SIX QUICK HOOPS THOUGHTS 1. J.R. SMITH (Knicks): I look at the mess in NY and the loss of Tyson Chandlers Defense and Rebounding is huge, this man is not performing anywhere near the level he did as the NBA 6th Man of the Year. Look at his numbers (11.7ppg / 33 FG + 29 3 PT PCT) this season. Not good at all. This is a team with multiple problems, but after the Knicks gave him the contract extension he doesnt look like hes very locked in. You cant count on guys like this 2. TIM DUNCAN (Spurs): How about one for the old guys! He put up 23 points and 21 rebounds on Monday vs. Atlanta, oldest guy to do the 20/20+. He stays in terrific shape and another example of that fact was this game. He epitomizes the savvy veteran who knows how to play to his strengths each night and conserve energy for the defining plays. As long as he stays upright, San Antonio will be in the hunt. He has gotten off to a bit of a slow start but is rounding into shape as the season goes along. 3. TREY BURKE (Jazz): Theyve been waiting patiently for their first round pick out of Michigan to come back from injury. He has arrived—21 points and six assists vs. Houston. Utah has had poor production at that spot this season and Burke will get every opportunity to prove that hes going to be the lead guard in Salt Lake City. There are so many terrific point guards in the league right now; you must have a guy you can trust to run your team. Hes a talented scorer/shooter, now he has to prove that he can run a pro team. 4. RYAN ANDERSON (Pelicans): Tough break losing Anthony Davis to a hand Injury but coach Monty Williams has to love having Anderson back. One of the best shooting step out 4s in the League, loved him in New Jersey and Orlando. Hell compete on the boards for you as well and do it within the flow of the offense quite efficiently. Huge to have that floor spacer to set up the spacing and driving lanes for your guards. He does that at a high level, good to see him back. 5. LAWRENCE FRANK (Nets): The former Head Coach of the Pistons and Nets is now out as Jason Kidds top lieutenant. Strange news hearing of his reassignment. I had a nice chat with him last Tuesday night in Toronto and I thought he was a great addition for Kidd. They had a close relationship and now it seems to have come apart under the expectations and pressure of the spotlight. Coaching is a tough business and the most important factor is having everyone on the same page. Obviously, there were differences on philosophy. Rarely do you see a move like this though in season, its very odd. Frank is a good coach, Im sure hell be back on the sidelines down the line. Coaching is a wacky profession. Things in Brooklyn are at the point of dysfunction. 6. WARRIORS FANS: Ive just witnessed an amazing comeback here at Golden State by the Warriors-theyre a very good team. Conversely, I just saw a collapse by the Raptors that has me speechless. This is the absolute lowest point of this season for Dwane Caseys squad. Forget the Basketball and X + Os for a moment, these fans here are awesome, magnificent, terrific and whatever superlative you want to throw out there. For those of you who watched the game you know what I mean. On an early December Tuesday night when many arenas are a morgue this was magical. They stayed behind their team and this is what folks who claim to be basketball fans will agree with me wholeheartedly about. A supportive and passionate crowd does pump a team up and make a HUGE difference. It happened this evening. Wow! Custom Nike Tampa Bay Rays Jerseys . Mohamed Diame put West Ham ahead in the 47th minute before goals by substitutes Carlton Cole and Joe Cole condemned Fulham to a fifth straight defeat, keeping the visitors in the bottom three. Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys Outlet . Sopoaga hit the upright with his first shot at goal from 15 metres. He then kicked nine goals in succession -- two conversions and seven penalties -- before being replaced in the 62nd minute, three points short of the Highlanders record for most points in a match. https://www.customnikebaseballjerseys.com/ .6 seconds left to give the Toronto Raptors a 92-89 victory over the Boston Celtics in an exhibition game Wednesday night. Cheap Custom Nike Baseball Jerseys .Brazil midfielder Ricardo Goulart scored the winner in the 50th minute to give the defending champion a four-point advantage in the standings over second-place Sao Paulo, which beat rival Palmeiras 2-0. Custom Nike New York Yankees Jerseys . City, fielding a depleted team having already qualified, was twice pegged back by the plucky Czech champions but substitute Negredo tapped home in the 78th minute and Dzekos header made sure of victory in the 89th. The result kept City three points behind Bayern Munich ahead of their meeting in Germany in two weeks.DENVER - Patrick Roy returned to the Colorado Avalanche to restore the glory years he helped forge, and hes enjoying the ride with a young team playing at a high level. Nick Holden scored two goals, Ryan OReilly had a goal and an assist and the Avalanche rallied to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 6-3 on Sunday night. Semyon Varlamov stopped 31 shots and Erik Johnson and Tyson Barrie also scored for the Avalanche, who have won two straight. Roy helped lead Colorado to two Stanley Cup titles in 1996 and 2001 as the goaltender with a dynamic offence in front of him. Now as the coach, hes bringing back memories of that era. "You ask me what reminds me of the Avalanche of the past, thats the type of hockey we were playing," he said. "And thats the way were playing right now." Those championship teams also featured goal-scoring defencemen, something lacking from last years squad. Colorados blue-liners had just five goals in 48 games a year ago. The Avalanche got four goals from its defence Sunday, including Johnsons first in his return from a two-game suspension for a slash on New York Islanders centre Frans Nielsen three weeks ago. "Its tough sitting out, and to be able to come back and contribute and help the team win is fun," he said. Johnson scored the go-ahead goal at 16:05 of the third when he pinched in to steal the puck and then sent a low shot past 6-foot-7 goalie Ben Bishop from along the boards. "I know (Bishop) from St. Louis, and I shot at him a lot," Johnson said. "Hes obviously a big guy and he doesnt give you a lot of room. Sometimes, big guys like that, you throw it at their feet and they dont see it." Nate Thompson had two goals, Tom Pyatt also scored and Bishop finished with 29 saves for the Lightning, who had four penalties in the last 21:28 of the game. "The penalties killed us," centre Alex Killorn said. "Six minutes where we didnt play in their zone." Holden tied it wiith a power-play goal at 5:12 of the third.ddddddddddddIt was Colorados sixth power-play goal in the past three games. Holden notched his second two-goal game when he scored into an empty net with 53 seconds remaining. Paul Stastny added another with 6.3 seconds left. "This is a tough one," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "Tied game with under five minutes to go. I thought we were getting points from this one. We let them slip out of our hands." Thompson has eight goals, and four of them have come in a pair of two-goal games. He got his first one Sunday when he beat Varlamov on the short side 6:40 into the second period to tie it at 2. Later in the period, he sent a wrister at Varlamov that settled in the crease, and then he skated through to knock it in at 17:37. The Lightning missed an opportunity to move into second place in the Atlantic Division and third in the Eastern Conference after Colorados late-game eruption. "I think were going through a little bit of a rough patch," Thompson said. "A couple breakdowns there at the end and they end up in the back of the net, unfortunately." Colorado stayed within three points of St. Louis in the Central Division with the win. The Blues beat Phoenix on Sunday. The game was scoreless for most of the first period despite plenty of chances. Lightning centre Vladislav Namestnikov had two of them and Colorado centre Matt Duchene was stopped on a breakaway. Tampa Bay finally cashed in when Pyatt scored at 16:49 of the first. Barrie tied it 30 seconds later with a shot between Bishops legs, and OReilly gave Colorado a 2-1 lead with his 23rd of the season 1:42 later. NOTES: Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon finished with two assists. ... Tampa Bay C Valtteri Filppula missed his fourth straight game with a non-displaced fracture in his right ankle. ... MacKinnon extended his points streak to 11 games. Its the longest streak by a rookie since Stastny had one of 20 games during the 2006-07 season. ' ' '