Joakim Noah leads the NBA in rebounds and is no where to be found on the 2010 All-Star ballot.His teammate Brad Miller is on the ballot considering he is averaging 9 points and 4 rebounds.

Noah leads the league with 12.6 rebounds and second with 4.6 offensive rebounds per game. He is tied for seventh in blocks per game (2.0) and is averaging a career high 12.1 points per game The third year player has posted eight double-doubles and five straight while shooting 55% from the field.

Noah is up against Dwight Howard, Brook Lopez, Andrea Bargnani and Al Horford in the East but his scrappy play should keep him in the mix. Noah attributes his improvement to bulking up and league experience. On November 7th and 10th he recorded career highs in points (21) and rebounds (21).

The Knicks won a game this week! And The Answer may be coming to New York (so the question must be: Will a desperate team do anything to keep their fans interested?). But with last Friday’s loss, the Knicks established the worst 10-game start in franchise history. Things could be a lot worse, though; here are some other bad starts throughout history that may help them feel better about themselves: The Hindenburg blew up over New Jersey on the first of its 10 scheduled round-trips between Europe and the United States, killing 36 people; the Titanic hit an iceberg and sunk four days into its maiden voyage; William Henry Harrison died of a cold one month into his presidency in 1841; Wally Backman lasted four days as manager of the Arizona Diamondbacks before he was unceremoniously shown the door; Gilligan’s three-hour tour got off to an inauspicious start, getting stranded on a deserted island for 15 years, until the castaways were miraculously rescued, followed by them buying the island but almost losing it in an evil scam until they were helped out of the jam by the Harlem Globetrotters; Richie Cunningham’s brother Chuck on Happy Days appeared in only two episodes in the first season and was never heard from again; the Seattle Pilots existed for one measly year before moving to Milwaukee; and my career selling rodeo tickets over the phone lasted two days before I woke up and came to my senses. The lesson in all this for the Knicks is that they could explode in a fireball over New Jersey at any moment, sink to the bottom of the ocean taking Leonardo DiCaprio with them or be written out of the NBA altogether like Chuck Cunningham was. The best case scenario for the team: The Harlem Globetrotters come to the Garden and save their ass.

That takes care of the Knicks; now let’s look at the other local teams and we’ll put fun, convenient labels on them to boot:

An Efficient Machine

Devils: Their nine-game road winning streak (one short of tying the NHL record) and eight-game overall winning streak both ended on Monday night in Philly on Dave Schultz Night, as he was inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame. Is there any significance or special meaning to that? Schultz was the personification of the brawling 1970s, and holds the all-time single-season record for penalty minutes, with 472 in 1974-’75. Isn’t it about time that somebody started a Hockey Goon Hall of Fame? (Trivia: Schultz’s brother appeared in Slap Shot as an opposing player.) Jacques Lemaire and the Devils are the epitome of defensive hockey. They rank 21^st in goals per game, at 2.56, but their league-leading 2.07 goals against average has them in first place in the Atlantic Division (despite two losses in a row). Lemaire spent much of his playing days learning how to play defense by centering a line with Guy Lafleur and Steve Shutt, as he had to backcheck his way through many a game, while those two sharp shooters poured in goal after goal.

Surprise Team

Islanders: After getting off to a rocky start, the Islanders are one of the surprise teams of the NHL. That’s what hard work will do for you. John Tavares is living up to his billing (19 points), while Matt Moulson is turning into the find of the century (18 points). They’re going in the opposite direction than the Rangers, who they’ve caught in the standings, both totaling 23 points.

Sinking (But it’s a Long Season)

Rangers: The good times (7-1 start) are over (4-8-1 since). They can’t score, they’re not tough enough, they’re too easy to play against, they take too many penalties, they have too many defensive breakdowns and they’re shorthanded at center with no replacements in sight. Can they recover or is the makeup of the roster too much to overcome? Maybe John Tortorella should start crying. That seems to be the coaching technique du jour.

Sinking (But There’s Still Hope)

Giants: They had their best week in over a month, with Dallas, Philly and even Atlanta (if you’re starting to keep track of the wild card race) all losing. The Giants haven’t looked this good since they defeated Oakland. The key to their success, of course, was not actually playing a game. Their best strategy from here on out may be to not take the field at all. Can you decline the rest of your schedule the way you can decline a penalty and take your chances on your present record?

