David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 64

The Boston Celtics have taken a 2-0 lead in their opening round playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks. The Celtics had the best record in the Eastern Conference for much of the season until a late lull saw the Milwaukee Bucks overtake them. They have looked like the better team, however, and a favorite to […]

As a former second round pick, Draymond Green has certainly exceeded any expectations when he first came into the NBA. The Golden State Warriors star has long outplayed his second round status and has become one of the best defensive players in the league even now as his overall production has slipped. He has not […]

The Los Angeles Clippers made one of the biggest midseason acquisitions when they signed Russell Westbrook off the buyout market. Westbrook has provided much-needed leadership, playmaking and ball movement to the team. It was considered a risky signing but so far the good has far outweighed the bad. Paul George, who played with Westbrook on […]

The Miami Heat managed to pull off an impressive Game 1 win on the road against the Milwaukee Bucks in their best of seven opening round playoff series. The Bucks finished with the best record in the NBA this season and have homecourt advantage throughout the entire playoffs. The Heat were the eighth seed after […]

The NBA is in the midst of announcing the winners of their annual end of the season awards a week after announcing the finalists. Aside from the usual awards, the NBA added a new category this season, the Clutch Player of the Year Award. The finalists for the award were the Miami Heat’s Jimmy Butler, […]

The Miami Heat took full advantage in Game 1 against the Milwaukee Bucks with Giannis Antetokounmpo ruled out for the rest of the game after injuring his tailbone in the first half. The No. 8 seed Heat pulled off a massive road win to take a 1-0 lead in the series. Antetokounmpo has a solid […]

The Golden State Warriors had an incredibly weird home and road dichotomy this season. They were world-beaters at home and couldn’t beat anyone on the road. That pattern continued in Game 1 of their first round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings as they fell 0-1 early in the series. To make matters worse, Jordan […]

LeBron James had a strong game, but he wasn’t even the main storyline in the Los Angeles Lakers’ Game 1 win against the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. It’s both a testament to his greatness and that he doesn’t have to do as much with a strong supporting cast. He finished with a stat line of […]

It’s been a tough day for injuries on only the second day of the first round of the NBA playoffs. First Ja Morant suffered a hand injury that forced him to miss the remainder of Game 1 against the Los Angeles Lakers. Then Giannis Antetokounmpo was ruled out for the remainder of the Miami Heat […]

The Sacramento Kings had one of their best seasons in franchise history and finally ended the NBA’s longest active playoff drought. They earned home court advantage in the first round with their third place finish and they pulled off a big Game 1 win, 126-123, against the defending champion Golden State Warriors. Malik Monk has […]

It wasn’t always certain whether or not New York Knicks star Julius Randle was going to be ready for their playoff opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Julius Randle had been sidelined since Mar. 29 with an ankle injury and his status was questionable. He did manage to suit up though for the Knicks and while […]

Boston Celtics star Jaylen Brown suffered a bizarre injury earlier this week while apparently watering plants. He dropped a vase and cut his hand while trying to pick up the glass. The cut required stitches and almost put his status for Game 1 against the Hawks in jeopardy. Brown ended up playing in Game 1 […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder had a successful season despite losing in their second round play-in game against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander continued his upward trajectory as one of the NBA’s elite players and was named a finalist for the Most Improved Player Award. The Thunder have assembled a solid young core of players that […]

The Miami Heat got the dubious recognition on Friday of being only the third team in league history to have earned the eighth seed in the playoffs only one season after being the No. 1 seed. They live to fight another day though after their play-in win against the Chicago Bulls. Heat star Jimmy Butler […]

The NBA Play-In tournament this season has been nothing short of entertaining. Even when the basketball might not be so great like during the second half of the Los Angeles Lakers and Minnesota Timberwolves game, it still has kept fans on the edge of their seats. The first game on Friday between the Miami Heat […]

When the NBA playoffs begin, no player is 100 percent healthy. Everyone is dealing with bumps and bruises and some kind of ailment. As long as the injuries don’t cause any missed time, then for all intents and purposes each team is healthy. The Sacramento Kings have just completed one of the most successful seasons in […]

The finalists for the major NBA awards were released on Friday. Those awards included the MVP Award, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year and the Most Improved Player. The Coach of the Year and Rookie of the Year finalists were also announced. There was also a new NBA award added to […]

The NBA released the finalists for their end of the season awards on Friday and Los Angeles Clippers guard Russell Westbrook was not among the Sixth Man of the Year finalists. The three final nominations are the Boston Celtics Malcolm Brogdon, the New York Knicks Immanuel Quickley and the Milwaukee Bucks Bobby Portis. Perhaps the […]

The good thing about making a strong NCAA Tournament run and getting the championship game, albeit losing, is that you become a destination school for potential recruits. San Diego State may be experiencing that now after the best season in program history. They will have deal with the downside of success though as they could […]

The Chicago Sky had a massive roster turnover this season with the departures of Candace Parker, Courtney Vandersloot, Allie Quigley and Azurá Stevens. All three were major contributors to the team’s 2021 championship. They still have 2021 Finals MVP Kahleah Copper on the roster but the Sky are going to look very different in the […]

