Playoff Preview RD1: 2013

Russell Conference
#1 NJ All-Stars (15-4) vs #4 100 Acre Wood Heffalumps (9-8-2)
Once again, three teams from the Thundercats division made the playoffs. Last season's number four seed, NJ All-Stars, has ascended the throne and emerged with the regular season crown, as well as the odds on favorite to take the whole thing. They shocked the world by making the Finals last season, and the proved it wasn't a fluke as they could be headed there again. There's a sliver of a chance for Heffalumps to pull a big upset here, as they beat the All-Stars just three weeks ago -- winning BLK by four and TO by two. Taking down the incredible small forward trio of Lebron James, Paul George, and Luol Deng would be a handful for anybody however. Despite being bottom five in moves this season, Eddie has proven that it's not about quantity but quality. They have ridden Ryan Anderson, J.J. Hickson, and the Jose Calderon and Kyle Lowry point guard duo to victory after victory. There's not a lot of weaknesses on this team, the main hope here is that LBJ gets hurt.

The thing is, J's Heffalumps finished up 4-1 after a seven game mid-season swoon, and they've got Al Horford playing on fire with 21.0 PTS, 11.3 REB, 1.4 BLK, 1.3 STL over the past month, and nice contributions from frontcourt mates Kenneth Faried and Omer Asik. The Heffalumps haven't made many moves this season either -- just thirteen -- and their top seven guys have all played about 50+ games. The problem is, their most important cog, Kobe Bryant is day to day at this crucial time. The Bryant versus James matchup would pull in high ratings but Kobe may not make the high noon call time. If he can't go, the Heffalmps have no chance, and it's on to the next round for our favorites, the NJ All-Stars!

#2 So Buckets (10-9) vs #3 Chunky Monkeys (11-7-1)
In a strange seeding twist, the Monkeys are playing their week on hostile territory, despite having more wins than So Buckets. For So Buckets, Josh's sophomore campaign has been much better than his first one, and he's got the Voltron division crown to prove it. Any hopes of a long playoff run were dashed though, as team leader Kyrie Irving has hit the injured list and won't be making a return. With Kyrie out, plus Pau Gasol still sitting in street clothes, So Buckets are relying on Jarrett Jack, Andre Iguodala, Evan Turner, Nene, and Larry Sanders to lead the way. Um, that might not work so well. The good news is that Josh's team is clearly on the rise and with Irving back to lead the way in 2014, the So Buckets will look to make some more noise in their third season.

With a free pass to the next round, Chunky Monkeys should look ahead to next week, perhaps to a rematch of last year's conference finals. They started the season off 8-2 but only went 3-5-1 the rest of the way. Obviously, that's not great. They are getting a monster year from James Harden (26.3 PTS, 5.9 AST, 1.9 STL, 2.3 3PT), and a breakout season from Jrue Holiday. The small ball lineup features a slew of other guards, led by Chris Paul, but we're wondering if there's enough big men here to fill up the frontcourt, as Andrea Bargnani is out for the season and Byron Mullens is riding the pine. We like David West and his wonderful 17.3 PTS, 7.7 REB, 1.0 STL/BLK this season, but we're not sure Markieff Morris is the answer at the other spot. There are literally no healthy center eligibles on this team aside from Mullens, so that could cost Evan some games if he's not careful. Still, this week should be an easy walk in the park versus the heavily undermanned So Buckets.

Chamberlain Conference
#1 Sour Snails (14-5) vs #4 Fat Jubas (10-9)
The Snails are back baby! The former champs slipped into the Toilet Bowl last season, but emerged with Rookie of the Year Damian Lillad, and am now fully prepped for a championship run. Trieu's squad has won seven in a row and smoked the competition as they made a huge push to take the Silverhawks crown. By shifting Kevin Love for red hot Monta Ellis and disgruntled DeMarcus Cousins, they Snails announced their intention to re-enter contender status. Then they got Russell Westbrook a few weeks ago and they now sport the best guards in the league with Westbrook, Lillard, Stephon Curry, and Ellis -- not to mention sharp shooter Klay Thompson. If the frontcourt of Cousins, semi-returned Andrew Bogut, and recent double double machine Kosta Koufos can support them, the Snails could be a juggernaut.

Defending champ Fat Jubas are back in the playoffs, which is a good thing, but they've had an uneven year -- including a five game losing streak in WK4-8. Steve Nash has been terrible all year, averaging 6.8 AST on the season, but if Kobe Bryant stays out, Nash could be back to double digit assists at just the right time. The Jubas are in need of a rebuild, but the roster still is clearly competitive behind versatile Nicolas Batum, mercurial Tyreke Evans, and the defensive prowess of Marc Gasol and Kevin Garnett. Gordon Hayward is on his late season tear and his scoring output has been greatly needed. For Jubas to win this week, and to pull a big upset, they'll need to counter Sour Snails brand of semi-small ball. We see a chance though, as Eric-L's team is strong exactly where the Snails are vulnerable. This is clearly the game of the week, a matchup between champions past and present!

#2 LA Buffy (13-6) vs #3 Squirtle Squad (12-6-1)
In a dogfight for this season's Transformers crown, Squirtle Squad almost caught Buffy during the last week of the regular season. Instead, Buffy captures the division title but does so while swooning behind five losses in their past seven games -- including a recent WK17 loss to Squirtle. Roger's team tore out of the gates incredibly fast at 11-1 and looked like world beaters, but they fell hard and fast.  Jeremy Lin led the team in games played, followed by Carlos Boozer. Who would have thought those two would be such a big part of Buffy's winning season? Beyond that, Tim Duncan has sipped from the fountain of youth this season, averaging 17.1 PTS, 9.8 REB, 2.7 BLK and somehow shooting 80.6 FG% after being a career craptastic charity striper. Jameer Nelson has been quietly very productive this seaon, while Chris Bosh has also been quite efficient.

All that could be naught though, as Squirtle Squad is red hot heading into the playoffs. They have gone 8-1 in recent games and am primed for a deep run. I know we said that last season, when Brian's team was the number one seed in the Chamberlain Conference, but this could be their year! Deron Williams and Ty Lawson are humming, and if rookie Bradley Beal can quickly regain his scoring touch, he'll help mitigate the huge step back that Joe Johnson took this season. Adding double double terror Nikola Vucevic and Brook Lopez in a recent trade will bolster the front line of Serge Ibaka and Greg Monroe, and late season free agent find Tobias Harris (15.8 PTS, 7.3 REB, 1.3 BLK, 1.2 3PT, 1.0 STL) could be just the thing to push the Squirtles into a championship round, finally.