Basketball Playoff Preview

#4 Thursdays with Morris vs. #5 Father Abraham

The two teams each won a meeting in the season series, and their week 10 matchup was a tie. The season series was tied 13-13-1.

News and Notes, TWM

Team is in it's best shape of the year, after losing a number of stars to injury at various points of the season. LeBron James and Chris Paul are playing out of their mind right now. Corey Maggette and Brandon Roy have developed into solid contributers down the stretch, and a now-healthy TJ Ford is contributing as well. Matt Carroll has continued to benefit from a banged up Bobcats lineup with increased PT. The Mavericks, Terry and Howard, while great, have to be a concern in the playoffs with Dallas' impending clinch. Team is healthy.

News and Notes, FA

Despite an 8-1 win over Big Tuna in week 20, stumbled into the playoffs via a 2-6-1 defeat at the hands of Cellar Dwellars. The Milwaukee Bucks have a loaded playoff schedule, and FA has three of them on the roster, though Mo Williams has gotten progressively less productive since the return of Michael Redd. Amare Stoudamire and Andre Igudola are playing extremely well this season, while Redd is still a scoring machine. The play of Dwight Howard has slipped of late, but he's still a solid bet for a double double almost every playoff game.

Total Games Advantage: Even

Tale of the Tape

FG%: The top two shooting teams take the court here. No one on Viano's squad shoots worse than 41%, whereas Jamaal Tinsley is the 39% outlier for Souzek. Advantage: None

FT%: Matt Carroll shoots a stellar 91%, leading seven Morris' above 80%. Ben Wallace is just an albatross in this category. Advantage: Viano

3PTM: Michael Redd and Shane Battier make 2 per game, with Tim Thomas able to hit from distance in streaks. Jason Terry is the only standout for Viano. Advantage: Souzek

PTS: Just about everyone on Andy's team can score. Souzek has at least two guys who sturggle to get into double digits. LeBron James is liable to go off and score 40+ any night. Advantage: Viano

OREB: Despite their FT deficiencies, Ben Wallace and Dwight Howard are phenomonal rebounders. They have a slight edge over Elton Brand and Carlos Boozer. Amare Stoudamire breaks the tie. Advantage: Souzek

DREB: Really there's no major difference between the oreb numbers and dreb numbers. Advantage: Souzek

AST: TJ Ford and Chris Paul are playing at an extremely high level and are elite assist men. Mo Williams and Jamaal Tinsley are good, but don't measure up. Advantage: Viano

STL: Andre Igudola is a premier steals guy in the league, but his pace is about the same as Chris Paul's. With the top guys about even, LeBron's abilities break the tie. Advantage: Viano

BLK: Despite owning just one consistent shot blocker, Viano won 12 of his 21 games in blocks this year. Howard, Wallace and Stoudamire won't let that happen this game. Advantage: Souzek

#3 Big Tuna vs. #6 Slippery When Wet

After a tie in their first meeting, Big Tuna swept the second meeting. Drew won the season series 13-4.

News and Notes, BT

Despite the volaility of Ron Artest, this is a stable and consistent team, led by stable and consistent Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. After missing the first two months of the season, Pau Gasol has been a top-15 player for most of the season. Leandro Barbosa has been a fantastic waiver pickup, as the 6th man can both fill it up and dish it out. Acquired steady Kirk Hinrich for the stretch run as well. The weak spots on this team can all rebound; Dampier, Haslem and Kaman.

News and Notes, SWW

Had to cut ties with David Lee, which hurts former rebounding advantage. To make up for it, has Al Jefferson who is playing amazing right now. His Pistons are slumping, but both Rip Hamilton and Chauncey Billups have a solid track record and can thus be relied on from this point forward. Gilbert Arenas, Paul Pierce and Carmelo Anthony have the perimeter on lockdown. Is similar to 1st round opponent in a number of ways; both teams were very timid when it came to making moves this year, and both are built around height.

Total Games Advantage: Wolfman +3

FG%: Shaq and Eddy Curry both make a ton of their shots, and while it's not a deficient category for Drew, Baron just has an edge. Advantage: Baron

FT%: Even though Shaq's incredible fantasy mediocrity is furthered along by his miserable FT%, Chauncey Billups and Gilbert Arenas shoot in the upper 80s. Advantage: Baron

3PTM: Gilbert Arenas is the top three point man in the VUFSA, while now healthy Antawn Jamison and Paul Pierce pad the total. Wolfman competes here, but Mike Miller, Rafer Alston and Leandro Barbosa fall short. Advantage: Baron

PTS: Pierce, Arenas and Anthony give Baron not only the consistent edge, but the potential for explosion, something Drew's leading scorers Tim Duncan and Pau Gasol do not give. Advantage: Baron

OREB: Al Jefferson and Zydraunas Ilgauskas both grab more than three oreb per game, but Drew counters with 6 players over two per game. Advantage: Drew

DREB: This is where KG, Duncan and Gasol really make the difference, just overpowering teams with superior size. Advantage: Drew

AST: Even though Drew doesn't have an elite assist guy, Baron's assists are just dreadful. Advantage: Drew

STL: Ron Artest and Rafer Alston are elite, while Barbosa, Hinrich, Garnett and Ricky Davis can all get at least one additional per game. Advantage: Drew

BLK: Despite having six centers on the roster, Baron has three big men who are dreadful defensively. Duncan, Gasol and KG reign here as well. Advantage: Drew