David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 71

Denver Nuggets star Nikola Jokic is in the midst of an MVP caliber season and has been etching his name in the NBA record books along the way. Jokic is the reigning MVP having won the award in back-to-back seasons now. Should he win this season’s MVP award, he will become only the fourth player […]

The New York Knicks have been one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference this season and they’ve rebounded well from a poor start to the season. A big part of that has been the play of Julius Randle. Randle was named to his second All-Star selection this season and is having one of […]

Nikola Jokic is in the midst of an MVP caliber season even with some recent struggles by the Denver Nuggets. Jokic is on the verge of becoming the first non-guard to average a triple-double over the course of an entire season. The only other players to average a triple-double for a whole season are Oscar […]

Despite losing in the championship of the Pac-12 Tournament, UCLA and Mick Cronin still enter March Madness as one of the top teams in the country. They’re a little bit banged up right now with injuries to two starters in Adem Bona and Jaylen Clark. While Clark is out for the remainder of the season, […]

The brackets for the NCAA Tournament were released this weekend and every year there are some very intriguing storylines in the first round of March Madness. This year, one of those potential matchups is between No. 6 Kentucky and No. 11 Providence in the East Region. Kentucky head coach John Calipari will square off against […]

The New York Knicks have been one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference after a bit of an uneven start. They have rebounded from inconsistent play and are now firmly in the mix for a playoffs spot. A big part of their success this season has been the play of Jalen Brunson. He […]

Since arriving in the NBA with the Atlanta Hawks, Trae Young has been one of the most exciting and explosive point guard in the NBA. Not only is he a dynamic scorer, but he is an elite playmaker as well. As good as he is though, Young has taken his lumps recently for his perceived […]

NBA players and their reactions to the officiating has been a hot topic as of late. Toronto Raptors guard Fred VanVleet had quite a few colorful words to say towards referee Ben Taylor following a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers. Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart recently stated that he has observed referees with personal […]

During the WNBA offseason, many players ahead overseas to continue playing. Due to the salary limitations of the WNBA, players are able to make a livable income during the fall and winter months. When playing overseas though, players run the heightened risk of injury and thus being unavailable for when the WNBA season begins in […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have been arguably one of the best teams in the NBA following the trade deadline. The Lakers are 8-3 since they made a couple of trades at the deadline and they have vaulted themselves upward in the Western Conference standings. Second-year wing Austin Reaves has been a big part of the […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are one of several teams in the midst of a tightening race in the Western Conference for one of the play-in spots. At this point in the season in particular, every game matters. Teams need to be as healthy as can be especially when it comes to their stars. For the […]

The dust from WNBA free agency is all but settled. At this point teams already know who is going to be on their roster and who is going to be invited to training camp. All that is left is some housekeeping issues in terms of contract extensions with players already on the roster. The Atlanta […]

With the Philadelphia 76ers, Matisse Thybulle was supposed to reach his trajectory as a 3&D player. Thybulle just didn’t shoot as much as the Sixers would have liked him to. Over the course of about three and a half season with the Sixers, Thybulle averaged only 2.2 attempts from three-point range. Since he was traded […]

Over the past couple of seasons, Jamal Murray has emerged into a superstar for the Denver Nuggets. Starting with his breakout performance in the 2020 bubble, his career trajectory has been steadily climbing upward after he dealt with an ACL injury. Murray was not named to the All-Star team this season but he had a […]

The Houston Rockets have been one of the worst teams in the NBA this season and are firmly in the mix for the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. Even though they’ve been horrible, they can be exciting to watch with young sensation Jalen Green leading the way. They’ve also drawn headlines recently for the rumored mutual interest […]

The Utah Jazz started out the season as one of the surprising teams in the NBA. They were near the top of the Western Conference standings for a while but have since come crashing back down to Earth. All things considered, the Jazz are still in the mix for a postseason appearance. However, they may […]

The Detroit Pistons have been consistent this season in that they’ve consistently been one of the worst teams in the NBA. One of the lone bright spots for them has been the dynamic play of lottery pick Jaden Ivey. It appears though that the Pistons will be without the services of Ivey for at least […]

The Oklahoma City Thunder have one of the most promising young cores in the NBA. They have been a surprise team this season in the mix for a play-in spot when they were fully expected to be at the bottom of the NBA standings and in the mix for the Victor Wembanyama sweepstakes. Much of […]

