizona Diamondbacks with an 82-67 record. And a big reason behind their continued dominance over their division is the consistent excellence of the superstar position player duo of Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman, as […]

One of the things that made Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant one of the most iconic basketball players of all time was his sheer force of personality. Bryant was the type of player who had an “it’s my way or the highway” mindset, and that disposition applied both towards his teammates and opponents. But […]

There’s a certain pressure that comes with donning the prestigious Team USA uniform. Given their standing as the ultimate basketball powerhouse in the world, the expectation for them is always gold medal or bust. Nevertheless, Minnesota Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards seems to be unfazed by this, as he appears to be welcoming the challenge that […]

When putting together a Team USA squad that’s worthy of winning the gold medal in prestigious international tournaments such as the 2023 FIBA World Cup, talent almost always takes precedent in one’s inclusion more so than fit and team chemistry. Thus, even though there have been plenty of talented squads in Team USA history filled […]

Whenever the subject of whoever has the best handles comes up, one of the names that always comes to the forefront of the discussion is Kyrie Irving’s. The Dallas Mavericks star point guard has never been shy to flaunt his endless bag of dribbling tricks, confounding defenders and dazzling the fans with every act of […]

During the 2022-23 season, there was much anticipation for when Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James would break Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s all-time NBA scoring record that stood for more than three decades. And on February 7, 2023, James etched his name atop the NBA’s regular season scoring leaderboard — ending the season with 38,652 points. The […]