David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 9

LOS ANGELES – Since Austin Reaves and Rui Hachimura have been sidelined due to injury, Marcus Smart and Jake LaRavia have taken their place in the starting lineup for the Los Angeles Lakers, for the time being. The Lakers are 1-1 across the past two games with the duo running with the starters, and during […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers have been hit with a wave of injury issues for multiple players through the first couple of months of the regular season, one whom is veteran guard Gabe Vincent. But help could be on the horizon, albeit not right away. Prior to the Lakers’ game against the Memphis […]

LOS ANGELES – While the Los Angeles Lakers’ defense has been much maligned this season, their offense has seemingly struggled as well. The Lakers are currently 25th in the league in overall 3-point percentage at 34.6 percent. With the offense needing to get back on track as well, Lakers head coach JJ Redick will turn […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers have battled a wave of injury issues through the first couple of months of the regular season, resulting in fluctuating roles for some of the players on the roster. One of those players this season has been veteran backup big man Maxi Kleber who has stepped into a […]

The Los Angeles Lakers came into the 2025 NBA Draft without a first-round pick, but by the end of the night, they felt like they had a first-round talent on their hands. The Lakers traded up in the NBA Draft to select Adou Thiero with the No. 36 overall pick, and during a post-draft segment […]

The injury hits for the Los Angeles Lakers seemingly keep coming as Jarred Vanderbilt was the latest player to appear on the team’s injury report ahead of their upcoming game against the Memphis Grizzlies. Jarred Vanderbilt was officially listed as questionable on the Lakers’ injury report for their game against the Grizzlies on Friday. Vanderbilt […]

Kansas Jayhawks star guard Darryn Peterson is one of the contenders for the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft, but one of the biggest storylines of his freshman year has been a hamstring injury that he’s been dealing with. Peterson’s availability has been limited early in the season, and prior to Kansas’ Big […]

To say that the Los Angeles Lakers have been a poor defensive team this season would be a major understatement. For the month of December, the Lakers have been essentially at the bottom of the league in terms of defensive rating, 29th to be exact, as per Khobi Price of The Southern California News Group. […]

The New Orleans Pelicans came into the matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday looking to snap a four-game losing streak. Although things weren’t looking so good on that front midway through the fourth quarter, Pelicans star Zion Williamson was doing his part to get a win as he dominated the paint. BULLY BALL! Zion […]

The San Antonio Spurs came into their game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday looking to snap a two-game losing streak. As of publication, the Spurs were trailing by double digits early in the third quarter. But Spurs stars Victor Wembanyama and Stephon Castle gave the home crowd something to cheer about when the […]

The Minnesota Timberwolves suffered their largest defeat of the season so far following their 126-102 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday. The team has lost three of their last four games now, but one of the bigger storylines postgame was Anthony Edwards leaving the Timberwolves’ bench before the game was over. Following the loss, […]

The Louisville Cardinals improved to 11-2 on the season following their 90-70 win against California on Tuesday as Atlantic Coast Conference play kicked off. The Cardinals are on a mini-road trip right now as they face off against the Stanford Cardinal on Friday to begin conference play. In fact, it’s this one particular road stat […]

LOS ANGELES – The feel-good vibes after the Los Angeles Lakers’ win against the Sacramento Kings earlier this week were washed away following the team’s ugly 128-106 loss to the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. A big issue during the Lakers’ loss to the Pistons was turnovers, with Luka Doncic committing eight of the team’s 20 […]

LOS ANGELES – With a little over two months of the regular season gone by, Los Angeles Lakers star Luka Doncic is leading the NBA in scoring at 33.7 points per game. Whether it’s one of his patented step-back 3-point shots or a drive to the basket, Doncic is the head of the snake for […]

Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James celebrated his birthday on Tuesday while he’s in the midst of a never-before-done 23rd season in the NBA. James has a couple of teammates on the Lakers who were barely born during his rookie season in the league. One of those players is Nick Smith Jr. who was born […]

In the midst of an unprecedented 23rd season in the NBA, LeBron James celebrated his 41st birthday, making him the oldest player in the league. A good birthday present for James would be a win as the Los Angeles Lakers square off against the Eastern Conference-leading Detroit Pistons, but in the meantime, James was serenaded […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers were able to get back on track following Sunday’s 125-101 win against the Sacramento Kings, and part of the talk following the game was a couple of dunks LeBron James threw down off lob passes. One lob pass came from Marcus Smart, the other came from Deandre Ayton. […]

LOS ANGELES – Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ brutal loss to the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day, head coach JJ Redick was beyond frustrated when he vowed that the following practice was going to be an uncomfortable one. And after the message had been delivered at practice, it appeared to be received as the Lakers […]

The Los Angeles Lakers got back in the win column following their 125-101 win against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday. But as has been the recurring theme for the Lakers this season, when one player comes back from injury, another one seems to go out. Coming into the Lakers’ game against the Detroit Pistons on […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers snapped their three-game losing streak following their 125-101 win against the visiting Sacramento Kings, and a big reason for that win was the contributions of Nick Smith Jr. off the bench. Prior to the game, Lakers head coach JJ Redick mentioned that Smith was going to get his […]

