Playoff Preview RD1: Russell Conference

PLAYOFFS
#1 Nande? ReBuRonSAN (13-5) vs #4 Chunky Monkeys (9-9)
Nande has throttled the competition this year despite losing their first round pick, Gilbert Arenas, for the year. Having won four of their last five games, GM Mikey has shown that it's not just about the players but the man behind the scenes that make wins happen. The Monkeys have picked up steam by winning three of their last four and snuck into the playoffs on the heels of Hot Gems' epic collapse. While it would appear this matchup should favor Nande, the two teams have been playing even recently -- even if Nande won both regular season meetings handily. Nande will win REB, BLK, and PTS. They will lose FG%, FT%, and TO. So it comes down to 3PT, AST, and STL between these two teams. For the Monkeys that means Trevor Ariza might be the key here while Steven Jackson and Ron Artest would be needed to pace Nande in the STL and 3PT departments. Bigger question: Will Chris Paul return for a game or two? That could be Evan's best chance at an upset.

#2 Bayside Bombardiers (11-7) vs #3 100 Acre Wood Heffalumps (12-6)
The Bombardiers are limping into the playoffs a bit as they've suffered four losses in the last six weeks. Their two wins have been against non-playoff competition and they are quite far away from their undefeated January. Jose's Heffalumps actually have a better record than the Bombardiers but since they didn't win their division, they'll be playing an away week. The Heffas have been on absolute fire recently, with six straight wins before dropping one in the last week of the season. They have Kobe Bryant and Kevin Martin playing at full strength, and Jason Terry returns from losing an eye mid-week. Pierre's team will need everyone to step it up a few notches. A few more 40+ point nights from Luis Scola certainly wouldn't hurt. (Which shocked you more? Scola's 44 or Andre Miller's 52?) Unless Bayside has some more fight in them, we foresee a not so upset upset special here...


TOILET BOWL
#5 Hot Gems (9-9) vs #8 Human Amoebas (3-15)
The story heading into the back half of the season has to be the Gems (formerly the Golden Dragons) collapse into the Toilet Bowl. Just six weeks ago we said they were the third best team in the league. Five losses in six games later and they are playing for a top draft pick. What the hell happened? We can't tell because Dwayne Wade has been outrageous and it's not like there were too many injuries that befell this team. Unless you think losing The Truth for a few games really hurt Thien's team that much. As for upset candidate Human Amoebas, center Andray Blatche has been a revelation (24.5 PTS, 9.9 REB, 1.4 STL, 1.1 BLK) in his last fourteen games. With Monta Ellis back, the Amoebas could surprise. Of course, they lost to the Hot Gems 7-2 last week, but while playing eight less games. Can coach Eric-A steer his team to a big win this week?

#6 Morrie's Pogiboys (7-11) vs #7 Funk Coalition (5-12-1)
This one looks like a blowout. The Pogiboys have won five of their last six and have been on a tear. They waxed the Funk a few weeks ago and it doesn't look like they'll have a more difficult time in this matchup. Jon's team is on a four game slide and has lost Tony Parker for the fantasy season, center Joakim Noah is still out, and the trade for Al Jefferson was definitely a short term loss. Meanwhile, Alvin's team has Amare Stoudemire and Devin Harris (finally) playing like franchise guys and Hornet's shooting guard Marcus Thornton has added much needed scoring punch to the backcourt. Welcome to the second round of the Toilet Bowl Pogiboys.