David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 64

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 […]

The basketball world continues to react to the tragic passing of Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic on Wednesday. Milojevic suffered a heart attack late on Tuesday while among Warriors staff and players. He was pronounced dead on Wednesday afternoon. The Warriors game against the Utah Jazz was postponed. Former Warriors executive Bob Myers […]

The NBA and basketball world suffered a major loss on Wednesday with the tragic passing of Golden State Warriors assistant coach Dejan Milojevic. Milojevic played a key role among several international NBA players, many of whom took to social media to offer their condolences and to express their grief. Milojevic suffered a heart attack on […]

With the NBA Trade Deadline rapidly approaching, the Chicago Bulls have been one of the teams most often mentioned in trade rumors surrounding their All-Star caliber guard Zach LaVine. LaVine recently returned to the Bulls lineup after sitting out the past 17 games due to a foot injury. The Bulls had been playing better in […]

Before Ime Udoka became a head coach in the NBA, he was an assistant coach. One of his stops as an assistant was during the 2019-2020 season with the Philadelphia 76ers. He was there for one season but was able to work with Sixers rising star Joel Embiid. Now as the head coach of the […]

When Victor Wembanyama was first drafted by the San Antonio Spurs with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA Draft, the plan was always for him to play power forward. It’s the probably the position best suited to his game and for the most part that held true once the season began. But […]

The UCLA Bruins have been struggling this season. After losing several players from last season’s lineup including Tyger Campbell, Amari Bailey, Jaylen Clark, Jaime Jaquez and David Singleton, the Bruins came into this season with one of the youngest and inexperienced teams in the Pac-12 Conference. Wins have been hard to come by, but the […]

In one of the best rivalries in college basketball, the Indiana Hoosiers and Purdue Boilermakers are set to square off this week. Indiana has won the last two games, but Purdue has won seven of the last ten meetings overall. Purdue comes into the game as the No. 1 ranked team in the country while […]

About three years after winning the national championship, the Baylor Bears basketball team has picked up another win. The program has undergone a resurgence since head coach Scott Drew took over in 2003. They’ve made the NCAA tournament in eight of the past ten seasons which include the 2021 NCAA title, one Elite Eight appearance […]

There’s one thing that’s always for certain in the NBA: never underestimate the Miami Heat scouting staff and front office. The team has seen success with second-round picks and undrafted players, helping build them into capable NBA rotation guys. Part of being able to find and develop these players has been the use of the […]

To say the Golden State Warriors have been struggling this season is an understatement. As of now, the team is not even in position for the play-in tournament. It’s a far cry from the team that just won a championship two seasons ago. Help is on the horizon, though, in the form of Draymond Green’s […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder’s continued ascension this season has many believing they could make a strong playoff run. This team has continued to climb the ranks in the Western Conference. Buyoed by MVP candidate Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Rookie of the Year candidate Chet Holmgren, the Thunder have been holding to a top four seed in […]

Last week, the Los Angeles Lakers were at the center of attention in the NBA world due to their massive free throw advantage in their win against the Toronto Raptors. The Lakers outshot the Raptors the free throw line in the fourth quarter, 23-2. Despite the Raptors’ protests, the NBA’s last two minute report revealed […]

The USC Trojans began this season ranked nationally in the AP men’s basketball poll with man NBA scouts anticipating the debut of probably lottery pick Isaiah Collier. But there was one other player on the USC roster that perhaps drew more attention, one Bronny James. James’ college basketball career was delayed while he recovered from […]

Two years ago, the Boston Celtics reached the NBA Finals for the first time in 12 years. It was the first year that Ime Udoka was head coach of the Celtics and the team seemed poised to contend for years to come. But Udoka was suspended the following season for the entire year and the […]

The Chicago Bulls hosted their first ever Ring of Honor ceremony at halftime of the team’s game against the Golden State Warriors honoring the 1995-96 team that set a then NBA regular season record of 72-10. While the Big 3 of Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman were unable to attend, other members of […]

The Dallas Mavericks have been one of the better teams in the Western Conference this season, but they’ve also been hit by injuries as well. Luka Doncic has been sidelined with an ankle injury at a time when Kyrie Irving has returned from his own injury. One of the Mavs top surprises of this season […]