David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 34

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 […]

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a major blow last weekend when it was revealed that LeBron James had suffered a groin injury. James is scheduled to be re-evaluated in about one week, and he returned home to Los Angeles for further treatment amid the Lakers’ current road trip. But while LeBron James is sidelined, he’s […]

This past offseason, one of the names that seemingly drew some of the biggest trade interest was Utah Jazz star Lauri Markkanen. The Jazz and Markkanen were able to come to an agreement on a contract extension, but even so, his future with the team may not be all that clear. When Lauri Markkanen signed […]

The Memphis Tigers punched their ticket to the AAC Tournament semifinals with an 83-80 win against Wichita State on Friday. The win was significant in that Wichita State eliminated the Tigers from last season’s AAC Tournament. The Shockers also snapped Memphis’ eight-game win streak earlier this season. The win was also significant in that Memphis’ […]

The Marquette Golden Eagles punched their ticket to the Big East Tournament semifinals on Friday with a thrilling, come-from-behind 89-87 win against Xavier this week. Following the win, Marquette head coach Shaka Smart lauded senior guard Stevie Mitchell who was instrumental in the win. Smart echoed praise heaped upon Mitchell from former Golden Eagles star […]

The Indiana Pacers got off to a slow start to the 2024-25 NBA season, but the Pacers have since rebounded a bit and are in the mix for a top playoff seed in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers had a huge game on tap on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Bucks, a team they’re chasing in […]

With the major changes that have swept across the college basketball landscape in recent years, many programs are turning to NBA personnel to help navigate the changes. Davidson made a huge splash recently with perhaps the biggest hire in Stephen Curry as the program’s assistant general manager. North Carolina just recently hired longtime NBA agent […]

The NBA world lost a bit of an icon on Tuesday with the passing of Junior Bridgeman. While not widely known for his playing days in the NBA, Bridgeman was in the spotlight more for what he was able to accomplish after he had already retired from playing basketball. In fact, former NBA star Shaquille […]

The Boston Celtics are the defending NBA champions and a favorite to repeat, and it’s not just because they have an incredible starting lineup. The Celtics have been able to get major contributions from key role players such as Payton Pritchard dropping 43 points as he did last week. This week, it was another Celtics […]

The Los Angeles Lakers’ eight-game win streak came to an end this week following their 111-101 loss to the Boston Celtics. But even more concerning for the Lakers was the groin injury suffered by LeBron James. The early prognosis is James could be sidelined for a couple of weeks. That would definitely mean that he […]

There hasn’t been much for the Charlotte Hornets to cheer for this season in terms of record. They are currently 15-48 and near the bottom of the NBA standings. But the Hornets have been an entertaining team thanks to LaMelo Ball and even Miles Bridges. During the Hornets’ game against the Miami Heat on Monday, […]

Dallas Mavericks fans have not been shy at expressing their disdain for the front office trading franchise star Luka Doncic. To make matters worse, Anthony Davis has been sidelined due to an adductor injury having only played one game since the trade. But Anthony Davis could be nearing a return to the court soon, which […]

When the Los Angeles Lakers traded Anthony Davis for Luka Doncic, while they were getting a franchise superstar, the prevailing thought was they still needed a starting caliber center. They thought they were getting one in Mark Williams, but that trade with the Charlotte Hornets was rescinded due to concerns over Williams’ health. However, the […]

LOS ANGELES – When the Los Angeles Lakers traded for Luka Doncic and did not have to give up Austin Reaves, they established one of the best backcourts in the NBA. With Doncic stepping in at the starting shooting guard position and Reaves at point guard, the duo gave the Lakers a unique blend of […]

Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ 113-109 comeback win against the New York Knicks, their win streak now sits at eight games. The Lakers are about to embark on a four-game road trip with stops in Boston, Milwaukee and Denver that will really say a lot about this team depending on the outcomes. In any case, […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers are one of the hottest teams in the NBA with a seven-game win streak that has seen them climb the Western Conference standings to the No. 2 seed. The Lakers have gotten contributions from everywhere during this stretch, but perhaps a key reason why they’ve sustained this high […]

When it comes to NBA merchandise and player popularity, everything from jerseys to training cards to shoes play a big role in fan consumption. Two of the NBA’s most popular players of all-time are Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant, so it stands to reason that their merchandise will fetch top dollar on the market. Such […]

The Toronto Raptors are in the midst of a rebuilding season, which in NBA teams, is code name for ‘tanking.’ While the team recently traded for a new star in Brandon Ingram, it’s a move that seems more for next season as Ingram is sidelined with an ankle injury. Raptors center Jakob Poeltl has openly […]