It's the best time of the year and I'm back!

It's playoff time already.. and I've been so busy that I only start sharing my thoughts and it's already the 2nd Round. What is up with that?!

Anyway, just some thoughts on a couple of things before I get into the 2nd Round of the Playoffs.

1. Fantasy Basketball

I won 2 leagues this year. Better than my previous seasons, and considering I have less leagues too. So, a hgiher percentage probably comes from being able to manage each team better since I had 4 to 6 teams in previous years. Now, for the Fantasy All-NBA First Team:

PG - Dwyane Wade
SG - Kevin Durant
SF - LeBron James
PF - Chris Bosh
C - Andrew Bogut (Surprised? He was more efficient and delivered somewhat similar numbers.)

2. NBA Awards

The list of the regular season awards have been released and I pretty much agree with everything except ROY. Brandon Jennings should've gotten the award simply for winning, considering there are only 2 lottery picks on the Bucks (Bogut and Jennings), compared to Tyreke's Kings (Thompson, Evans, Hawes). But as a recap, here are the awards:

MVP: LeBron James
DPOY: Dwight Howard
MIP: Aaron Brooks
COY: Scott Brooks
6MOY: Jamal Crawford
ROY: Tyreke Evans

3. All NBA Teams

Here are my predictions for the All-NBA Teams. For those asking, I do value winning.

1st Team: Wade, Bryant, James, Durant, Howard
2nd Team: Nash, D. Williams, Nowitzki, Stoudamire, Gasol
3rd Team: Rondo, J. Johnson, Anthony, G.Wallace, Bogut

D 1st Team: Rondo, Bryant, James, J. Smith, Howard
D 2nd Team: Kidd, Billups, Duncan, Hoford, Bogut

R 1st Team: Curry, Jennings, Evans, Collison, Blair

4. Playoffs 2nd Round

East
1. Cleveland v. 4. Boston

I, like many a basketball fan, hope that The Truth, KG, Ray and Rondo can muster up enough fight to make this competitive. We know their veterans smarts and championship swagger can push the Cavs every game, but the question is if it can actually translate to wins. And as for LeBron's elbow, the Celts will hammer that thing so that he'll feel it, but he's strong enough to survive for this round. Maybe we'll see how much it hurts next round.. Cavs in 6.

2. Orlando v. 3. Atlanta

Maybe the best thing that happened to the Hawks is that they hit 7 games with the Bucks. It's been a week since the Magic have played, and maybe they cooled off considering they were playing so well even if Howard wasn't scoring. Plus, the Hawks got Crawford on track. They might stretch Orlando, but I still think that we'll be seeing a rematch... Magic in 7.

West
1. LA Lakers v. 5. Utah

For some strange reason, everybody thinks that the Lakers are more vulnerable this year as the hunger isn't a strong any more. This I think is sort of true, especially on the support guys (Brown, Farmar, etc.), but Kobe, Gasol and Fisher still have it. Unfortunately for Utah though, they're missing a lot of players and Deron and Boozer are dinged up some way. The Lakers will beat down on the Jazz and eventually squeeze out in the series... Lakers in 6.

3. Phoenix v. 7. San Antonio

As a Suns fan, it would only be appropriate that the road to the championship would go through the Spurs (and eventually, if ever, LA). These two teams have been contrasts of each other ever since Charles Barkley and company shot themselves over David Robinson in 1993. For the previous match-ups t's been Offense vs Defense, Flash/Fancy vs Fundamental. This year though, the Suns have improved their defense and the Spurs have more scoring. Pretty interesting ain't it? So, as a fan, I will not jinx the series by making a prediction... 7 games.

Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 20

Stephen Curry (GSW) - 3.0 3FGM, 20.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.3 APG, 2.3 SPG [2]

Manu Ginobili (SAS) - 2.8 3FGM, 21.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.8 APG, 1.8 SPG [1]

Kevin Durant (OKC) - 2.0 3FGM, 32.0 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 2.3 APG [8]

David West (NOH) - 28.8 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.3 SPG [2]

Andrew Bogut (MIL) - 19.3 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 2.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 3.7 BPG [4]

All-Star Thoughts & Fantasy NBA Players of the Week 16

For the past few years, All-Star Saturday Night has been a success. There was Josh Smith over Kenyon Martin in a Dominque jersey. Nate Robinson with Spud Webb and his Krypto-Nate garb. Gerald Green with his cupcake. Dwight Howard with the sticker, Superman cape and Phone Booth.

Now, we all know that the crown jewel of All-Star Saturday Night is the Slam Dunk Contest. This year, that gem was pretty much a bust, pwet ng baso. Yes, Derozan and Robinson did come up with good dunks (off the side of the backboard-windmill to the reverse side and off the backboard-reverse double-pump, respectively), but the overall lack of competitiveness and creativity in the field took away all the excitement the other events generated.

Simply put, the Slam Dunk Competition needs people who can bring in the hype and even if they fail, at least the "upset" tag can be used for the result. LeBron, You've been the best basketball player (Real and Fantasy) this year, but I am blaming you.


The Director
Louis Williams (PHI) - 1.5 3FGM, 21.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 4.5 APG, 1.5 SPG [2]

The Skywalker
Stephen Curry (GSW) - 7.0 3FGM, 36.0 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 13.0 APG, 3.0 SPG [1]

The Triggerman
LeBron James (CLE) - 1.5 3FGM, 32.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 12.0 APG, 1.5 SPG [9]

Captain Lionheart
Lamarcus Aldridge (POR) - 18.5 PP, 10.5 RPG, 2.0 APG, 2.5 SPG, 1.5 BPG [1]

Tower of Power
Andrew Bogut (MIL) - 19.5 PPG, 13.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 0.5 SPG, 3.5 BPG [2]