David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 56

With the NCAA Tournament set to tip-off this week, NBA scouts are preparing to hit the road and do some scouting in advance of the NBA Draft. While college success does not always translate to NBA success, players have used March Madness as a means to improve their draft stock. There are a few players […]

The NCAA Tournament is finally here and one of the top storylines every year is the coaches who are looking to make a statement. Maybe it’s a coach looking to get their program some respect or maybe it’s a coach who is shockingly looking for their next opportunity. Or it could be a coach who […]

The Kansas Jayhawks and head coach Bill Self had a poor finish to the 2023-24 season and into the Big 12 Tournament. Despite that, the Jayhawks, with a 22-10 record, were selected as a No. 4 seed in Midwest Regional. But the biggest question facing Kansas is the health of their top two players in […]

The Dallas Mavericks are currently fighting for playoff positioning in the Western Conference standings. They’re currently neck and neck with the Sacramento Kings for the sixth seed and avoiding a play-in game. They needed a win on Sunday and Kyrie Irving delivered with a crazy game-winner. Following the shot, Mavericks star Luka Doncic dropped to […]

What was supposed to be a major clash between the Golden State Warriors and Los Angeles Lakers with Western Conference seeding implications, instead turned into a referendum on the NBA’s replay policy. A major malfunction with the shot clock in the fourth quarter stopped play for about 16 minutes. Following the game, Warriors head coach […]

The Los Angeles Lakers came into Saturday with a huge game against the Golden State Warriors in terms of potential Western Conference seeding implications. Both teams are jockeying for the final two play-in spots in the West. But perhaps the biggest story in the Lakers vs. Warriors game turned out to be the NBA’s own […]

All season long, the Houston Cougars have been the top team in the Big 12 Conference. They’ve been ranked No. 1 in the nation for a good portion of the 2023-24 season and they headed in to the Big 12 Tournament as the top overall seed. But the Iowa State Cyclones pulled off a mini-upset […]

March Madness is finally here and with it come all the ups and downs, joys and heartbreaks. Sometimes those heartbreaks are quite tragic and such was the case during the Mid-American Conference Tournament. Akron and Kent State squared off in the MAC Tournament championship game and it looked like Kent State was about to punch […]

The Charlotte Hornets have been one of the bottom-feeding teams in the NBA this season, but have actually played a bit better since the trade deadline when they acquired a few new players. While a few other notable rookies have garnered the majority of the attention, Hornets rookie wing Brandon Miller is having a noteworthy […]

The Memphis Grizzlies have been plagued with injury issues this season. They’ve had one of the lengthiest injury reports in the NBA and have needed some of their rookies and two-way contract players to play major minutes so they can field a roster. But as the season winds down, they’re slowly but surely getting players […]

UCLA’s string of NCAA Tournament appearances under head coach Mick Cronin will come to an end this season after the Bruins loss to Oregon in the second round of the Pac-12 Tournament. It’s been a tough year for the Bruins and Cronin who has garnered headlines this season for some of his postgame comments. But […]

Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm had the opportunity to pull off an upset in the Big East Tournament Semifinals going up against the defending NCAA champion UConn Huskies. They fell short in their attempt, 95-90. St. John’s will hope for a little luck from the seeding committee to make the NCAA Tournament. […]

To say that this season has been a disappointing one for the Washington Wizards would be an understatement. The Wizards have officially dropped below the Detroit Pistons for the worst record in the NBA. With the season lost a long time ago, the main focus for the Wizards roster becomes long-term development. With that in […]

The Detroit Pistons are no longer the worst team in the NBA record-wise as they’ve been surpassed by the Washington Wizards. But even during the Pistons record-setting losing streak, they were competitive in some of those games. This is a young team in need of veteran leadership and it appears as if the Pistons have […]

Tragedy struck the Raptors organization this week with the passing of RJ Barrett’s younger brother, Nathan. At this time, details of his death have not been disclosed, only that he passed away on Tuesday of this past week. The Raptors had a game on Friday against the Orlando Magic at home, and prior to tip-off, […]

The New York Knicks have been one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference this season, and they just got a major boost this week with the return of OG Anunoby who had been out of the lineup due to injury. But a big part of the Knicks success this season has been the […]

Caitlin Clark is the biggest name in college basketball right now with fans lining up in droves to watch her play. With her incredible offensive game and ability to shoot from anywhere on the court, it’s not surprising that Caitlin Clark has drawn comparisons to Golden State Warriors star Stephen Curry. During a recent appearance […]

The San Antonio Spurs may be one of the bottom dwellers in the Western Conference this season, but fans have reason for optimism. There hasn’t been a rookie with as much hype and potential as the Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama, since LeBron James. Wembanyama has so far lived up to his hype and is the overwhelming […]

The Orlando Magic are the surprise team of the season. After several years of futility, the Magic are not only firmly in the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference, but fighting for a top four seed and homecourt advantage in the first round. They Magic recently signed head coach Jamahl Mosley to a contract extension […]