LOS ANGELES – With the recent injury diagnosis to Austin Reaves, theres’ no doubt the Los Angeles Lakers are going to feel his absence. Reaves will be out at least a month due to a calf injury, and the team is already without Gabe Vincent in the backcourt due to injury as well. But with […]

It’s been a little over 10 years since Steve Kerr first took the helm as head coach of the Golden State Warriors. During that stretch, the Warriors formed a dynasty winning four championships in eight years. Ahead of the Golden State Warriors’ game against the Toronto Raptors, Steve Kerr was asked what type of advice […]

Amid the Los Angeles Lakers’ current three-game losing streak, several issues have come to the forefront, with the defense being chief among them. The Lakers haven’t exactly been a good defensive team all season, but those issues were masked amid their strong start to the year. Following Lakers practice on Saturday, both Deandre Ayton and […]

LOS ANGELES – After missing all of summer league and training camp due to an ankle injury suffered in college, Adou Thiero made his Los Angeles Lakers debut back on Nov. 15 during the team’s big road win against the Milwaukee Bucks. Since then, Thiero has had a couple of assignments in the G League […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers suffered a major blow this week when it was announced that starting guard Austin Reaves would be sidelined for about one month due to a calf injury. Reaves initially sustained the injury following the Lakers’ loss to the San Antonio Spurs on Dec. 10, and seemingly re-aggravated it […]

The San Antonio Spurs have been making their case for the best team in the NBA following three straight wins against the Oklahoma City Thunder, including their Christmas Day matchup. The main reason why the Spurs can make that claim is the continued ascension of Victor Wembanyama as a franchise superstar. During the Spurs game […]

The Orlando Magic got back in the win column following their 127-126 win against the visiting Denver Nuggets on Saturday. Magic guard Anthony Black did his part to ensure the team got a win as he set a new career-high of 38 points, as per the team. Anthony Black reached his new career-high of 38 […]

The LA Clippers are coming into their Sunday game against the Detroit Pistons looking to add to their current three-game win streak, and they’ll have reinforcements in the form of Derrick Jones Jr. making his injury return. The Clippers will also have additional roster depth following the signing of TyTy Washington to a two-way contract. […]

The Los Angeles Clippers have been playing much better as of late, and they’re set to receive some much welcomed reinforcements. Derrick Jones Jr. is set to make his return to the lineup for the Clippers’ game against the Detroit Pistons on Sunday after suffering a knee injury last month, as per Shams Charania of […]

Although the Dallas Mavericks have been slugging through a disappointing season, there is reason for positivity due to the presence of rookie star Cooper Flagg. The No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, Flagg has rebounded from a slow start to the season and is a frontrunner for the Rookie of the Year […]

LOS ANGELES – The recent struggles for the Los Angeles Lakers continued following their 119-96 loss to the Houston Rockets on Christmas. The Lakers losing streak hit three games, and head coach JJ Redick was unable to hide his frustrations amid repeated effort and execution issues. For Lakers forward Jarred Vanderbilt, the Lakers issues aren’t […]

The Portland Trail Blazers came into their matchup against the LA Clippers on Friday looking to snap a two-game losing streak, and so far they were on their way to doing so with a double digit lead in the second half as of publication. Blazers wing Shaedon Sharpe got himself on the highlight reel early […]

Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe has been among the top rookies in the NBA this season, and he’s drawn comparisons to former NBA star and Hall of Famer Dwyane Wade. As the 76ers squared off against the Chicago Bulls on Friday, Wade agreed with the comparisons saying that he sees a lot of his younger […]

The Philadelphia 76ers came into their matchup against the Chicago Bulls on Friday looking to get back in the win column after suffering a loss to the Brooklyn Nets. Quentin Grimes was doing his best to try and get the 76ers a win, invoking franchise legend Julius ‘Dr. J’ Irving with an impressive up-and-under move […]

Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ disappointing loss to the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day, the team suffered another blow as it was announced that Austin Reaves would be sidelined for at least the next four weeks following a calf injury. Austin Reaves had recently returned to the Lakers’ lineup after suffering the calf injury, but […]

While the Sacramento Kings continue to contemplate what their future holds, one thing for certain is that Keegan Murray is an essential piece for the team’s future. But for the time being, the Kings will be without Murray following a calf injury he suffered during the team’s loss the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday. Keegan Murray […]

LOS ANGELES – After missing three straight games due to a calf injury, Austin Reaves returned to the Los Angeles Lakers’ lineup on Tuesday during the team’s loss to the Phoenix Suns. On Christmas Day against the Houston Rockets, Reaves was off to a good start, but was unable to return to the game after […]

LOS ANGELES – The Los Angeles Lakers’ current losing streak hit three games following their 119-96 loss to the Houston Rockets on Christmas Day. For the Lakers, there are plenty of issues to discuss in regards to their poor play as of late. But for head coach JJ Redick, the ultimate reason for the team’s […]

LOS ANGELES – After LeBron James rejoined the Los Angeles Lakers’ lineup after missing the first 14 games of the season due to a nerve injury, Jarred Vanderbilt ended up being the odd man out. As the Lakers’ defense continued to struggle, head coach JJ Redick had no choice but to put Vanderbilt back in […]