First off, my NBA Playoffs Round 2 predictions.  Check out Don's post over at with malice....  Here's what I had to say about the 4 upcoming match-ups:

LALakers -vs- Houston Rockets

Lakers in 6.

As much as I'd like to give a breakdown here, feel free to check out the Round 2 Lakers-Rockets preview that I already did for with malice...

Denver Nuggets -vs- Dallas Mavericks

Nuggets in 7.

I don't particularly care for either team, however the Nuggets have been surprisingly fun to watch so far this post-season.  On the other hand, I do like and respect Mark Cuban.  The Mavericks have been revitalized of late, but the Nuggets are firing on all cylinders ... as well as have a deeper bench and home court advantage.  I look forward to yet another great PG battle, this time between Billups and Kidd.  While Kidd has lost a step or two, he's still a solid player and leader.  This series might come down to a few borderline calls in either direction, so I'll give it to the Nuggets since they have home court advantage.

Cleveland Cavaliers -vs- Miami/Atlanta

Cleveland in 4.

Are you kidding me?  The Cavs are playing out of their minds.  They might lose their first game of the post-season in the Eastern Conference Finals.  Maybe.

Boston Celtics -vs- Orlando Magic

Orlando in 7.

As much as I want to pick the Celtics to win this, I just can't.  The Magic have some glaring flaws of their own, but the Celtics are just too injured and too tired.  They were able to will themselves over the Baby Bulls in Game 7, but if that situation presents itself again, I'm not sure they will have as good a luck with the Magic as they did the Bulls.  The amount of extra minutes the Celtics played in the first round looked like it was taking its toll.  On top of that, presuming KG is still out, they are just thin.  Their bench players that have been healthy have been mostly awful (I'm looking at you Tony Allen, Marbury, Moore, and Scalabrine at times.)  Granted, we should not overlook the experience, leadership, and homecourt advantage that the Cletics possess... but without a healthy KG, I think their title defense ends here.


First Round Prediction Recap:

I did pretty well with my first round predictions, nailing the Lakers, Houston (only blogger to pick the Rockets!), Dallas (also the only blogger to pick the Mavs!), and missed on the Nuggets.  Apparently the Nuggets are for real.  In the East, I nailed all of them except the Hawks, as I picked the Heat to win in 7.  And really, that series was a toss-up.  It really hurt the Heat that they were dealing with multiple injuries (Moon, and JON), otherwise I think they could have taken it.


Round 2 Lakers -vs- Rockets Preview:

You probably noticed above, but I did a Round 2 Lakers-Rockets preview for Don at with Malice...  If you click the link above, it doesn't work yet, but check back in a few hours because he has it on a publishing delay.  It should be up shortly.  I think I did a pretty swell job, and it's as unbiased as I could possibly be (P.S. The Lakers are teh suxx!)

Here's the link again:  Round 2 Lakers-Rockets preview.



The Peanut Gallery's "Best of the Worst" NBA Awards‏

This was basically a fun little voting/poll exercise for us bloggers that cover teams who suck.  Make sure to check out the link, as it's a good piece.  The caveat is that players could only be selected from teams that missed the playoffs.  Here is how I responded:

Rookie of the Year - The best rookie of the worst teams of the L,  self explanatory, must be from a non-playoff team

1.   Russell Westbrook

2.   KLove

3.   OJ Mayo

 

 

Least Valuable Player -  A player on a non-playoff team that you call a "bum" or a "disappointment" who doesn't deserve the salary he's making, maybe you call him a "sorry excuse of $5-10 million (or whatever salary he's making)"

1.  Antoine Walker

2.  Antoine Walker

3.  Antoine Walker

 

 

Most Valuable Excuse - Your top three excuses either the GM, the players, the coach or even you, the blogger uses for why your team didn't make the playoffs

1.  I have no excuses.  The TWolves suck and our team is largely filled with backup quality players.

2.  See above.

3.  See above.



2009 Blogger MVP Rankings Final Edition

Lastly, we've got the long awaited 2009 Blogger MVP Rankings.  It's the Final Edition, hosted by Tom Ziller over at Sactown Royalty.  I don't think its any surprise that LeBron came in at #1.  However, it is slightly amazing that he led the MVP rankings in first place, the ENTIRE season.  That's pretty crazy if you ask me.  To see my votes, click "Read More" below or click HERE!

Thanks everyone and enjoy the NBA Playoffs!

MVP:

(10 = 1 point, 9 = 2 points, 8 = 3 points, etc)


10.  Glen Taylor:  For firing Randy Wittman and green lighting the pre-draft trade to dump Antoine Walker.  Plus, who doesn’t love Brian The Custodian Cardinal?  WE CAN BUILD ON THIS!!!!!!!

9.  YAO:  Where going?  Khi rite chek?

8.  Chauncey Billups:  How else does a Nuggets team sans Marcus Camby finish with the second best record in the West?  It’s all Chauncey baby.  P.S. The Timberwolves didn’t need him.

7.  Dirk Nowitzki:  Doing everything he can to keep the Mavs from dropping into the abyss.  You almost expect stats like this from him at this point in his career.  26 and 8 is still pretty impressive, despite what anyone may say about their record.

6.  Paul Pierce:  The stabilizing force on this team the entire season.  PP34 got it done on both ends of the court, especially in the absence of KG.  He’s still somewhat overlooked, but should not be discounted for Boston ending up with the second seed in the East.

5.  Kobe Bryant:  He’s lucky he finished this high in the rankings, in spite of my un-ending burning hatred for him.  Here’s to hoping he blows out his knee in the first round of the playoffs.

4.  Chris Paul:  He actually improved his numbers from last season, despite being the runner-up in the MVP balloting.  CP3 gets overlooked because his team has struggled (comparatively.)   He’s the only reason that the Hornets are where they are this year.

3.  Dwight Howard:  At least he should get the Defensive Player of the Year award as consolation.  He did lead the league in rebounds and blocks, after all.  Plus he eats grown men for breakfast.

2.  D-Wade:  Too bad LeBron exists, or this award is his this season.  Has anyone else done more with less?  He’s playing out of his mind.

1.  LeBron:  He’s so good I only have to list his first name.  Seriously, is this even a debate at this point?  If it is NOT unanimous, heads need to roll.