David Yapkowitz Articles - Page 95

Tempers flared up during the game between the Detroit Pistons and Orlando Magic on Wednesday the resulted in Pistons wing Killian Hayes throwing a punch to the back of Magic forward Moe Wagner after Moe shoved Hayes into the sideline while they both chased down a loose ball. Moe Wagner was assessed a flagrant two […]

Victor Wembanyama is widely projected to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft. While he may have some competition for the top spot from Scoot Henderson of the G League Ignite, it’s tough to imagine any team that lands the top pick passing up on Wembanyama. He’s drawn praise from various […]

In a season that has not gone all that well for the Los Angeles Lakers, the continued development of second-year guard Austin Reaves has been one of the team’s lone bright spots. So much so that it’s possible this coming off-season, his current play could force the Lakers to push further into the luxury tax […]

Coming into Christmas Day, the Golden State Warriors and Memphis Grizzlies Western Conference Semifinal rematch had lost some of its luster with Warriors star Stephen Curry sidelined due to a shoulder injury. Curry is actually on pace to return soon, but once the game began the rest of the Warriors made sure they gave their […]

The Boston Celtics got a huge win on Christmas Day against the Miwaukee Bucks and it was none other than Jayson Tatum who led the way. Tatum went head-to-head against Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and he managed to out-duel the Greek Freak in a big way. He even managed to throw down perhaps his best […]

The Boston Celtics got a much-needed Christmas Day win at home over their Eastern Conference rival, the Milwaukee Bucks. Prior to the game, the Celtics had lost three of their last four games and according to Celtics star Jaylen Brown, the home crowd along with it being Christmas Day played a big factor in getting […]

The New Orleans Pelicans have managed to win two straight games without Zion Williamson while he was in health and safety protocols. Williamson is due back on Monday against the Indiana Pacers, but the Pelicans depth has shown in these two wins. In the second of those two wins on Friday against the Oklahoma City […]

Zion Williamson has missed the last two games for the New Orleans Pelicans due to being placed in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. But he is on track to return to the lineup on Monday against the Indiana Pacers as per Andrew Lopez of ESPN. Zion Williamson is no longer listed on the Pelicans’ […]

The Golden State Warriors have been without Andrew Wiggins for the past nine games due to an adductor injury, and there’s no set timetable for his return to the lineup as his recovery has not gone as quickly as initially expected, per Kendra Andrews of ESPN. The Warriors were originally targeting their Christmas Day game […]

The Memphis Grizzlies and the Phoenix Suns have been two of the top teams in the Western Conference the past couple of seasons and it appears they may have a bit of a rivalry brewing. On Wednesday, the Grizzlies gave the Suns a beatdown. They were up 39-20 after the first quarter and cruised to […]

The Sacramento Kings were given some tough news after Thursday’s game against the Washington Wizards when it was revealed that star forward Domantas Sabonis had suffered a injury to his hand during the game. The play where he suffered the injury came when he was covering Bradley Beal in the backcourt and from replays, it’s […]

The Phoenix Suns have been without star guard Devin Booker the past three games due to a groin injury. They have a big Christmas Day matchup against the Denver Nuggets and it appears that Booker will be back in the lineup as per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN. ESPN Sources: Suns star Devin Booker (groin) is […]

Prior to this season, Bol Bol was a huge question mark. Despite being in the NBA for three seasons already, injuries combined with sporadic playing time left much to be desired. This season though, Bol has been a revelation for the Orlando Magic. He’s enjoying the best season of his career and he credits it […]

Joel Embiid has been on a tear this season and on Friday against the Los Angeles Clippers, he put up 44 points in a game that saw the Sixers down 20 points only to rally back to win 119-114 at home. His 40+ point game now ties Wilt Chamberlain for the second-most 40-point games in […]

RJ Barrett has been playing good basketball for the New York Knicks during their recent improved play and on Friday against the Chicago Bulls, he threw down one of the top dunks of the season. Barrett caught the ball near the three-point line, attacked the basket, rose up and put Nikola Vucevic in a poster. […]

DeMar DeRozan has become one of the most clutch players in the NBA and on Friday he added to his legacy with the go-head bucket against the New York Knicks on the road with 0.6 seconds remaining in the game. He was fouled on the play by Quentin Grimes and ended up missing the free-throw […]

The Phoenix Suns have been without Devin Booker for the past two games due a groin injury he suffered on Dec. 17 against the New Orleans Pelicans despite having his best game of the season. He was ruled out of Friday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies while his status for the Christmas Day game against […]

Kevin Durant has arguably put himself in the MVP conversation at this point. It’s quite the feat considering how the Brooklyn Nets looked dead in the water just about a month ago. They were struggling to win games, Kyrie Irving was on suspension and this whole experiment was looking like a failure. But they’ve since […]

It was a disappointing end to the 2021-22 season for Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics. They reached the NBA Finals for the first time since 2010, and even had a 2-1 lead over the Golden State Warriors. But they proceeded to lose three straight games and ultimately the series with Tatum coming up short […]

