David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 68

When Kevin Love agreed to a contract buyout with the Cleveland Cavaliers after the NBA trade deadline passed, it was rumored that one of the teams interested in his services was the Philadelphia 76ers. The Miami Heat were the frontrunners throughout and that is where Love ended up signing. On Wednesday, Sixers head coach Doc […]

Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets and he got his first bucket with his new team early in the first quarter. With about two minutes gone by in the game, Durant caught a pass from Chris Paul at the top of the key and drove to the basket […]

Damian Lillard is one of the NBA’s most explosive players capable of getting hot in a hurry and putting up a lot of points. The Portland Trail Blazers guard has unlimited range and is known for pulling up immediately as he crosses halfcourt and knocking down the three-ball. On Sunday against the Houston Rockets, he […]

The Los Angeles Clippers were one of the more active teams at the NBA trade deadline. They shipped out fan favorites Reggie Jackson and Luke Kennard and declared the John Wall experiment over. They replaced them with Eric Gordon, Mason Plumlee and Bones Hyland. The first two are more recognizable to NBA fans for their […]

The Los Angeles Lakers were one of the most active teams at the NBA trade deadline. The major trade they made was to reunite with former draft pick D’Angelo Russell, but other trade might have been equally important. The Lakers added Malik Beasley and Jarred Vanderbilt from the Utah Jazz at the deadline and both […]

The Chicago Bulls haven’t had a consistent season this year. They’ve been marred by uneven play and they’ve been struggling to maintain playoff positioning. They’re was chatter before the NBA trade deadline that the Bulls might intend to blow up the team if they kept struggling but they decided to stand pat. Their only major […]

There’s about a month and half left until the NBA regular season concludes and the playoffs begin. Most of the Western Conference powers made key additions to their teams at the NBA trade deadline and now that the All-Star Break is in the rearview, everyone’s sights are set on the final stretch and gearing up […]

The Los Angeles Clippers have just started to get healthy again after dealing with a myriad of injuries and load management absences in the first half of the season. The Clippers were dealt a major blow when starting center Ivica Zubac tweaked his calf during the team’s last game before the All-Star break against the […]

The NBA’s Last Two Minute Report, or L2M Report, has been a source of much contention since it was introduced. The NBA has used it as a way to account for any potential game-changing calls that could have affected the outcome of the game in the final two minutes. It’s been a headache for teams […]

The Utah Jazz began the season as one of the surprise teams in the NBA and near the top of the Western Conference standings. With more than half of the season gone by and the trade deadline in the rearview, the Jazz have come back down to earth. They are still alive in the race […]

The Sacramento Kings are in the midst of one of their best seasons in recent history. Much of that has to do with the continued development of De’Aaron Fox and his ascension into the ranks of the NBA’s elite. The Kings are on the verge of snapping the league’s longest playoff drought and Fox is […]

The Seattle Storm were tasked with a complete roster revamp this offseason when they lost franchise stalwarts Sue Bird to retirement and Breanna Stewart to free agency and the New York Liberty. They entered the WNBA free agency period with only two players on the roster in Jewell Loyd and Mercedes Russell. They were able […]

It’s been an uneven start to Moses Moody’s NBA career. The second-year forward saw some regular playing time as a rookie last season but he hasn’t been able to crack the rotation this season. The No. 14 overall pick in the 2021 draft, Moody has only averaged 14.2 minutes per game this season and has […]

The New York Knicks started out the season a little uneven, but they have since picked up their play. Much of their current success has to do with the star duo of Julius Randle and Jalen Brunson. Randle was just recently named to his second NBA All-Star appearance while Brunson had a case for an […]

The dust from the WNBA free agency period has settled, but some teams are still making some moves here and there. Most of the signings now are training camp invites but some of those are significant players with extensive experience in the WNBA. The Los Angeles Sparks added two of those players in WNBA free […]

The WNBA free agency period is now in the rearview mirror as most teams have pretty much finalized their rosters for the upcoming season. A few teams are still filling out their rosters with available free agents and inviting players to training camp with hopes of making a team’s final roster. There was one marquee […]

Orlando Magic rookie Paolo Banchero has been the favorite for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award all season. He may have seen some competition from Indiana Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin early in the season, but at this point the award is Banchero’s to lose. Banchero recently took part in NBA All-Star Weekend competing in […]

The Boston Celtics have been the best team in the NBA this season behind the play of their star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Both players were recently named to the All-Star team and they even had a fun back and forth duel in the fourth quarter that got NBA Twitter out of […]

In today’s NBA game, consistent three-point shooting is must. Not just from guards and wings, but from centers as well. In the past, centers didn’t use to roam to the perimeter and knock down three-point shots. It’s a lot more common in today’s game. That’s probably the main reason why Indiana Pacers center Myles Turner […]

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic has won two straight NBA MVP Awards and he’s one of the frontrunners for to win the award this season. Although there has been some debate as to whether or not the voters will award him a third straight MVP Award, there’s no question he is firmly in the discussion […]

