David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 5

NBA trade season is officially here, and with just about six weeks until the trade deadline, rumors and speculation are bound to be plentiful. Some trade rumors are going to be realistic, while others are just pure imagination and break all sense of reality. One such trade idea was proposed by media personality Bill Simmons […]

Despite major roster upheaval in the offseason, and the absence of Jayson Tatum as he recovers from an Achilles injury, the Boston Celtics have been a surprise team this season. The Celtics are 18-11 and currently in the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference standings with Jaylen Brown making his case as one of […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have squared off against the Phoenix Suns three times in the past three weeks, with the latest resulting in a 132-108 loss on Tuesday night. The Lakers have gone 1-2 in those three games, with the Suns throwing everything they have at the purple and gold. Following the Lakers’ recent loss […]

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered their first back-to-back losses this season following their 132-108 defeat against the Phoenix Suns. They had been coming off a loss to the LA Clippers this past Saturday, and the Lakers will be looking to right the ship and get back in the win column as they host the Houston […]

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered their second consecutive loss following their 132-108 defeat at the hands of the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. The Lakers have been dealing with injury issues to key players all season, and the latest to suffer some sort of ailment was reserve big man Jaxson Hayes. Jaxson Hayes suffered an apparent […]

LOS ANGELES – Despite the Los Angeles Lakers’ solid start to the regular season at 19-8, they have had quite a few injury issues to juggle. Heading into their game against the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday, the Lakers were set to receive reinforcements with Austin Reaves and Deandre Ayton making their return from injury. But […]

LOS ANGELES – After last season’s playoff flameout that saw Jaxson Hayes ultimately benched by the end of the series, it might have come as a surprise to fans that the seventh-year big man opted to re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers in for the 2025-26 season. But as the Lakers have gotten off to […]

LOS ANGELES – NBA All-Star voting got underway this past week, and for the Los Angeles Lakers, Austin Reaves has been making the case for being selected to his first All-Star appearance. Reaves is currently sidelined due to a calf injury, but Lakers head coach JJ Redick said that he is day-to-day at this point, […]

The Purdue Boilermakers’ current win streak hit three games this weekend following the team’s 88-60 win against the Auburn Tigers at the Indy Classic. One of the key factors in Purdue’s win was the team’s defense against Auburn star guard Tahaad Pettiford. Following the game, Purdue head coach Matt Painter spoke about how the team’s […]

The Arizona State Sun Devils came into their matchup against the Oregon State Beavers on Sunday looking to avoid a losing streak after their loss to UCLA this past week. They were unable to do as they fell to the Beavers, 78-75. The win shot Oregon State up over .500 at 7-6, and the loss […]

The Arizona Wildcats continued their strong start to start the 2025-26 season, improving to 11-0 following their 68-45 win against San Diego State on Saturday. Arizona is currently ranked the No. 1 team in the country, and following the win, head coach Tommy Lloyd explained why big man Tobe Awaka reminds him of Sacramento Kings […]

LOS ANGELES – Over the past couple of seasons, Gabe Vincent has been able to carve out a bit of a leadership role with the Los Angeles Lakers. Vincent has become a respected voice not only in the Lakers’ locker room, but across the league in general. Last February, Vincent was elected as one of […]

LOS ANGELES – During the Los Angeles Lakers’ 103-88 loss against the LA Clippers on Saturday, the Lakers were whistled for two technical fouls. One was on Luka Doncic, the other on Marcus Smart. It’s a little bit of a trend that carried over from the Lakers’ win against the Utah Jazz on Thursday when […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers came into their showdown against the LA Clippers a little short-handed with four key rotation players sidelined in Austin Reaves, Deandre Ayton, Rui Hachimura and Gabe Vincent, due to injury. Reaves, Ayton and Hachimura have been starters while Vincent is key bench player. But prior to Saturday’s game, […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers return home on Saturday so to speak, for a ‘road’ game at Intuit Dome against the LA Clippers. The Lakers are coming off a come-from-behind win against the Utah Jazz behind another incredible performance from Luka Doncic. The Lakers were short-handed against the Jazz, and they will be […]

Following the original Oct. 31 deadline to get a new deal done, the WNBA and the players agreed to an extension of the deadline, with a new date of Jan. 9 to come to an agreement on a new CBA. As the CBA negotiations have continued, it’s become increasingly clear that both the WNBA and […]

The USC Trojans were dealt a major blow on Wednesday when it was revealed that starting guard Rodney Rice would miss the remainder of the 2025-26 season due to season-ending surgery for a shoulder injury, as per Ryan Kartje of The LA Times. Rodney Rice had been one of USC’s top players this season, but […]

Following the New York Knicks’ win in the NBA Cup championship game against the San Antonio Spurs, it was announced that they had no plans to raise a banner in their home arena. That’s a sharp contrast from the two previous NBA Cup winners in the Los Angeles Lakers and Milwaukee Bucks, respectively, both of […]

The Los Angeles Lakers will take to the road this week with a matchup against the Utah Jazz on Thursday, but they are going to be short-handed. The Lakers are already without Austin Reaves due to a calf injury, and Deandre Ayton was the latest player to be ruled out for the game against the […]

