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NBA Week Nine Observations

Posted: 28th December 2009 by Hot Stove New York in NBA
1. David Lee is playing like an All-Star. Lee is playing his best basketball of his career this month, averaging 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and 1.1 steals. He is shooting 62 percent from the field and 83 percent from the foul line. He is 12th in the East in scoring (18.4)ùmore than Gerald Wallace,áPaul Pierce, Dwight Howard, and Mo Williams. Lee is fifth in boards (10.8), which is more ...

Fantasy Basketball: Week 10 Pickups

Posted: 28th December 2009 by Hot Stove New York in NBA
á Week 10 (Dec. 28-Jan. 3) Teams playing four games: Charlotte, Cleveland, Indiana, L.A. Lakers, Minnesota, New York, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Sacramento, San Antonio Teams playing three games: Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Golden State, Houston, Memphis, Miami, Milwaukee, New Jersey, New Orleans, Orlando, Phoenix, Portland, Toronto, Utah, Washington Teams playing two games: Detroit, L.A. Clippers Tony Allen (Celtics): Allen has started the past two ...

The New York Week That Was (Comebacks and Christmas)

Posted: 24th December 2009 by Hot Stove New York in NHL
Christmas is all about comebacks and overcoming adversity against all odds. OK, itÆs really nothing about comebacks and overcoming adversity against all odds, but is about love, peace on earth, goodwill toward men, opening presents, then drinking all day long and passing out underneath the tree as an ornament falls and pierces one of your eyeballs, sending you screaming down the street bloody,ánaked and in horrifying pain. Ah, Christmas. One of the ...

A New Day Dawning for the Rangers?

Posted: 23rd December 2009 by Hot Stove New York in NHL
After John TortorellaÆs tirade heard round the world last Wednesday night, the Rangers have won three straight games. ôNo entitlementö is the new philosophy in Ranger Land. The first step was to scratch Wade Redden for two games. He took it like a man. Well, actually he didnÆt. He took it like a four-year-old. ôWhy am I being singled out?ö was his response. The answer is: YouÆre not being singled out; ...

NBA Fantasy Basketball: Week 9 Pickups

Posted: 20th December 2009 by Hot Stove New York in NBA
Beno Udrih (Kings)ùUdrih should be owned in most leagues but rush to pick him up if he is not. Udrih is averaging 14 points, 4 assists and is shooting 53% from the field in 30 minutes per game. He is is making 1.3 threes per game and .9 steals. Kyle Lowry (Rockets)ùLowry scored a season high 26 points vs. the Thunder last Friday. He has 21 assists over his past ...

NBA: Week Eight Observations

Posted: 20th December 2009 by Hot Stove New York in NBA
á 1. Joakim Noah is not slowing down: Noah had his second 20+ rebound game of the season this past week. That game was against the Lakers where he also had six blocked shots and 14 offensive rebounds. Even though he is struggling from the field this month, his free throw attempts (3.6) and FT percentage (75) are both up in December. His 2.2 blocks this month are a season high and ...

The New York Week That Was (It’s a Wonderful Life)

Posted: 18th December 2009 by Hot Stove New York in NHL
On Saturday night I was flipping between another Rangers loss and the Christmas classic ItÆs a Wonderful Life . Of course you canÆt help but wonder, ôWhat if George BaileyÆs situation happened to me? What if I were able to see the consequences of never being born?" That thought lasted about a minute and a half, because everybodyÆs life would surely be better. My wife would have been able to marry a more ...

New York Rangers Stuck in No-Man’s-Land

Posted: 16th December 2009 by Hot Stove New York in NHL
If only the Rangers could play against themselves. They could finally score more than two goals, what with their defense as soft and holey as Swiss cheese. They wouldnÆt have to worry about being manhandled, as there would be no hitting at all in the game. The offense only occasionally crashes the net, so the defense wouldnÆt have to contemplate clearing out the crease, which they never do ...

Henrik Lundqvist Bears the Burden of Carrying His Team

Posted: 10th December 2009 by Hot Stove New York in NHL
Whether he likes it or not, the only chance the New York Rangers have of winning these days is if Henrik Lundqvist plays like Superman. The team has been offensively challenged most of the season and defensively challenged as well, so with that going for them, they need Lundqvist to be perfect, which is of course, impossible. LetÆs look at the last three games. They went up to Buffalo and ...

New York Giants Rise From the Dead To Defeat Dallas Cowboys

Posted: 7th December 2009 by Hot Stove New York in NFL
The Giants-Broncos game last week will forever be known as The Year the Giants Ruined Thanksgiving. Every time I bit into one of my turkey sandwiches in the days that followed I tasted the ineptitude of the Giants performance. When I dug into a meal of leftovers, all I could think of was the zombie-like, going-through-the-motions play of the Giants in Denver that night (do zombies go through the motions?). Would I ever ...