David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 5

When the Boston Celtics face off against the Milwaukee Bucks on Tuesday, the Bucks will have an added boost with the return of Giannis Antetokounmpo from injury. While the Bucks get a boost, the Celtics will be short-handed as star wing Jaylen Brown is set to miss the game due to an illness as per […]

The Atlanta Hawks raised quite about of eyebrows when they announced plans to host a Magic City themed promotion during one of the their home games. Magic City is a famous Atlanta-based strip club that routinely draws celebrity visitors. But not all are in favor of the Hawks’ promotion, including San Antonio Spurs big man […]

Ever since the Houston Rockets lost Fred VanVleet to a potential season-ending injury before the year began, it’s been reported that they’ve scoured the market for a veteran point guard. One such player became available this weekend after the Dallas Mavericks opted to release Tyus Jones upon his request. But although the Rockets could use […]

LOS ANGELES – Following a three-game losing streak, the Los Angeles Lakers managed to get back on track with consecutive blowout wins, the most recent coming against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday, 128-104. During the Lakers’ losing streak, fans and media alike wrote them off, and then started singing praise after the wins, but Luka […]

The Los Angeles Lakers snapped a three-game losing streak following their 129-101 win against the Golden State Warriors on Saturday. The Lakers showed the type of complete effort from start to finish that head coach JJ Redick has been asking for the entire season. Some of the Lakers’ issues this season can be chalked up […]

The New Orleans Pelicans’ improved play continued, grabbing their fourth straight victory following their 115-105 win against the Utah Jazz on Saturday. However, one of the major concerns after the game was the status of Pelicans star Zion Williamson who left the game due to an injury. Pelicans head coach James Borrego didn’t quite have […]

The Clemson Tigers made progress towards their hopes for seeding in the ACC Tournament following their 80-75 win against Louisville on Saturday. With the win, the Tigers improved to 21-8 on the season, and 11-5 in the ACC standings with two regular season games remaining. After the win, Clemson head coach Brad Brownell spoke about […]

The Iowa State Cyclones’ hopes of moving up in the Big 12 standings took a hit on Saturday following their 82-73 loss to Texas Tech. But one of the major issues that Iowa State head coach TJ Otzelberger addressed after the game was the way that the Red Raiders defended freshman guard Killyan Toure, as […]

The Virginia Cavaliers suffered a major blow in their hopes of overtaking Duke for the top seed in the ACC following their 77-51 loss on Saturday. The loss dropped the Cavaliers to 13-3 in conference, while Duke improved to 15-1. But following the loss, Virginia head coach Ryan Odom admitted that he wasn’t too worried […]

With the NCAA Tournament just a couple of weeks away, three of the four No. 1 seeds on the women’s side have been projected as being UConn, UCLA and South Carolina. That likely will not change even with conference tournaments coming up. But the fourth No. 1 seed was potentially revealed by the NCAA Tournament […]

In a freshman class that’s been one of the best in recent memory, Tennessee’s Nate Ament has been among the top standouts. But there was concern building over Nate Ament’s potential injury status following Tennessee’s tough loss to Alabama, 71-69, on Saturday after head coach Rick Barnes gave a bit of a murky update, as […]

The USC Trojans’ NCAA Tournament hopes took a major hit on Saturday following their 82-67 loss to the visiting Nebraska Cornhuskers. But it wasn’t just USC’s March Madness chances that took a spill, but Chad Baker-Mazara sustained an injury that forced him to exit the game, as per Connor Morrissette of 247Sports. Chad Baker-Mazara re-aggravated […]

The start of the 2025-26 season was anything but stable for Atlanta Hawks guard RayJ Dennis. After beginning the year with the Indiana Pacers, he was cut at the end of the November when the team signed Ethan Thompson. Shortly thereafter, he was picked up by the LA Clippers. He spent about one month with […]

The Alabama Crimson Tide were without sophomore star guard Labaron Philon Jr. during their blowout win against Mississippi State this week due to a leg injury. However, Alabama could be close to full strength coming into their big matchup against Tennessee on Sunday, as per Pete Thamel of ESPN. Labaron Philon is listed as probable […]

The Arizona Wildcats have a huge rematch against Kansas on Saturday, a game they are probably looking forward to as the Jayhawks handed Arizona their first loss of the season earlier this month. And coming into the game, Arizona got massive injury updates on two key players in Koa Peat and Dwayne Aristode, as per […]

With the college basketball regular season winding down, programs across the country are honoring their departing players with annual senior day celebrations. For the UConn Huskies, their senior day festivities included honoring standout wing Alex Karaban before their game against Seton Hall. In a heartfelt move, UConn opted to hang Alex Karaban’s jersey from the rafters […]

The Dallas Mavericks struck gold this season when they picked up undrafted point guard Ryan Nembhard on a two-way contract, and the team officially signed him to a standard deal after waiving veteran Tyus Jones, as per Shams Charania of ESPN. The signing of Ryan Nembhard brings the Mavericks’ current roster to 15 standard contracts. […]

After spending multiple years on NBA rosters on a two-way contract, the Indiana Pacers rewarded Quenton Jackson by signing him to a three-year standard deal, as per Shams Charania of ESPN. Jackson had begun this season on a two-way contract with the Pacers, and the team was impressed enough with his performance. With the signing […]

KEnThe Cleveland Cavaliers will be short-handed for their showdown against the Eastern Conference leading Detroit Pistons on Friday as star guard James Harden has been ruled out due to a thumb injury, as per the team. Harden was the Cavs’ major trade deadline acquisition in hopes of making a surge in the East standings and […]