Sinking (And They’re Running Out of Time)

Jets: The Jets players are making their coach cry. But poor clock management, wasted timeouts, a plethora of turnovers and a defense that can’t make the big stop are making Jet fans cry. The team has the swagger part down; it’s just the beating the opponent part that’s troubling them. Mark Sanchez has a prepared statement all set to go for his next postgame press conference on why he entered a hot dog eating contest at halftime of their game up in New England on Sunday.

Disaster

Nets: The Nets are doing even worse than the Knicks, and are planning to jump back to the ABA before they have a chance to go 0-82. They’re hoping to put a schedule together and play against the Spirits of St, Louis, San Diego Conquistadors, Virginia Squires, Memphis Tams and Kentucky Colonels once again and regain their dominance in that defunct league. They play the Knicks on Saturday (if they can scrounge up enough players). Will the world explode if one of those teams actually wins the game?

1. Brandon Jennings is the real deal: In two games last week Jennings has scored 87 points with 14 assists. So far this season he is averaging 25 points (8th in the NBA), 5 assists, 4 rebounds and 1 steal. He also is shooting 49% from the field, 83% from the foul line and has 17 three-pointers. In a 8-cat league his fantasy value equals the 10th overall player.

2. Marc Gasol has been playing like his brother: Gasol  pulled down 16 rebounds last Saturday for the second time this season. He is averaging 14.8 points, 11.4 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. Also he is shooting 56% from the field and 78% from the line. He is looking like one of the biggest steals in the draft.

3. Danny Granger is showing why he was a top 4th pick: The Pacers upset the Celtics last Friday and Granger was a big part of that with 29 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 6 three-pointers. His rebounding has increase with Troy Murphy sidelined.

4. Chris Bosh is outscoring Lebron James and Dirk Nowitzki and out rebounding Dwight Howard:  Bosh is 4th in the NBA with 27.7 points per game. He is third in the NBA with 11.8 rebounds per game.

5 .Charlie Villanueva is heating up: Charlie V has has scored 25 or more points in three of his past five games.  It looks like his hamstring injury is over with and he should increase his 17 points per game.

Honorable mention: Chris Paul out with injury, Byron Scott fired, Knicks 1-8, Nets winless, Joakim Noah leads in the NBA with 12.2 rebounds per game, Kobe Bryant leads the NBA with 30.1 points per game.

Week 4 (Nov. 16-22)

Teams playing four games: Atlanta, Charlotte, Cleveland, Detroit, Houston, Indiana, Miami, Milwaukee, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Portland, Toronto
Teams playing three games: Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, Golden State, L.A. Clippers, L.A. Lakers, Memphis, New Jersey, New York, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Antonio, Utah, Washington
Teams playing two games: Minnesota

Darren Collison (Hornets)- With the injury to Chris Paul, Collison started at point guard and had 10 points, 4 steals and 2 steals in 25 minutes last Saturday. Paul could be out for about a month which increases the value of the rookie.

Marcus Thorton (Hornets)- Thorton should  receive extended minutes off the bench with the injury to Paul. Thorton has scored 32 points over in last two games including a career high 20 last Friday.

C.J. Watson (Warriors)- Watson scored a season high 19 points vs. the Knicks last Friday. He is shooting 51% from the field and averaging a steal per game.

Wes Matthews (Jazz)- Matthews has scored in double-figures in four of his past six games. Deron Williams has missed the past two games which is why he has been starting. The undrafted rookie has played well enough to receive extended minutes in the future.

Jamaal Tinsley (Grizzles)- Tinsley signed a one-year deal with the Grizzles on Saturday.  In his eight seasons in the NBA he has averaged 7 assists per game.

Honorable mention: Jordan Hill (Knicks), Earl Boykins (Wizards), Amir Johnson (Raptors)

The Yankees win the World Series and as soon as you can say the words “Johnny Damon wants a four-year contract” the rest of the New York–area teams go down the tubes. They went a combined 5-11 this past week. It must be a hangover. Are all the local teams riding on the Yankees’ coattails and going to all of their parties? It’s also possible that many of the area teams just stink. The Knicks and Nets went a combined 0-7 this week, and are 1-16 for the year, for instance. It was only the always-good Devils that skewed the combined record by going 4-0, and they barely count as a local team.

Here’s a day-by-day look at the past seven days.

