David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 83

With the WNBA draft now in the rearview, the attention now turns to the start of WNBA training camp which begins on Apr. 30. Teams are allowed a maximum of 20 players in camp and need to cut down to the regular season roster maximum of 12 players. Due to salary cap restraints, some teams […]

The Miami Heat pulled off the biggest upset of the first round of the NBA playoffs with their 4-1 series win against the No. 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks. Not only were the Bucks one of the favorites to win the championship, the Heat had to go through two rounds of play-in games to secure the […]

The Texas Longhorns had a pretty successful season after preseason turmoil that saw the firing of head coach Rick Beard. Assistant coach Rodney Terry took over and guided the Longhorns to a very good regular season and an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. They got some good news this week when Dylan Disu […]

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a humiliating Game 5 defeat against the Memphis Grizzlies as they attempted to close out the series. They still hold a 3-2 lead in their first round playoff series and have a shot to close it out at home in Game 6. Even so, they gave the Grizzlies some momentum. […]

The Memphis Grizzlies kept their season alive with a dominating 116-99 win over the Los Angeles Lakers to force the series back to Crypto.co Arena. Coming into the game down 3-1, the Grizzlies needed this kind of performance to extend the series and give themselves some momentum heading into Game 6. One of the adjustments […]

There’s no question that the New York Knicks’ addition of Jalen Brunson was one of the best signings of the offseason. Although he was not named an All-Star, Brunson had an All-Star caliber season. His career year helped lead the Knicks to a playoff finish despite getting off to an inconsistent start to the season. […]

The Arizona Wildcats had a very disappointing NCAA Tournament showing with a first round upset loss to the No. 15 seeded Princeton Tigers. They then got hit with a couple of key departures following leader scorer and top player Azuolas Tubelis’ decision to enter the NBA draft and Kerr Kriisa’s decision to transfer to West […]

The Golden State Warriors made a little bit of a surprising decision prior to Game 4 of their first round playoff series against the Memphis Grizzlies. They decided to bring Draymond Green off the bench following his return from a one game suspension. Green was 100 percent on board with the decision and he had […]

The Los Angeles Lakers held their breath during their Game 4 win over the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday when Anthony Davis took a hard fall in the second half and was slow to get up. Davis was able to remain in the game and provided crucial defensive stops to help seal the win. After the […]

The Golden State Warriors evened their first round playoff series against the Sacramento Kings at two games apiece on Sunday, and they did so by doing the same thing they did in Game 3. That was to keep the exact same starting five. It’s as the old saying goes, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix […]

The Los Angeles Lakers have taken a surprising 2-1 series lead in their first round playoff matchup against the Memphis Grizzlies as the No. 7 seed. But for all the talk of having LeBron James and Anthony Davis, the star of the show has arguably been Rui Hachimura who is appearing in the postseason for […]

Denver Nuggets wing Kentavious Caldwell-Pope suffered an apparent shoulder injury in the opening moments of Game 4 of the Nuggets first round playoff series against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The injury happened when Caldwell-Pope was hit on the shoulder by Timberwolves star Anthony Edwards. While he seemed to be in pain, he was up off the […]

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 […]