The Dallas Mavericks are currently fightingDallas Mavericks are currently fighting for playoff positioning in a tightening race in the Western Conference standings. This is the time for all hands on deck but the Mavs might end up being short-handed for their next few games depending on the availability of Reggie Bullock. Bullock suffered a quad […]

Pau Gasol is one of the Los Angeles Lakers’ most beloved former players. After arriving in a trade with the Memphis Grizzlies during the 2007-08 season, Gasol helped the Lakers win back to back championships in 2008-09 and in 2009-10. He is set to have his jersey retirement ceremony by the Lakers on Tuesday during […]

The Portland Trail Blazers are in the midst of a tightening race for a spot in the play-in tournament in the Western Conference and it appears as if reinforcements are on the way. The Blazers have been without Jusuf Nurkic since before the All-Star break when he suffered a calf injury during a game against […]

The New York Knicks got a massive win on Saturday against the Boston Celtics to keep their win streak alive keep their win streak alive. The Knicks pulled off a thrilling 131-129 double overtime victory behind a career-night from third-year guard Immanuel Quickley. Quickley finished the game with 38 points, eight rebounds, seven assists, four […]

Once upon a time, the old Arco Arena was one of the most feared arenas in the NBA to play in for opposing teams. The raucous crowd was famous for forcing former Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson to don ear plugs while he was on the bench. It hasn’t been the same since […]

The Brooklyn Nets thought they had a championship foundation in place when they paired Kevin Durant with Kyrie Irving in free agency during the 2019 offseason. Flash forward to the present day and neither Durant nor Irving is still on the roster, both having been shipped off at this season’s trade deadline with no postseason […]

The Sacramento Kings have been one of the surprising teams in the NBA this season. They’ve been one of the top teams in the Western Conference for the majority of the year and are in the mix to have home court advantage for at least one round in the playoffs. But the Kings might be […]

The Golden State Warriors got a bit of good news this weekend when it was announced that both Stephen Curry and Andre Iguodala would be returning to the lineup after being sidelined with injuries. Curry had been out for the past 11 games with a leg injury and Iguodala had not played since Jan. 13 […]

The Golden State Warriors have dealt with injury issues and and inconsistency all season and as a result they’ve relied heavily on two-way contract players Anthony Lamb and Ty Jerome all season. As two-way contract players, they are allowed a maximum of 50 NBA game appearances. Once they hit that limit they either have to […]

The Charlotte Hornets have not had a season worth remembering. The Hornets are currently 20-45 and near the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings. The Hornets do have the most recognizable owner in the NBA in Michael Jordan who has longtime been one of the faces of the league. Jordan enjoyed plenty of success on […]

While most of the WNBA free agency signings this late in the offseason are training camp additions for players hoping to make a final roster, there are still a few players out there can be potential difference makers. The New York Liberty sent shockwaves through the WNBA world when they signed superstar Breanna Stewart in […]

The Crimson Tide and head coach Nate Oats got a huge addition this week for Alabama basketball with the commitment of Kris Parker from Quincy Crossroad Academy in Florida. It was a piece of good news for Alabama basketball whose program has been mired in recent controversy. The Alabama Crimson Tide also ended the regular […]

The Philadelphia 76ers have managed to overcome a poor start to the season and have emerged as a legit contender in the Eastern Conference. A big part of that turnaround has been the continued development of Tyrese Maxey. Maxey missed some games earlier in the season and when he returned in early January, he started […]

Damian Lillard has done some amazing things on the court while in a Portland Trail Blazers uniform and for a while Terry Stotts had a front row seat. Stotts was the Blazers head coach for nine years from 2012-2021. He coached Lillard for all nine of those season, having been hired as head coach the […]

Kevin Durant made his Phoenix Suns debut on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets. The Suns won the game in dominating fashion, 105-91. Durant got his first bucket of the game early in the first quarter on a drive to the basket with just about two minutes gone by. During the game, Atlanta Hawks superstar Trae […]

When the Phoenix Suns acquired Kevin Durant at the NBA trade deadline from the Brooklyn Nets, it sent shockwaves through the NBA that are still being felt. Durant made his Suns debut on Wednesday against the Charlotte Hornets after rehabbing from a knee injury he suffered when he was still with the Nets. He scored […]

The dust from WNBA free agency has largely settled with a few big name signings still occuring. Most of the signings happening now are training camp contracts but the way WNBA contracts are set up, a bunch of players invited to camp have a legit shot at making the final regular season roster. WNBA teams […]

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 […]