As the NBA regular season is in its final stretch, a name that has emerged as one of the candidates for the league’s MVP Award is Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham. The Pistons have been one of the best teams in the league all season, while Cunningham is their top player. It’s a big reason […]

As the Sacramento Kings come into their game against the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday looking to put together a mini-win streak, they will be short-handed on the injury report as forward Keegan Murray was ruled out for at least two weeks, as per Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints. Keegan Murray initially suffered the ankle injury […]

As part of a three-team trade back at the deadline, the Phoenix Suns acquired Amir Coffey and Cole Anthony from the Milwaukee Bucks. While Coffey has been a part of the Suns’ rotation since his arrival, that has not been the case for Anthony. A move towards cutting Cole Anthony from the roster was always […]

When the 2026 offseason arrives, the future of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James will be at hand. The 23-year veteran has not yet decided how long he wants to continue playing, and his current contract with the Lakers will expire. Obviously, James could always re-sign with the Lakers should he want to continue his […]

In what’s become a running tradition for LSU Tigers athletes on senior night, players often change the spelling of their name on the back of their jersey to celebrate Louisiana Cajun culture. LSU football player Joe Burrow had his last name spelled, ‘Burreaux.’ LSU women’s basketball player Aneesah Morrow had hers’ spelled, ‘Morreaux.’ Flau’jae Johnson […]

Having additional frontcourt depth, especially in lieu of an upcoming playoff run, is never a bad thing. The San Antonio Spurs fortified the frontcourt depth on their roster on Friday with the signing of veteran big man Mason Plumlee to a rest of the season contract, as per Shams Charania of ESPN. Mason Plumlee had […]

The LSU Tigers cruised to an 89-73 win against Tennessee on Thursday, improving to 25-4, and 11-4 in SEC play. But the talk of the game afterwards was LSU head coach Kim Mulkey putting senior walk-on Izzy Bessleman into the game with 45 seconds remaining. It was senior night, so the game was always going […]

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered their third consecutive defeat following their 113-110 loss to the Phoenix Suns on Thursday. The game ended in similar fashion to the team’s loss to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday as their late game execution just did not come through. When asked after the game where the Lakers’ frustration stands, […]

The Memphis Grizzlies agreed to a contract buyout with veteran wing Kyle Anderson, leaving them with an open roster spot once the transaction goes through. In advance of the buyout clearing, the Grizzlies opted to bring in a veteran of their own with the agreed-upon signing of Taj Gibson for their open roster spot, as […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves are bringing back a familiar face this week after agreeing to sign Kyle Anderson after the veteran forward agreed to a contract buyout with the Memphis Grizzlies, as per Shams Charania of ESPN. Anderson was a productive role player for the Timberwolves during the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons before being traded to […]

The Georgetown Hoyas were dealt a major blow this week when it was announced that junior guard KJ Lewis would miss the remainder of the season due to an ankle injury, as per Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports. KJ Lewis initially sustained the ankle injury during Georgetown’s loss to Marquette earlier this week. He exited […]

Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the Orlando Magic on Tuesday, Deandre Ayton was overheard lamenting the team seemingly putting him in a Clint Capela-like role. Capela, who is currently playing for the Houston Rockets, has built his career off being a rim-running big man who did the dirty work on the glass and […]

The Bucks had been carrying an empty two-way contract spot since the release of Mark Sears early last month. But this week, the Bucks addressed their open two-way contract roster spot with the signing of guard Cormac Ryan, as per Michael Scotto of Hoopshype.com Cormac Ryan is no stranger to the Bucks; he was invited […]

This past weekend, the Los Angeles Lakers honored the legendary Pat Riley with a statue outside Crypto.com Arena. But during the festivities, one of the biggest soundbites to come from the event was Riley suggesting that NBA coaches should go back to wearing a suit and tie for games. Well, count Houston Rockets head coach […]

LOS ANGELES – Just when the Los Angeles Lakers were starting to get 100 percent healthy, they were hit another injury update, this time to backup center Jaxson Hayes. Hayes suffered an ankle injury in the first half of the Lakers’ loss to the Boston Celtics on Sunday and did not return. Prior to the […]

The Miami Heat front office has a penchant for finding undrafted players and developing them into solid NBA contributors. Among their latest development projects is Keshad Johnson who was recently selected to represent the Heat during All-Star Weekend. Johnson was among the headliners for the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest, emerging victorious in the final round […]

Earlier this season, the St. John’s Red Storm snapped UConn’s 18-game win streak with an 81-72 win. Both teams will square off again on Wednesday in a game that for all intents and purposes, will decide the top seed in the Big East. And St. John’s is expected to have guard Ian Jackson return from […]

The San Antonio Spurs are coming off a huge 114-103 win against the Detroit Pistons in what was a possible NBA Finals preview, and in which Victor Wembanyama joined a pair of Spurs franchise legends with an incredible feat. Wembanyama also got a new teammate this week with the Spurs’ signing of free agent guard […]

LOS ANGELES – During the Los Angeles Lakers’ 125-122 win against the LA Clippers on Friday, Marcus Smart did not take a single shot attempt until the fourth quarter. When he finally did get to shoot the ball, he knocked down a few clutch shots to hold the Clippers off, going 3-of-4 in the final […]

In a possible NBA Finals matchup, the Detroit Pistons squared off against the San Antonio Spurs on Monday. As of publication, the Pistons were trailing by double digits midway through the fourth quarter. But Pistons big man Jalen Duren had the highlight of the night in the NBA, throwing down a poster dunk on Spurs […]