Friday: The injury-riddled Nets lost to Philly, which kept them winless for the season, and the Devils beat the Islanders in a continuation of the New Jersey–Long Island War of 1801, in which it was so cold and icey out during the Battle of Massapequa that both sides just gave up after 15 minutes and vowed to resume fighting “when they invent the game of hockey and the Colorado Rockies move to New Jersey.” The big highlight of the evening was, of course, the Knicks game. And, as expected, the Knicks were humiliated by LeBron James and the Cavs. They fought back bravely at the end, but who were they kidding? The game was secondary, though, as the real story was: Will LeBron come to New York next year? The Knicks owe it to their fans after shipping Walt Frazier off to Cleveland as compensation for signing Jim Cleamons and forcing him to wear those yellow, orange and red stripey uniforms. Here’s an argument for both sides of the LeBron to New York or LeBron stays in Cleveland debate.

5 Reasons Why LeBron James Should Come to New York:

1. On his days off, he can go to Rudy’s and take advantage of the free hot dogs.

2. New York City is the talcum powder capital of the world.

3. He should to get out of town before Eric Mangini’s losing rubs off on him.

4. He can fulfill his lifelong dream of playing in a softball league on Randall’s Island during the summer.

5. Drew Carey will finally have to move out of his basement.

5 Reasons Why LeBron James Should Stay in Cleveland:

1. There’s better oompah music in Cleveland.

2. It’s closer to his vacation home in Toledo.

3. If he comes to New York, Braylon Edwards will have to be traded back to Cleveland.

4. The only Knick players worth having as teammates have long retired.

5. He gets to hang out with Willie Mays Hayes.

Saturday: The Rangers lost the game to Calgary and lost two centers to boot. Chris Drury was knocked upside the head with a cheap shot but his teammates just let it slide. The Knicks continued their losing ways, falling to Milwaukee, 102-97. “We got outplayed so badly in the first quarter, it really didn’t matter what happened after that,” stated David Lee. It’s looking like you can probably say that about the whole season. The Nets lost. Again. That Russian billionaire might want his money back at this point. The surging Devils beat Ottawa, 3-2, and the scrappy Islanders defeated Atlanta, 6-3. How fun would it be to have three top-notch hockey teams in the area? How good would it be to just have three hockey teams in the area? The Isles can’t go to Kansas City, can they?

Sunday: The Giants suffered a crushing loss. Sure, the Chargers have pretty cool helmets but that’s no excuse for the Jints to lose. Their defense is just not the same as previous seasons. Where have you gone, Steve Spagnuolo? Giants fans turn their lonely eyes to you. And the offensive game-calling was conservative, playing not to lose instead of to win. As my daughter once told me after a heated game of Go Fish, “YOU PLAY . . . TO WIN . . . THE GAME!”

Monday: The Knicks lost a heartbreaker to Utah. It was the Toney Douglas show, but he just couldn’t make that last shot. Will he soon be taking over for Chris Duhon? In better news, Brian Leetch, Lou Lamoriello and John Davidson were all enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Tuesday: There weren’t any local games, so nobody could lose on this day. Mark Teixeira and Derek Jeter won Gold Gloves today, though. No one can argue with the wizardry of Teixeira at first, and Jeter had one of his best seasons on defense. In the past, Sabremetricians were rolling over in their graves when Jeter would win a Gold Glove. And the ones that weren’t dead were rolling their eyes. And the ones that were wearing eye patches were shrugging their shoulders. And the ones who had their shoulders amputated due to too much shrugging, well, they have bigger problems than Jeter’s fielding. Speaking of big problems, a svelte Eddy Curry returned to practice. He lost weight easily once he realized the diet he was on for the past year wasn’t working. He had been trying one of those celebrity fad diets: James Gandolfini’s All Little Italy All the Time Diet.

Wednesday: The Knicks had a big lead but lost to Atlanta. Douglas had his second straight 20-plus point game, after being inserted into the starting lineup as the shooting guard. The Nets announced before their game vs. Philly that they would be changing their name to the Washington Generals, and on cue they went out and lost. The Devils just keep on winning, though, beating Anaheim. And the Islanders scored a late goal to send the game into OT, but ultimately lost in a marathon shootout to Washington. Both teams ran out of players so Guy Charron had to come out of retirement to score the game-winner for the Caps.

Thursday: The Devils moved into first place with their victory last night in Pittsburgh, which was their ninth straight road win to start the season. One more ties the NHL record. And the wrong-way Rangers keep going backwards. Marian Gaborik scored as usual, and they got two goals from the center position playing with their makeshift lineup, but bad defense, too many penalties and not enough effort did them in again.

