Playoff Preview RD1: Chamberlain Conference

PLAYOFFS
#1 Sour Snails (16-1-1) vs #4 Fat Jubas (9-8-1)
When the Jubas walk out on to the floor each night, the run into Lebron James, Josh Smith, Stephen Curry, Aaron Brooks, Gerald Wallace and recent super-star Darren Collison. OMG is probably the right term here. There's a reason why the Snails are the top dogs. GM Trieu built a developed a ridiculous team. Led by LBJ, J-Smoove and Crash - the top 3 picks have all performed like first rounders. Then add on super rooks Stephen Curry and Most-Improved Player Aaron Brooks - you got yourself the best starting 5 this side of the CBA (what great wall?? we have sour snails here!) For the Jubas, its a rock solid team led by a group of veterans. Their heyday was probably the 92 Olympics but the Jubas are no slouch. They gave the Snails a run for their money in their last match up. However, this is the playoffs. Look for the Snails to cruise on by the Jubas.

#2 Ko-re-a! (12-6) vs #3 Half Man Half ImAsian (11-7)
A great matchup featuring two rock solid teams. The Halfies are led by super stud KD and solid complementary players. Players like Russell Westbrook, Rip Hamilton, Andrew Bogut, and Kirk Hinrich might not strike fear for anyone but together, this team plays extremely well. Extremely balanced with no overt weaknesses, the team has had a solid run this season. The Korean crazed KO-RE-A! team, its about the wily vets. Outside of Dwight Howard, KOREA features Jason Kidd, Manu Ginobily, Vinsanity, Antawn Jamison and J-Rich. All 5 have performed extremely well this season - so much for those creaky knees. Even Big Z and Yao Ming are on the roster! Wow. This match up will be a toss up ... but we see KO-RE-A pulling this one out.


TOILET BOWL
#6 LA Buffy (8-10) vs #7 Jedi Knights (4-12-2)
Disappointment. There's no other way to describe the Buffy season. After a draft centered around veterans like Tim Duncan and Elton Brand, Buffy was projected to be a solid playoff team with unparalleled leadership. Roger then decided to further bolster the current line up by moving Brandon Roy and a few high flying projects for Danny Granger, Memo Okur and the magician, Randy Foye (because he disappeared so fast). While the team has had some wins including a monster season by Boozer, the roster has been very up and down. The Buffy is now focused clearly on winning the rights to John Wall/Evan Turner. On the flipside, the Jedi Knights have just had a very disappointing year. Besides the German bomber in Dirk Nowitzki, the team has had very little support on its roster. High risk, high reward players like Jose Calderon and Ronnie Brewer were really just high risk. The team does have a decent core of 3-4 solid keepers but will certainly look to rebuild next year. We look for Buffy to move on to the next round in this one.

#5 Squirtle Squad (8-10) vs #8 Fobstars (4-13-1)
Despite the presence of a few stars including Melo, ROY candidate Tyreke Evans, and newly acquired Joe Johnson, Squirtle couldn't find enough consistency to make the playoffs. Anthony Randolph turned out to be a bust, so did Blake Griffin and Baron Davis. Guys will be back but all next year. This will definitely be a team to watch next year once everything gets healthy. On the other side, the Fobstars are really just fobs and not so much stars. There are some good pieces here like Chris Bosh, Chauncey Billups, Rashard Lewis and Zach Randolph but the team will really look to rebuild this off- season. Age will be an issue so look for the team to look closely at the rookie crop next year. Melo, alone, might be too much for Fobstar - add on Ty-Ty and JJ, its all over. Squirtle moves on to the next round!