David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 18

The Los Angeles Lakers came into Wednesday’s game against the Indiana Pacers looking to snap a two-game losing streak and get a win on their current road trip. Following their disappointing loss to the Orlando Magic, the Lakers appeared on pace to do so, leading by double digits in the first half. But amid their […]

The college basketball transfer portal is officially open for business, and there have already been a few big names who have entered their name in the portal. There hasn’t been any big commits yet, until Wednesday when the Creighton Bluejays landed Owen Freeman out of the transfer portal, as per Joe Tipton of On3 Sports. […]

This is the time of the regular season when rebuilding teams often shuffle young prospects at the end of their roster as a means of evaluation. Ten-day contracts are often common around the final stretch of the regular season. In some cases, such as the New York Knicks’ signing of PJ Tucker, a 10-day could […]

LOS ANGELES – With the G League regular season winding down, Bronny James took the court for his final home game with the South Bay Lakers. Amid the Los Angeles Lakers’ current road trip, the team assigned James to South Bay.  South Bay had a back-t0-back stretch of home games this week which served as […]

The Los Angeles Lakers will embark on a four-game road trip that carries them through the end of March, but they will do so without a recent standout on their roster. Bronny James will not be on the Lakers’ active roster for the trip as the team made the decision to assign him to South […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed back LeBron James and Rui Hachimura to the lineup on Saturday after both players had missed several games due to injury. In Rui Hachimura’s case, he had been sidelined for nine games due to a knee injury. Hachimura was upgraded to available in the hours before the […]

The Los Angeles Lakers welcomed LeBron James back to the lineup from injury on Saturday against the Chicago Bulls. The Lakers would lose, 146-115, and James looked a little bit rusty in his return to the court. That game ended what was a five-game homestand for the Lakers, and they now embark on the road for […]

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish cruised to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament following their 76-55 blowout over Michigan in the round of 32. The Fighting Irish had several starters in the game late despite the score, and Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey explained postgame that she did so for the seniors, as […]

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish punched their ticket to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament with their 76-55 win over Michigan. Despite suffering an ankle injury against Stephen F. Austin, Olivia Miles suited up for Notre Dame to help them advance. Following the win, Miles spoke about why she decided to play through the […]

The UConn Huskies saw their dreams of a three-peat crushed on Sunday following their heartbreaking 77-75 loss to the Florida Gators in the round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. It was an up and down season for UConn following their second straight national title and the departure of several key players to the NBA. […]

The Florida Gators have been one of the best teams in the country during the 2024-25 NCAA regular season, but they were tested in a big way against UConn in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Florida didn’t manage to put away UConn until late in the second half, and following the 77-75 win, […]

The Sacramento Kings are currently in a battle for one of the play-in spots in the Western Conference. They recently suffered a major blow when it was revealed that Domantas Sabonis would be sidelined due to an ankle injury. With the Kings in a heated postseason race, they can ill afford to be short-handed. To […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers received good news on the injury front prior to their Saturday matchup against the Chicago Bulls. Rui Hachimura, who had missed the Lakers’ last nine games due to a knee injury, was cleared to make his return to the court. Hachimura’s return came amid a positive injury update […]

LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Lakers left the court after their 118-89 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, they had just completed a tough part of their schedule that saw them play six games in eight days. They played that portion of their schedule without two starters in LeBron James and Rui […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers opted to sit most of their rotation on Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks. While the Lakers ultimately lost, 118-89, they kept the game competitive for stretches, with Bronny James having a career-night. Following the game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick reflected on how well the young James has […]

The Los Angeles Lakers received some pretty big news on the injury front ahead of their upcoming game against the Chicago Bulls when it was announced that LeBron James was upgraded to questionable. It’s obviously not a guarantee that James plays, but the Lakers should have at least one half of their star duo on […]

LOS ANGELES – When integrating a new player to the lineup, there’s always going to be an adjustment period. The Los Angeles Lakers experienced that in the aftermath of their blockbuster trade for Luka Doncic. But with a little over a month of Doncic in the lineup, the rest of the team has gotten accustomed […]

LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Lakers traded Anthony Davis and Max Christie, it was assumed their defense would take a hit considering those two were among the team’s top defensive players. But in the immediate aftermath of the trade, the Lakers’ defense has actually gotten better. Mike Budenholzer noticed it after the Lakers […]

LOS ANGELES – With the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-108 win against the Denver Nuggets on Wednesday, they moved ahead of the Nuggets for third place in the Western Conference standings. While the Oklahoma City Thunder are leading the pack by a good margin, the fight for the other top playoff seeds and home-court advantage in […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have slipped in the Western Conference standings recently, amid a slew of key injuries. The Lakers received reinforcements this weekend when four players made their return to the lineup for the team’s win against the Phoenix Suns. Luka Doncic has been on the Lakers’ injury report as of late, and he […]

LOS ANGELES – There’s a saying that history often repeats itself, and at least for the Los Angeles Lakers, that statement seems to ring true when it comes to the Denver Nuggets. Just last week, the Nuggets sank the Lakers off a Jamal Murray game-winner, echoing shades of last season’s playoffs when Murray hit two […]

