David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 41

Before the season started, the Portland Trail Blazers did the unthinkable in that they finally traded franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks. Lillard had become almost synonymous with the Blazers franchise but it was clear that his time with the team had run its course. Now as a member of the Bucks, Lillard […]

The Philadelphia 76ers have been in the spotlight recently regarding the health of star big man Joel Embiid. Joel Embiid was set to play in the Sixers big game against the Denver Nuggets this past weekend for a star matchup against Nikola Jokic. He was ruled out during warmups due to a knee issue. On […]

The Denver Nuggets are the reigning NBA champions and have a good shot at getting back to the Finals this season. That’s largely in part to their superstar duo of Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray. But a major reason why the Nuggets had such a strong run to the title last season was because of […]

The WNBA free agency moratorium period is nearing an end with players able to officially sign contracts beginning Feb. 1. Until then, deals can only be reported but not yet made official. There hasn’t been much movement so far with a couple of big dominoes yet to fall. The Dallas Wings have already agreed to […]

The Phoenix Suns have been surging in the Western Conference standings as of late. They’ve overcome a slow start to the season that was riddled with injury issues and have been playing like the borderline contender many felt they would be. The Suns are currently on a long, seven game road trip, but they could […]

The San Antonio Spurs may be one of the worst teams in the NBA, but they’re still a must-see TV team due to rookie star Victor Wembanyama. One of the frontrunners for the Rookie of the Year Award, Wembanyama continues to dazzle fans with his seemingly unreal ability. Victor Wembanyama came up with yet another […]

It’s NBA rivalry week this week with matchups scheduled not only between teams that are rivals, but players as well. One of the most anticipated matchups this week came in the form of the Philadelphia 76ers and the Denver Nuggets. It was a matchup between two perennial MVP candidates in Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid. […]

It’s been a tough start to the 2023-24 season for the USC basketball team. They’ve struggled to get wins after being a preseason top 25 team and they’ve dealt with injury issues to their starting backcourt of Isaiah Collier and Boogie Ellis. Even so, their annual rivalry matchup with crosstown UCLA still managed to draw […]

The Charlotte Hornets haven’t had much to cheer about this season. It appears as if they’re headed for yet another lottery finish. They’ve been in trade rumors regarding some of their veterans such as Miles Bridges, PJ Washington and Gordon Hayward and they’ve already shipped out Terry Rozier. But one of the lone bright spots […]

The WNBA free agency moratorium period is underway with teams and players allowed to negotiate contracts. None of those deals can become official though until Feb. 1. It’s been relatively quiet so far with a couple of deals being reported and one big bombshell move in the works. The Los Angeles Sparks may be losing […]

Since the OG Anunoby trade, the New York Knicks have been one of the hottest teams in the NBA. Since Anunoby made his Knicks debut, they have won 12 of their last 14 games. That also includes six straight wins with Saturday’s victory over the Miami Heat. But the biggest concern following the Knicks win […]

The WNBA free agency moratorium period is set to end next week and teams and players can officially start signing deals. There have been a few reported deals so far though as well as some bombshell movement. One of the top free agents on the market this offseason was Dallas Wings center Kalani Brown. Brown […]

The Utah Jazz climbed back to .500 with a win against the Washington Wizards on Thursday. Despite their early struggles, the Jazz have been playing much better basketball as of late, so much so that John Collins is reportedly no longer on the trade block. Speaking of Collins, he had a monster game against the […]

The Utah Jazz have been a team that’s fighting for a play-in spot this season. On Thursday they snapped a three game losing streak by beating the Washington Wizards, 123-108, and climbed to .500 at 23-23. This is a team that plays hard and plays tough and they’re not to be taken lightly. In the […]

The Phoenix Suns haven’t quite gotten off to the start they anticipated when they formed a Big 3 of Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. They have been playing better as of late though. They’ve played well enough for fans, media and fellow players to take note of Kevin Durant playing like an All-Star. […]

The Miami Heat made a big move ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline, shipping out veteran guard Kyle Lowry and bringing in Terry Rozier. The move has the potential to be a difference-maker for the Heat as they look to keep pace in the Eastern Conference standings. They played their first game since the trade […]

The Milwaukee Bucks sent shockwaves through the NBA world on Tuesday when they announced they had fired head coach Adrian Griffin. Griffin was in his first season as head coach and the Bucks held a 30-13 record and the second seed in the Eastern Conference standings. The news was followed by a conflicting reports that […]

The Los Angeles Lakers had a shot to get over .500 on Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers, but they lost, 127-118 to slip one game under .500. The Lakers were short-handed as LeBron James was ruled out due to an ankle injury. The Lakers have another game against the Chicago Bulls at home on […]

The NBA Trade Deadline is just a few weeks away with a couple of teams already making notable trades. This is the time of year when trade rumors are swirling out of nowhere almost every team is linked to some type of trade. The Philadelphia 76ers are a team that could be looking to upgrade […]

The Toronto Raptors have finally decided to blow it up with the New York Knicks and Indiana Pacers being the beneficiaries. The Knicks received OG Anunoby and the Pacers received Pascal Siakam as the Raptors jettisoned the final members of the 2019 championship team. Pascal Siakam made his Pacers debut alongside Tyrese Haliburton on Friday […]