The New Orleans Pelicans may have been without Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram on Thursday against the San Antonio Spurs, but they still had CJ McCollum. The Pelicans guard put up 40 points, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out nine assists in the 126-117 win, placing him alongside former Pelicans Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and […]

For many current NBA players, LeBron James is the superstar that they looked up to. James was drafted in 2003 and has spent nearly two decades dominating the hardwood. For players such as Los Angeles Lakers teammate Lonnie Walker IV, their generation was in high school or younger when James won his first NBA championship […]

Paolo Banchero may be the favorite for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award, but Indiana Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin sure is making things interesting. The No. 6 overall pick in the 2022 draft, Mathurin is making his own case for the award all while coming off the bench. While he has certainly entered his […]

There’s been a lot for Boston Celtics fans to cheer about this season. They have the second best record in the NBA at 22-9. They have shown no lingering effects of having their head coach Ime Udoka suspended for the entire season. Their offense has been historic and demolishing teams all season. Jayson Tatum and […]

There’s no question Ja Morant is a superstar. The No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Morant has blossomed into one of the absolute best players in the league, let alone at his position. This season, he is on pace to do something no Grizzlies player has ever done before as per the […]

All great NBA players have former players they look up to and patterned their game after. For players in Kevin Durant’s generation, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James always standout as the stars that generation looked up to. Durant also looked up to those two players, but on a segment with former NBA player Jamal Crawford, […]

For a team that was supposed to be mounting a strong title defense, the Golden State Warriors are looking like a team that might not even make the playoffs. With each loss, the Warriors continue to dig a deeper hole. Although head coach Steve Kerr is well aware of the uphill battle they face, he […]

Nikola Jokic is the reigning NBA MVP having won the award now in back to back seasons, and on Sunday he added to his legacy with a monster game in the Denver Nuggets 119-115 win against the Charlotte Hornets. Jokic’s stat line of 40 points, 27 rebounds and ten assists made him the first player […]

The Golden State Warriors did not get off to a good start on their current road trip as they lost the first three games. But the Warriors, and specifically Jordan Poole, responded on Sunday as they snapped their losing streak and Poole dropped in a career-high 43 points. Jordan Poole poured in a career-high 43 […]

With Sunday’s win against the Indiana Pacers, the New York Knicks have now won seven consecutive games and eight of their last ten overall. It’s been a strong turnaround for a team that was struggling to find some consistency earlier this season. And they’ve been winning games on the defensive end, a calling card of […]

The Brooklyn Nets have been playing some of the best basketball they’ve played all season behind Kevin Durant and on Sunday he went off for 26 points in the third quarter, the most points he’s ever scored in a quarter as per ESPN. KD had 26 points in the third quarter vs. Detroit — the […]

Bojan Bogdanovic has been mentioned in trade rumors throughout this season, even as he signed a two-year contract extension with the Detroit Pistons that will keep him on the roster at least through the 2024-25 season. His name has popped up for good reason. Bogdanovic is one of the top three-point shooters in the NBA […]

Lonzo Ball has not played a game for the Chicago Bulls since January 14 and there’s no indication that he’ll rejoin the lineup anytime soon. Last week, a report surfaced that he may not play at all this season. However, on Sunday Bulls head coach Billy Donovan provided an update suggesting that the goal remains […]

The Toronto Raptors suffered a tough loss on Friday against the Brooklyn Nets after Kyrie Irving knocked down a jumper to win the game as time expired. The loss pushed the Raptors current losing streak to four games and it’s the longest losing streak that Scottie Barnes has faced in his NBA career as per […]

The Philadelphia 76ers had a matchup against the defending champion Golden State Warriors on Friday and James Harden came out ready to play. Harden dropped 15 points in the opening quarter, putting him on par with Kobe Bryant in terms of most first quarters with at least 15 points over the last 25 seasons as […]

The Memphis Grizzlies have a legit franchise superstar on their hands in Ja Morant. He’s gotten better each season he’s been in the NBA and this year he has emerged as a legitimate MVP candidate. As of now, the numbers that Morant is putting up are on par with LeBron James in the 2009-10 season […]

Luka Doncic is one of the absolute best players in the NBA and a nightmare for opposing defenses. The Portland Trail Blazers were set to matchup against the Dallas Mavericks on Friday and Blazers head coach Chauncey Billups is tasked with trying to devise a game plan to slow Doncic down. Prior to the game, […]

While he might be seeing some competition from Indiana Pacers rookie Bennedict Mathurin, Orlando Magic rookie Paolo Banchero is easily the front runner for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year Award. Banchero only strengthened his case during Wednesday’s win against the Atlanta Hawks with his stat line of 20 points, six rebounds and six assists. […]

The New York Knicks are visiting the Chicago Bulls for two straight games on Wednesday and on Friday. For Knicks guard Derrick Rose, it’s a homecoming. Rose grew up in Chicago and was drafted by the Bulls with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft. Prior to Wednesday’s game, Rose spoke fondly of […]

Jaren Jackson Jr. missed the first 14 games of the season for the Memphis Grizzlies, but since his return he’s certainly been leaving his mark on the court. He’s been arguably the best defensive player on the Grizzlies roster and has a case for the top player on that end of the court in the […]