Guards

Toney Douglas (Knicks)- Douglas scored a career high 23 points in 36 minutes vs. the Hawks on Wedesnday. He scored 16 and 21 points in his previous two games and has made nine three-pointers on the season.

Rudy Fernandez (Trailblazers)- Fernandez has played inconsistent minutes all season but has 13 three-pointers and is averaging 1.78  steals per game.

Kyle Lowry (Rockets)- Lowry is averaging 8 points, 5.12 assists and 1 steal off the bench. He has played in at least 24 minutes in every game but two this season and has three games of at least eight assists.

Honorable mention: Devin Brown (Hornets)

Forwards

Jared Dudley (Suns)- Dudley has scored in double figures in five of his past six games. He has 18 three-pointers on the season and is averaging 1.30 steals per game.

JJ Hickson (Cavs)- Hickson scored a season high 18 points in 31 minutes vs. the Heat yesterday. He is starting over Anderson Varejo which means he could provide a decent amount of points and rebounds.

Taj Gibson (Bulls)- Gibson has scored in double figures in three of his past four games. The rookie scored a career high 18 vs. the Raptors on Wednesday with 5 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks. His playing time has increased because ofthe injury to Tyrus Thomas.

Honorable mention: Ersan Ilyasova (Bucks)

Centers

Chuck Hayes (Rockets)- Hayes has been productive  as a starter averaging 7 rebounds, 2.12 steals , .75 blocks and shooting 60.5% from the field.

Nazr Mohammed (Bobcats)- Mohammed has 24 points, 13 rebounds, and 3 blocked shots over his past two games. His minutes will be inconsistent but is a cheap source for bounds and blocks.

Josh Powell (Lakers)- Powel has played in at least 20 minutes over his past three games. He has played well with 29 points and 14 rebounds in that span. With the injury to Pau Gasol he has received extended dplaying time.

Honorable mention: Shelden Williams (Celtics)

1. Head Coach Mike D’Antoni has assembled four different starting lineups in nine games.

2. Their opponents have scored over 100+ points in every game but one (Jazz)

3. Opponents are shooting 49% from the field and averaging 109 points per game  (2nd and 3rd worst in NBA)

4. NY is shooting 29% from three (27th in NBA)

5. Starting PG Chris Duhon is shooting 26% from the field and needs to be benched

6. Four of their eight eight losses have been by 12 points or more.

What i would like to see the Knicks do:

1) Start Toney Douglas, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, David Lee, Jordan Hill…Al Harrington has been effective off the bench

2) Play better defense

3) Buy out Jared Jeffries

Teams playing four games: Dallas, Golden State, Houston, L.A. Clippers, Minnesota, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Portland, Toronto, Utah
Teams playing three games: Atlanta, Boston, Bobcats, Chicago, Cleveland, Denver, Detroit, L.A. Lakers, Memphis, Miami, New Jersey, New York, Orlando, San Antonio
Teams playing two games: Indiana, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Washington

Guards

Ronald “Flip” Murray (Bobcats)- Murray made his season debut scoring 15 points and pulling down six rebounds last Friday. With the Bobcats struggling on offense Murray should receive consistent playing time and is a good source for threes.

Jose Juan Barea (Mavs)- Barea recorded a season high 12 assists against the Raptors last Saturday. He is averaging nine points in the season and has played in at least 23 minutes in four of the team’s six games.

Will Bynum (Pistons)- Bynum continues his strong play off the bench as he filled the stat sheet with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 8 assists and two steals on Sunday. He has played at least 28 minutes over his last four games because of an injury to Richard Hamilton.

Honorable mention: Thabo Sefolosha (Thunder)

Forwards

Josh Boone (Nets)- Boone started his first game of the  season last Saturday and played well with 8 points and 12 rebounds. He will continue to receive minutes in the rotation with Yi sidelined due to knee injury.

Louis Amundson (Suns)- If you are looking for some cheap rebounds and blocks then put this big on the watch list. Before yesterday’s game he was averaging 5.2 rebounds and 1.5 blocked shots in just 18 minutes per game. So far this season he has two games of at least 8 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.

Chase Budinger (Rockets)- The rookie is averaging 10.6 points in five games and has made eight three-pointers. He has played at least 21 minutes over  his past two games and is shooting 52% from the field in the season.