The Golden State Warriors and the NBA world in general were hit hard this past week with the passing of Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic. Milojevic suffered a heart attack while out with team staff and players on Tuesday and was pronounced dead the following morning. By all accounts, Milojevic was a positive influence in […]

The WNBA Free Agency period is set to begin on Sunday. Teams will be allowed to negotiate deals with players although terms cannot become official under Feb. 1. In the meantime, teams can tender qualifying offers to restricted free agents as well assign a core designation to a single free agent already on the roster. […]

The USC basketball team has not been very good this season. Even so, they have had fans, media and NBA teams alike tuning into the their games. A big reason for that is they have a potential lottery pick in Isaiah Collier. But perhaps the key reason for USC’s popularity is the presence of Bronny […]

Since John Calipari has been head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats basketball team, they have become a major destination for top high school basketball prospects with goals of playing in the NBA. The Wildcats current roster features a few players who are NBA prospects and considered top picks in the upcoming NBA Draft. There is […]

The WNBA Free Agency negotiating period is set to begin this weekend with teams and players allowed to speak starting Jan. 21. In the meantime, teams are allowed to extend qualifying offers to restricted free agents as well as core key players. The Indiana Fever, a team that is looking to continue their development as […]

In what could be a possible NBA Finals preview, the Boston Celtics lost a nail-biter, 102-100, at home against the Denver Nuggets. The game was close throughout, lending credence that these are the two best teams in the NBA right now and Finals favorites. The Celtics had a shot to potentially win the game, down […]

The Indiana Pacers pulled off the first major domino of NBA trade season by acquiring Toronto Raptors All-Star forward Pascal Siakam. The move has the potential to catapult the Pacers in the Eastern Conference standings especially when Siakam is paired with current Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton was set to return to the Pacers lineup […]

In a possible NBA Finals preview, the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets squared off against each other on Friday. As of publication, the Celtics held a slim lead over the Nuggets early in the fourth quarter. While the Celtics have a well-balanced team attack, they are led by superstar wing Jayson Tatum. Near the start […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves have been one of the best teams in the NBA this season, holding the best record in the Western Conference at the midseason point. Part of the Timberwolves major turnaround this season has been the continued development of Anthony Edwards into one of the best players in the NBA. Former NBA guard […]

When Connecticut Sun star DeWanna Bonner retires from the WNBA, she’s going to be remembered as one of the greatest players in history and a sure-fire Hall of Famer. But before she was drafted into the WNBA, she was a star at Auburn becoming the school’s all-time leading scorer. The 2009 SEC Player of the […]

The WNBA Free Agency period is set to begin this weekend with teams being allowed to negotiate with free agents. While they cannot sign official contracts until Feb. 1, Jan. 21 marks the day they can begin negotiations and deals will likely be announced shortly after. The Connecticut Sun had a decision to make on […]

With the Los Angeles Lakers having sputtered through the first half of the season so far, many fans have been calling for a possible trade or two. With the NBA Trade Deadline approaching, the Lakers have been talked about in quite a few trade rumors. January 15 was a big day in terms of trades […]

The Toronto Raptors have finally decided to hit the reset button. After a couple of seasons of treading water and not picking a true direction following the 2019 championship, the Raptors traded away the last members of that title team in OG Anunoby and Pascal Siakam. Taking their place is RJ Barrett, Immanuel Quickley, Bruce […]

Defense is almost like a lost art in today’s NBA. Each night has games where both teams score well over 100 points. That’s why when a truly great defensive player comes into the NBA, that player is quite noticeable. For the Charlotte Hornets, that player is rookie big man Nathan Mensah. Nathan Mensah went undrafted […]

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish have been one of the best women’s basketball teams in the country this season. They are currently 13-3 and are ranked No. 19 in the nation. The program has seen a rapid turnaround following the retirement of legendary head coach Muffet McGraw and the subsequent hiring of Niele Ivey, one […]

The Indiana Pacers pulled off the first major trade ahead of the NBA Trade Deadline acquiring All-Star forward Pascal Siakam. The Pacers already have a budding star in Tyrese Haliburton and now they add another elite talent as they try to make a push in the Eastern Conference. Haliburton has been sidelined with a hamstring […]

The Portland Trail Blazers had a center-sized absence in their lineup for their Wednesday game agains the Brooklyn Nets, and not for reasons you might think. Deandre Ayton has missed the last 11 games for the Blazers due to a knee injury but he was set to return to the lineup against the Nets. There […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have not had the season that many fans had anticipated following what was considered a strong offseason. Following an inspiring win in the championship game in the NBA’s inaugural in-season tournament, the Lakers have struggled to win games hovering around .500 basketball this season. Despite that, Lakers star LeBron James has […]

Back in November, rumors on social media began to swirl regarding Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey. At the center of the rumors was an alleged inappropriate relationship involving Giddey and a minor. The NBA announced that it had opened an investigation into Giddey regarding the allegations and shortly after the Newport Beach Police Department […]