LOS ANGELES – San Antonio Spurs guard Chris Paul is the second-oldest player in the NBA behind only the Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James. Recently, Paul admitted that while he thinks about retirement more often, he’s not yet sure when he’ll decide to hang ‘em up. During his time with the Los Angeles Clippers, Chris […]

LOS ANGELES – During the Los Angeles Lakers’ 107-96 win against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday, they inched closer to getting back to full strength. The quartet of Luka Doncic, Jaxson Hayes, Dorian Finney-Smith and Gabe Vincent all made their return after missing the team’s loss to the Denver Nuggets last Friday. That leaves only […]

LOS ANGELES – Since the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Luka Doncic, several of the team’s role players have taken advantage of the type of defensive attention the All-NBA star draws on a game-to-game basis. Out of all the Lakers’ role players, there is nobody on the team who knows Doncic as well as Dorian […]

The Cleveland Cavaliers have been the top team in the NBA all season, record-wise, and they came into their matchup on Sunday with the Orlando Magic riding a 16-game winning streak. But the Magic came out ready to  play, snapping the Cavaliers’ win streak and grabbing an important 108-103 win. Following the game, Magic star […]

Following the 2025 NCAA Tournament bracket reveal, there was plenty of outrage from fans on social media regarding North Carolina’s inclusion in the tournament. Some cried foul play due to the fact that North Carolina’s athletic director was on the selection committee. One team that seemingly was a victim of being snubbed from the NCAA […]

The NCAA Tournament brackets were revealed on Sunday, and among the teams selected was a bit of a shocker in the North Carolina Tar Heels. North Carolina didn’t quite have the best season, finishing 22-13 overall and 13-7 in ACC play. But what really had fans up in arms on social media about North Carolina […]

LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles Lakers return home against the Phoenix Suns following a road trip that saw them go 0-4 and drop to fifth place in the Western Conference standings. The good news for the Lakers was Luka Doncic was cleared to make his return after sitting out the team’s loss to the […]

The Los Angeles Lakers return home against the Phoenix Suns after an 0-4 road trip during which LeBron James suffered a groin injury and is currently sidelined. On the final game of the road trip, a loss to the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers were without Luka Doncic as well due to both a left calf […]

The Phoenix Mercury had a few big losses this offseason, the first being Brittney Griner signing with the Atlanta Dream in free agency and the second being the retirement of Diana Taurasi. The Mercury have retooled their roster this offseason, most notably with the addition of Satou Sabally. The Mercury continued their roster building ahead […]

The Golden State Warriors have been on a tear ever since the trade for Jimmy Butler. They have gone 13-1 in their last 14 games since the trade and have shot up in the Western Conference standings. But the Warriors have been without Brandin Podziemski for the last four games as he’s dealt with a […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have been the clear-cut best team in the Western Conference this season with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander as arguably the leading MVP candidate. They’ve had some injury bumps along the way though, with the latest being Lu Dort during the Thunder’s recent 113-107 win against the Pistons. Lu Dort left the Thunder’s win […]

The St. John’s Red Storm have seen a remarkable turnaround since hiring Rick Pitino as the program’s head coach. The Red Storm won the regular season Big East title, their first outright since 1985. And with their 82-66 win over Creighton in the Big East Tournament championship game, it was St. John’s first tournament title […]

The New York Knicks have been without star point guard Jalen Brunson due to an ankle injury he suffered during the team’s loss to the Los Angeles Lakers back on Mar. 6. During the time that Brunson has been sidelined, the Knicks have gone 2-1 with a big game against the Golden State Warriors coming […]

The Florida Gators were the first team to punch their ticket to the championship game of the SEC Tournament on Saturday. They will face Tennessee after the Volunteers eliminated No. 1 Auburn in the second SEC semifinal game. Florida had no issue with Alabama, rolling past the No. 2 seed in the SEC, 104-82. Following […]

The Boston Celtics were in the midst of beating the Brooklyn Nets by double digits as of publication on Saturday, but to ultimately put the Nets away they were going to have to do so a little short-handed. Celtics star Jaylen Brown exited the game early due to a back injury, and he was doubtful […]

The Tennessee Volunteers are on their way to the SEC Tournament championship game after a massive, 70-65 upset win over Auburn who was the No. 1 ranked team in the country. With the win, Tennessee made their own case for a No. 1 seeding in the NCAA Tournament. Following the win, Tennessee head coach Rick […]

To say this season has been brutal for the Dallas Mavericks is a major understatement. Following the shocking trade of Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, the team has seemingly been dropping like flies in terms of injuries. Anthony Davis has not played since his debut due to an adductor injury, and Kyrie Irving […]

Throughout the 2024-25 college basketball season, if there’s one coach who isn’t afraid to be outspoken in his postgame press conferences, it’s UCLA Bruins’ head coach Mick Cronin. Following UCLA’s 86-70 thrashing by the Wisconsin Badgers to eliminate the Bruins from the Big Ten Tournament, Cronin had a doozy of a postgame presser when responding […]