It’s been a solid season for Jaren Jackson Jr. The Memphis Grizzlies forward was just selected to his first All-Star Game and he has emerged as one of the frontrunners for the Defensive Player of the Year Award. Jackson recently revealed that he didn’t quite set out to win the award, but that as his […]

Memphis Grizzlies forward Jaren Jackson Jr. got his first NBA All-Star Game experience when the league’s 30 head coaches voted him in as one of the reserves. Prior to the NBA naming injury replacements, Jackson along with teammate Ja Morant made the Grizzlies initially the only team in the Western Conference that had more than […]

The Detroit Pistons may be having a miserable season, but they have a solid young core in place. One of the members of that young core, Jaden Ivey, got his first NBA All-Star Weekend experience with his participation in the Rising Stars Game as well as the Skills Competition. Ivey scored four points in the […]

Scoot Henderson from the G League Ignite and French sensation Victor Wembanyama are widely projected to be the top two picks in the 2023 NBA draft. Wembanyama is considered the overwhelming favorite to be drafted with the No. 1 overall pick and he continues to draw rave reviews among NBA circles. While there could be […]

The Atlanta Hawks made a huge move this week when they announced that head coach Nate McMillan had been relieved of his duties. The move was met by skepticism and criticism across the NBA world with much of the vitriol directed towards Hawks star point guard Trae Young. There had been rumors circulating out of […]

NBA All-Star Weekend has come and gone and it was not without criticism. From team captains LeBron James and Giannis Antetokounmpo not playing the second half bringing up issues of load management to the actual game itself and people questioning the players apparent lackluster effort, there have been numerous takes and think pieces as to […]

When Overtime Elite first began, the premise was to provide high school players with a possible alternative to the traditional college basketball route. Players can begin getting paid while prepping for the NBA Draft. During the 2022 draft, Dominick Barlow became the first Overtime Elite player to make to the NBA when he was signed […]

Much of the Los Angeles Lakers season aspirations hinge of the health and availability of their two stars, LeBron James and Anthony Davis. Both players have missed some extensive time this season and with time running out for the Lakers to try and sneak into the postseason, it is crucial to have both on the […]

The Memphis Grizzlies have been without starting center Steven Adams for around one month now and it doesn’t appear as if they have a clear timetable for his return. It’s been a blow to the Grizzlies as Adams is one of the best rebounders in the NBA. Adams initially hurt his knee back on Jan. […]

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James was ruled out for the remainder of the NBA All-Star Game with a wrist injury. As James was giving handshakes to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone at the half, the injury probably isn’t too serious and is just a precautionary measure. James was voted in as a starter and […]

The NBA All-Star Game is always a fun event and an opportunity for players to get out on the court and do things that they may not ordinarily get to do during regular NBA games. For Ja Morant, the NBA All-Star Game is just another opportunity for him to show off his electrifying arsenal of […]

The league moved to a different format for the NBA All-Star Game this season. The inclusion of an All-Star draft was a new addition in recent seasons, but the brand new addition for this season was having the draft take place immediately before the NBA All-Star Game in a bit of a pick-up game format. […]

When it was announced that the draft for the NBA All-Star Game would take place immediately before the game, it built up some excitement and paved the way for some hilarity to ensue. Sure enough, there were laughs abound right at the beginning when Giannis Antetokounmpo selected Ja Morant with his third pick in the […]

The Boston Celtics have a dynamic duo in Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum, arguably the top duo in the NBA. Behind the star duo’s play this season, the Celtics sport the best record in the NBA at 42-17. Being able to play alongside another superstar isn’t always the easiest thing to do, but Brown and […]

New Orleans Pelicans guard Jose Alvarado has been one of the NBA’s feel-good stories since he stepped onto the scene last season as a rookie and made an impact throughout the season and into the playoffs as the Pelicans pushed the No. 1 seed Phoenix Suns to six games in the first round. Alvarado made […]

If last year’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest was a snooze-fest, this year’s event at NBA All-Star weekend was anything. That was largely in part because of Philadelphia 76ers guard Mac McClung who got fans and players out of their seats multiple times during his dazzling performance. McClung has been a dunking sensation since his high […]

There’s not much that Damian Lillard can’t do on the basketball court. The Portland Trail Blazers star is one of the most electric and explosive players in the NBA with unlimited range. So it was only natural that he would be invited back to the 3pt Shootout at NBA All-Star weekend. Lillard took home the […]

It’s safe to say that there was a lot of head-scratching from fans when New York Knicks star Julius Randle was named as a replacement to the 3pt Shootout at NBA All-Star weekend after the Portland Trail Blazers Anfernee Simons withdrew. Randle is certainly an All-Star, but it’s not as if he is known as […]

Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo has made his ascent as one of the NBA’s elite players and is well on his way to becoming one of the best players to ever play the game. He’s a two-time MVP Award winner and he has one NBA championship. This season, he has been playing at an MVP […]