There hasn’t been much for Detroit Pistons fans to cheer about this season. It’s been a struggle, with the team setting a not-so great accomplishment. With a losing team, it’s important to have quality veterans in the locker room who can keep the team together and help maintain focus. For James Wiseman, one of the […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves have held on to the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference for much of this season, but a recent rash of injuries and tough stretch has them slipping in the standings. The Timberwolves have a big game with seeding implications against the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday and they may be […]

The Kansas Jayhawks, last season’s NCAA champions, begin their postseason play this week with the Big 12 Tournament. The Jayhawks have been an inconsistent team this season and have struggled in Big 12 Conference play. And now, Kansas will be without two of its top players in Hunter Dickinson and Kevin McCullar Jr. as both […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves have lost their hold on the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference amid a bunch of injuries to key players. During the Timberwolves 120-109 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday, they were missing Rudy Gobert, Karl-Anthony Towns, Monte Morris and Kyle Anderson. Following the game, Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards […]

The Sacramento Kings have not been as consistent of a team as they were last season when they finished with a top-three record in the Western Conference. This season has been uneven and they’re fighting to get out of the play-in positioning. This weekend, the Kings suffered a disappointing loss to the Houston Rockets who […]

The New York Knicks have been one of the surprise teams of the season, playing some incredible basketball and fighting for a top four seed in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. But on Sunday, the Knicks suffered a bad 79-73 loss at home to the short-handed Philadelphia 76ers. Following the game, Knicks star Jalen Brunson […]

The USC Trojans have been one of the top teams in the country this season and that’s largely due to the play of freshman sensation JuJu Watkins. Watkins is arguably the top player in the country and recently won the Pac-12 Freshman of the Year Award. USC defeated crosstown rival UCLA to advance to the […]

The Phoenix Suns are in the middle of a tightening race in the Western Conference for playoff seeding. After a poor start to the season, they’ve started to play better basketball and are trying to avoid a play-in finish. The Suns have been without All-Star guard Devin Booker who has been dealing with an ankle […]

A highly anticipated SEC Tournament championship game between South Carolina and LSU ended in a fight that could see players suspended  for the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Following the game, South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley and starting center Kamilla Cardoso, as well as LSU guard Flau’jae Johnson were apologetic about the entire […]

It was fitting that the SEC tournament championship game came down to LSU and South Carolina. Both have been the top teams in the conference and there’s no love lost between them. Sure enough, the game was marred by a major altercation. Following the game, LSU’s Flau’jae Johnson, who was involved in the altercation, apologized […]

Former NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas is attempting a comeback to the league after not having played in the NBA since the 2021-22 season. Isaiah Thomas is playing with the Utah Jazz’s G League affiliate, the Salt Lake City Stars, and he was impressive in his debut. During a recent appearance on FanDuel’s NBA show, ‘Run […]

Last season, during the New Orleans Pelicans lone visit to the Philadelphia 76ers home arena in January 2023, Zion Williamson suffered a hamstring injury and had to exit the game. He was initially ruled out for four weeks, but ended up missing the rest of the season. It was a tough blow for the Pelicans […]

Back when the NBA first created the G League Ignite, the prevailing thought was to give young basketball players an opportunity to earn money while getting a jump start on their professional basketball careers. Minnesota Timberwolves guard Daishen Nix was among the first group of Ignite players. One of the top point guard prospects in […]

Iowa women’s basketball star Caitlin Clark shattered the record books this season, not only surpassing Kelsey Plum as the NCAA’s Division 1 all-time women’s basketball scoring leader but also ‘Pistol’ Pete Maravich to become the overall scoring leader in college basketball history. So it’s not surprising that as postseason play rolls around, Clark is still […]

There’s no question that Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic is one of the NBA’s elite players. But one of the topics of conversation that’s come up among fans and media has been Doncic’s style of play, especially as the Mavericks inconsistent play has them sputtering near the play-in seeds in the Western Conference. Count former […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves suffered a devastating blow this week when it was announced that All-Star big man Karl-Anthony Towns would be sidelined due to a meniscus injury. But all hope might not be lost for Wolves fans. While the there was no initial timeframe for Towns’ recovery, it’s now clear that he will undergo surgery […]

With the final month of the regular season underway, the name of the game for the Utah Jazz is development. With quite a few potential long-term prospects on the roster in Taylor Hendricks, Keyonte George and Brice Sensabaugh among others, the final weeks of the season are for them to show what they’re capable of. […]

The Memphis Grizzlies are headed to the lottery once the NBA Draft rolls around, but by no choice of their own. The team was behind the eight-ball from the get-go with All-Star point guard Ja Morant beginning the season serving his 25-game suspension. Then a wave of injuries hit forcing the Grizzlies to focus on […]

The Los Angeles Clippers needed an adjustment period after acquiring James Harden in a trade with the Philadelphia 76ers, but after that they’ve been one of the best teams in the NBA. Following the James Harden trade, former Sixers head coach Doc Rivers said that he spoke with members of the Clippers staff when they […]

The Portland Trail Blazers hit the reset button this season when they opted to trade franchise cornerstone Damian Lillard. As the team looks to the future, they’re trying to build a nucleus of young players which includes No. 3 overall pick Scoot Henderson. Another young player the Blazers are building around is Anfernee Simons. During […]