David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 80

The Golden State Warriors defended their homecourt winning both Games 3 and 4 to even up their first round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings at two games apiece. They got a major boost in the return of Draymond Green from his one game suspension following his foot stomp on Domantas Sabonis. Green’s defense proved […]

The Golden State Warriors have carried their bewildering home/road dichotomy from the regular season into the playoffs. After dropping Games 1 and 2 on the road against the Sacramento Kings in their first round playoff series, they’ve come back to win both games at home and even the series at two games apiece. The Warriors […]

After the Milwaukee Bucks pulled off a dominating win in Game 2 to tie their first round playoff series against the Miami Heat at 1-1, the Heat responded in Game 3 with an impressive win of their own to take control of the series at 2-1. The first three games have not been without turmoil […]

Miami Heat guard Victor Oladipo left Game 3 with an apparent knee injury in the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks during their first round playoff series. Oladipo attacked the basket and seemed to hurt his knee on the drive causing him to fall and slide out of bounds. The Heat would go on to […]

The New York Knicks pulled off an impressive Game 3 win in their first round playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers to take a 2-1 series lead. They stole homecourt advantage with their Game 1 win and they now have the opportunity to take a commanding lead in the series. Game 4 is scheduled for […]

The Athletic dropped a bombshell on the NBA world this week with an anonymous NBA player poll in which their thoughts on various things such as who is the favorite for MVP, who is the league’s best defensive player and who would you pick to start a franchise, among other topics, were revealed. One of […]

The Milwaukee Bucks powered through Game 2 in their first round playoff series against the Miami Heat in impressive fashion. Facing a must win game after dropping Game 1 at home, the Bucks responded with a dominant performance. After Giannis Antetokounmpo suffered a tailbone injury in the first half of Game 1, he was placed […]

Back on Feb. 9, Cole Swider started a game for the South Bay Lakers as he’s done so many times this season. It was an early morning weekday game, not uncommon for the G League. What he probably didn’t expect, however, was getting rushed onto a plane and flying halfway across the country to Milwaukee […]

The Toronto Raptors finished the 2022-23 season in disappointing fashion. Their entire season was an uneven and inconsistent journey but they managed to somewhat salvage it with a top-ten finish and a chance at the playoffs. Instead, all they’ll be remembered for is DeMar DeRozan’s daughter whom they witnessed grow up only to have her […]

The Memphis Grizzlies nabbed a much needed win against the LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of their first round playoff series. Even without Ja Morant, they still could not afford to fall into an 0-2 hole. They got an assist in the form of Dillon Brooks’ antics and a huge […]

The Memphis Grizzlies pulled off a must-win in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Los Angeles Lakers thanks to some clutch shooting from Dillon Brooks on Wednesday. Brooks has relished the role of the villain this season, and they needed his competitive edge in this game. Brooks spent the game chirping back […]

The UCLA Bruins 2022-23 season ended on a bittersweet note after a very successful regular season. A team that looked like a national championship contender suffered key injuries and ended up falling to Gonzaga in the Sweet 16. It appears as if this season might have been UCLA’s best shot at a title as next […]

The Philadelphia 76ers have gotten out to a commanding 2-0 lead in their first round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets. As hard and scrappy as the post-Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving Nets play, the talent difference can be a little too much to overcome in the playoffs. One of the key contributors to the Sixers […]

Coming into the Phoenix Suns first round playoff series against the Los Angeles Clippers, their depth was questionable. Sure enough, the Suns bench has been outplayed by the Clippers bench and that was big reason for their Game 1 loss and losing homecourt advantage. One of their most glaring needs right now is a backup […]

The Washington Wizards suffered through another disappointing season despite having some top end talent in Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Kyle Kuzma. They finished with a record 35-47 and in 12th place in the Eastern Conference standings. They finished the season 3-10 in their final 13 games. The Wizards had enough talent to at least […]

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 […]