Honorable mention: Taj Gibson (Bulls)

Centers

Marcin Gortat (Magic)- Whenever the Magic blow someone out then expect Gortat to see at least 20 minutes of action. He has at least five rebounds in four games and is averaging near a block per game.

Ben Wallace (Pistons)- Wallace is playing like his old self with at least 9 rebounds in six games to start the season. He pulled down a season high 16 yesterday vs. the 76ers. He also provides steals and blocks but the ft% does not help.

DJ Mbenga (Lakers)-Mbenga has been a serviceable starter with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum out. Over his past two games he is averaging 12.5 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in 29 minutes per game.

Honorable mention: Zaza Pachulia (Hawks)

1. Joakim Noah and Roy Hibbert are fantasy forces: Noah is seventh in the league in rebounding with 11 per game. He is also sixth in blocks with 2.3 per game and is shooting 60% from the field. He is coming off a season high 21 points and enjoying a breakout season in his third year.

Hibbert is also averaging a double-double with 11 points and 10.4 rebounds. He is blocking 2.8 shots (second in the league) per game and is shooting 52% from the field.

Also Brendan Haywood: 11.3 points, 10.7 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game.

2. Tim Duncan is what we expected: Duncan has scored more than 20 points in just one game so far. While he has strong rebounding and blocks numbers he has played 30 or fewer minutes in three games. He is shooting 56% from the line and is not living up to his second round selection.

3. Chris Kaman is excelling: Kaman has scored at least 20 points in six straight games and  averaging 23 in the season. To go along with his scoring he is averaging 9.9 rebounds, 1.7 blocks 0.9 steals and shooting 58% from the field and 80% from the foul line. More importantly he is playing in a career high 39 minutes per game.

4. Tyreke Evans is the front runner for ROY: With the injury to Kevin Martin this allows Evans to play a bigger role in the offense. He scored a season high 32 points on Friday and 23 points yesterday. So far  he is averaging 16 points and 4 assists.

5. Gerald Wallace is having a strange fantasy season: Wallace leads the NBA in rebounding with 13.8 per game but is shooting 32% from the field. He also has just three assists in five games and has scored under 12 points in four games.

Other headlines: Rajon Rondo leading the NBA with over 3 steals per game Josh Smith leading the league in blocks, Marc Gasol second in rebounding, Suns 6-1, Heat 5-1, Nets 0-7

Here are five things worth noting in week one

1) Carmelo Anthony is playing like the MVP: Melo leads the NBA in scoring with 37.7 points per game and has scored at least 40 points in two straight games. He also has attempted 41 free throws and averaging 7 rebounds per game. The Nuggets are 3-0 including wins over Utah and Portland. If he continues this all season he moves into the first round next season.

2) Gilbert Arenas is back: Arenas had a season high 31 points vs. the Nets on Halloween. He also shot 69% from the field and attempted 12 free throws. In three games this season he is averaging 28 points, 6.7 threes, 2.3 threes and 1 steal per game. He was drafted in the late second-early third in most drafts which looks like a steal now.

3) Trevor Ariza and Aaron Brooks are fantasy gold: Ariza scored a season high 33 points last Saturday and has made 11 three-pointers in three games. He is averaging 23.3 points, 1.7 steals in 38 minutes per game. Brooks is averaging 21.7 points, 8.3 assists, 2.3 threes and 1.3 steals per game over 39 minutes. Both these players should see big minutes all season which will only help there stats. More importantly both players are shooting well from the field so far.

4) Brandon Jennings is already becoming an elite fantasy PG: Based on his first two games it’s seem hard to believe the Knicks drafted Jordan Hill over him. Jennings first game almost resulted in a triple double with 19 points, 9 assists and 9 rebounds. He followed that game with 24 points, 3 three-pointers and 3 steals.

5) Chris Paul is making the case again why he goes before Lebron James: James is having a strong start to the season but Paul has stepped up his game. Cp3 is averaging 26 points and 1.7 threes per game which would be career highs. His assists and steals are down but he is shooting 65% from the field.

Other stories: Devin Harris already out at least a week, Pau Gasol has missed three games already, Chris Bosh is second in scoring and rebounding, Steve Nash is leading the NBA with 14 assists per game, Channing Frye is averaging 19.7 points per game, Greg Oden leads the league with 2.75 blocks per game, Boston and Miami a combined 7-0, Nets, Clippers, Clippers and Kings all did not have a win.