The WNBA draft is officially in the rearview and that means the beginning of training camp is rapidly approaching. With WNBA teams allowed to bring a maximum of 20 players to camp, a few teams are still filling out their camp roster. With a limited number of roster spots in the WNBA, 144 to be […]

The Creighton Bluejays had their best season in school history. They made it to their first Elite Eight in program history and although they lost to San Diego State, this year should be considered a major success. Their roster will look a little bit different next season though as they are going to be losing […]

The Arizona Wildcats had a lot to think about following their first round NCAA Tournament upset loss to the Princeton Tigers. They had a very successful regular season and even upset UCLA in the Pac-12 Conference Tournament championship game. They earned a No. 2 seed in March Madness and looked primed to make a strong […]

San Diego State had their best season in school history with a run to the national championship game. Although they would ultimately lose to UConn, this season was a major success for the program. But with success comes the tradeoffs and the Aztecs might look a little bit different next season. Both Lamont Butler and […]

Coming into Wednesday’s play-in game against the Chicago Bulls, the Toronto Raptors probably didn’t bother to include a nine-year old girl on their scouting report. Perhaps they should have. After all, they saw her grow up. While the Bulls comeback against the Raptors certainly was a big accomplishment, the story of the game was Diar […]

The Chicago Bulls have managed to salvage their season somewhat with a big comeback win against the Toronto Raptors in their play-in game on Wednesday. After a very inconsistent regular season and rumors of blowing the team up, the Bulls managed to come together enough to give themselves a shot at the playoffs. And they […]

The transfer portal is jumping these days. Every day a new player throws their name into the ring. It’s created sort of a free agency for college basketball. With big name players such as Louisville’s Hailey Van Lith and DePaul’s Aneesah Morrow, college basketball fans are just waiting now for the next star to jump […]

Things weren’t looking too good for the Chicago Bulls in the first half of their play-in game against the Toronto Raptors. The winner of this game will advance to face the Miami Heat on Friday for a shot at the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference standings. The loser would effectively be […]

The Toronto Raptors and Chicago Bulls squared off in their play-in game in the Eastern Conference with the winner advancing to face the Miami Heat on Friday and the loser effectively being eliminated from postseason play. The Raptors were ahead of the Bulls at the half in part due to the stellar play of Fred […]

There’s no question Joel Embiid is one of the absolute best players in the NBA. The franchise cornerstone of the Philadelphia 76ers, he makes ‘The Process’ years well worth it even if those other picks never panned out. Joel Embiid is favorite for the NBA’s MVP Award this season and according to Sixers head coach […]

There’s no question that Dawn Staley has emerged as one of the absolute best college coaches in the nation. She’s transformed South Carolina into a perennial powerhouse. So it comes as no surprise that she had her fingerprints all over the WNBA draft. Staley had four seniors in Aliyah Boston, Zia Cooke, Laeticia Amihere and […]

One of the biggest storylines for the Dallas Mavericks this season is the pending Christian Wood free agency. Wood has become one of the more productive centers in the NBA, but it hasn’t always been clear if he has a future with the Mavs. His role often fluctuated under Jason Kidd and he was relegated […]

Coming into the WNBA draft, Haley Jones from Stanford was one of the top overall prospects. She was projected to go as high as No. 2 in the draft to somewhere late in the first round. She ended up being drafted at No. 6 overall to the Atlanta Dream. Draft night is a big night […]

Zia Cooke was one of the best point guards in college basketball this past season with South Carolina and now she’ll get to take her talents to the WNBA. Cooke was projected to go anywhere from the late first round to the early/mid second round. The Los Angles Sparks saw enough talent in her to […]

The WNBA draft is fully underway and to nobody’s surprise the No. 1 overall pick was South Carolina’s Aliyah Boston by the Indiana Fever. As the draft continued, one of the more surprising picks of the day was the No. 4 overall selection of Iowa State’s Stephanie Soares by the Washington Mystics. It wouldn’t be […]

To nobody’s surprise, the Indiana Fever made Aliyah Boston the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft on Monday. Boston has long been considered the top prospect heading into the draft. While there was a little bit of uncertainty as to whether or not Boston would use her COVID year and return for another […]

Kyrie Irving is set to hit free agency for the Dallas Mavericks this offseason after a disappointing stint following the trade deadline. The Mavs didn’t even make the play-in tournament amid a controversial decision to sit key players when it was still within reach. Needless to say, Mavs star Luka Doncic was not a fan […]

UCLA basketball star Charisma Osborne made a shocking decision when she decided to return to the Bruins for next season. She had one year of extra eligibility due to college athletes receiving an extra COVID year and she decided to use that. Osborne had been projected as first round pick in the upcoming WNBA draft […]

The 2023 WNBA draft is here. For many players, they don’t get much of a break. Almost immediately after the NCAA season ends, WNBA draft preparation begins. The draft will be held on Monday, Apr. 10 at 7 P.M. EST and will consistent of three rounds with 12 picks per round. After some uncertainty, South […]