The Toronto Raptors rode a historically good Kawhi Leonard regular season and playoffs en route to winning the 2019 NBA championship, a run that reportedly had the Finals MVP proclaiming he was better all-time than Kobe Bryant. During a recent segment of the Underground Podcast featuring Kevin Durant and Fred VanVleet, VanVleet, who played with […]

The 15th of December officially marked the day that players who signed free agent contracts in the offseason could be traded. With the G League Winter showcase approaching, that’s usually the time that NBA trade winds really start blowing. For teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, this portion of the season serves as time to […]

Although the timeline for the 2026 WNBA season is still murky due to the ongoing CBA negotiations, whenever the league does resume there will be two new franchises in the Toronto Tempo and the Portland Fire. In regards to the Fire, their inaugural head coach will be Alex Sarama who has spent the past few […]

The New York Knicks pulled off a thrilling, come-from-behind victory, 124-113, against the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup championship game. It was a huge boost for the Knicks especially considering how they won, but do not expect a championship parade, at least not according to Jalen Brunson. Following the Knicks’ NBA Cup championship […]

LOS ANGELES – Amid the Los Angeles Lakers’ solid start to the 2025-26 season, and coupled with a few new roster additions, Dalton Knecht has found himself largely out of the rotation and now on assignment in the G League. Knecht’s assignment will begin on Tuesday night for the South Bay Lakers’ final home game […]

The 2026 WNBA season continues to be in limbo as CBA negotiations between the league and the players union continue to drag on. Following an initial Oct. 31 deadline to get a new deal done, both sides agreed to an extension with a new date of Jan. 9. But as the WNBA CBA negotiations have […]

During Game 4 of the WNBA Semifinals between the Minnesota Lynx and the Phoenix Mercury, the Lynx were playing without star forward Napheesa Collier due to injury. The Lynx would go on to lose that game and thus were eliminated from the postseason. Napheesa Collier suffered an ankle injury that at the time, caused quite […]

The 2026 NBA Draft is several months away, but there are already a few players who have seemingly separated themselves from the rest of the pack. Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Duke Cameron Boozer have all made cases to be the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft, with Peterson still emerging as […]

In the weeks since the Los Angeles Clippers made the shocking decision to part ways with Chris Paul in-season, more information has come to light regarding the behind the scenes incidents that made the relationship sour, going all the way back to training camp where head coach Tyronn Lue first reportedly erred. When the Clippers […]

As the Giannis Antetokounmpo trade rumors continue to blow, one of the teams mentioned as being a potential top suitor interested in getting a deal done with the Milwaukee Bucks, is the Miami Heat. In terms of potential return packages for the Bucks, the Heat make sense in that they have a bevy of assets […]

In the weeks and months leading up to the NBA trade deadline, one of the biggest questions is what are the Milwaukee Bucks going to do with Giannis Antetokounmpo. Amid a report that the Bucks and Antetokounmpo had begun dialogue regarding the superstar’s potential future with the franchise, the team reportedly is set to go […]

The Denver Nuggets came into their game against the Houston Rockets on Monday already short-handed with two starters in Aaron Gordon and Christian Braun sidelined due to injury. If the Nuggets want to pull off a win against the Rockets, they might have to do so even more short-handed as starting guard Peyton Watson was […]

Some of the top players in the NBA today all hail from overseas, from Luka Doncic to Giannis Antetokounmpo, to Nikola Jokic, it’s arguable that the top echelon of players in the league are all foreign-born. Even Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, although he went to college in the United States, is from Canada. It’s led to a […]

The New York Knicks will square off against the San Antonio Spurs in the championship game of the NBA Cup on Tuesday, and Knicks star Karl-Anthony Towns is looking forward to competing for championship recognition. During a media session the day before the Knicks will take on the Spurs for the 2025 NBA Cup championship, […]

The Miami Heat recently got Tyler Herro back in the lineup as his 2025-26 season debut was delayed due to a foot injury. But as the Heat prepare to square off against the Toronto Raptors on Monday, they will be without Herro’s services as the All-Star guard was a late scratch in the lineup, as […]

The Los Angeles Lakers came into their game against the Phoenix Suns on Sunday looking to wipe the bitter taste of their NBA Cup defeat by the San Antonio Spurs out of their mouth. So far, the Lakers were on their way to doing just that, as they held a double-digit lead in the fourth […]

One of the major revelations for the Atlanta Hawks this season has been the ascent to stardom for Jalen Johnson. The former first round draft pick has putting up career numbers as the Hawks continue to fight for positioning in the Eastern Conference standings. The Hawks got back into the win column on Sunday after […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves were looking to start a small win streak on Sunday as they hosted the Sacramento Kings, but in order to get a win they were going to have to do so short-handed. Timberwolves big man Rudy Gobert was ruled out for the remainder of the team’s game against the Kings, due to […]

LOS ANGELES – With a little over a quarter of the season played, the Los Angeles Lakers are jockeying for top position in the Western Conference standings at 17-7. But even with their solid record, the Lakers’ defense has been poor. The team’s defensive struggles have been magnified during their recent stretch of five games […]

LOS ANGELES – It’s no secret that as good as the Los Angeles Lakers have been offensively, they have not been very good defensively. The Lakers’ struggles on defense came to a head last Wednesday during their 132-119 loss to the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA Cup Quarterfinals. As the Lakers’ defense continues to […]