Seizing the opportunity

My deepest condolences to those who picked Russell Westbrook as he had his lowest PRA in the playoffs in Game 1 against the Spurs. My pick Serge Ibaka was far from stellar and add the fact that Nick Collison played well off the bench to score 14 PRA - his highest in the playoffs - by getting the needed rebounds and playing good defense.

The reason I picked Serge Ibaka is because I am really uncertain as to who will win this series. My gut tells me that San Antonio will get this in 6 or 7 and after watching Game 1, the Thunder should have won Game 1 if not for Russell Westbrook and his bad FG shooting. Manu Ginobili got hot at the right time in the fourth and game over Oklahoma City. Kevin Durant was off too with 8-19 from the field and seeing the defenses of both Kawhi Leonard and Stephen Jackson.

I believe that the Heat will win their series against Boston but with Chris Bosh and Udonis Haslem unable to play in Game 1, look for LeBron James and Dwyane Wade to get around 40+ PRA in order for their team to win. Since the Heat will play with Ronny Turiaf and Joel Anthony on center, Kevin Garnett will get his hands full against two good defenders. That might leave Brandon Bass open and a lot of opportunities to capitalize on mid-range. I know LeBron and D-Wade as well as the team will turn their attention to Pierce, Garnett, Allen and Rondo so I expect Bass to score a lot of points in this one to keep Boston at bay.

Chris Bosh was spotted doing on-court activities for the first time since his injury; that might mean that he is ready to play in Game 2 or later in this series. Haslem is suspended for three games due to his flagrant foul against Tyler Hansbrough; he did not play in Game 6 against Indiana which means he will not play in Games 1 and 2 against Boston. This may be a good time to pick Bass as he looks like the only one in the starting five that does not garner much attention, add to the fact that Bosh and Haslem will not play, I am hoping for a 20+ PRA from him. PLEASE DO REBOUND THE BALL BRANDON BASS!

Serge I-Block-ya

Rondo gave me a 38 PRA and I really don't know if I made the right decision by picking him over Iguodala. I hope he plays awful against the Heat so that players that would pick him does not exceed 20 or 30+ PRA. If you checked my blog yesterday, I placed a link of Rondo's performance in the playoffs last year against the Heat; that made me decide that I should pick him so that I can have one of his best games in the playoffs. With Pierce fouling out in the last 4 minutes of the fourth, Rondo exploded for 14 PRA in 4 minutes. THANK GOD PIERCE FOULED OUT!

Thunder vs. Spurs - With a very lethal 3pt shooting arsenal and a deep bench, there is no doubt that San Antonio will advance to the finals. However, at 6'10'' Kevin Durant is a matchup nightmare. Their main problem is who can stop KD, all I know is that Kawhi Leonard will do his best to contain him. He has long arms that can frustrate KD and put a hand on his face. They also have to contain Russell Westbrook meaning Tony Parker must score and penetrate a lot to draw fouls (Parker vs Fisher > Parker vs Westbrook). It all comes down to both teams' role players as they must step up their game to another level. It will be a very good series to watch and I think OKC will win 2 games at home. SA in 6.

Checking the Thunder roster, the one player that I would certainly pick is Serge Ibaka . He plays better at home but I will roll the dice and predict that he will play better on the road especially because it is Game 1. Last year against the Mavs, Ibaka had 23 PRA in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals, he also did a good job of defending Dirk Nowitzki even though they lost 112-121. The biggest risk that I am taking here is that once Ibaka gets into foul trouble, he often shuts down defensively and offensively. Simply put, he looks like a walking telephone post.

Tim Duncan is a very smart basketball player and I know he will do his best to put Ibaka/Perkins into foul trouble because the bench of OKC is not as deep as SA. They have Collison and Aldrich at the bench and Collison is the better play than Aldrich. Hoping for a 15-25 PRA range from Ibaka.

Making the right decision (hopefully)

Well, we have Game 7 between the Celtics and the Sixers and this might be a coin toss between the two. I still have Iguodala to pick from the Sixers as well as Rondo and Pierce from Boston. Win or lose, it is still a solid roster for me as I have SA, OKC and MIA untouched.

If I pick a Sixer and they win, it will leave me with a bunch of scrubs who will give me 20+ PRA on 2-3 games. If I pick a Celtic and they win, I still have one player that is capable of a 30+ PRA performance as well as other scrubs that will give me 20+ PRA on 2-3 games. Because it is the conference finals, I know that maybe 1/4 or 1/3 of the players have already picked the star players from the teams that are in the conference finals. Picking a player right on schedule will be the deciding factor starting here upto the finals.

With that said, I am going with a Celtic and selecting Rajon Rondo instead of Paul Pierce. Checking their last season's playoff games against Miami, there was only one game that he eclipsed the 30+ PRA mark, the remaining 4 games were 22, 20, 17 and 11 (check HERE). While Pierce averaged 20+ PRA against Miami (check HERE ). If ever the Celts win against the Sixers, this might be the only time that he would have a 30+ or a 40+ PRA game. If the Sixers win Game 7, I would still have Iguodala who averaged 20+ PRA against Miami in last year's playoffs.

If you are asking me, I am hoping for a Sixers/Heat but I doubt that the Sixers will win Game 7 on the road. They might need "The Boston Strangler" in Andrew Toney to pull one more win. Whoever wins this series, I hope Miami advances to the finals and redeem themselves after last year's choke job (HI LEBRON!). Hoping for a 30+ PRA or hopefully a 40+ PRA game.

Paul-ing star

The Sixers won Game 6 even though they missed 11 of 20 free throws, the contest was also a low scoring one and good thing I went with Jrue instead of Iggy in this one. Game 7 is in two days and I don't feel confident that the Celtics can close the series against the Sixers. The Celtics are 10-12 when playing Game 7's and their last game 7 loss was against the Lakers in the NBA finals.

Danny Granger is questionable to play in their elimination game and how I wished I have picked Paul George in Game 5 and Granger/Hill in Game 6 but I had it the other way and I am undecided on who will I play in this one. Haslem and Pittman were assessed with suspensions in Game 6 with Pittman suspended for three games. Pittman played a grand total of four minutes in the entire playoffs before his suspension and I can say that the Heat won't miss him. Haslem is a different story because they will be once again without a big man who can shoot mid-range jumpers with regularity. If the Heat wants to close out the Pacers, their shooters must make the most of their opportunities and convert those threes!

With Danny Granger playing but not 100%, I am going with Paul George along with the 30% of the drivers. Losing Haslem is a huge blow to the Heat and the Pacers might sneak one win at home. I can also see that with Danny Granger not able to guard LeBron, he might be the one assigned to stop "The King" while Dahntay Jones will be guarding "The Flash". I was supposed to pick Granger today but changed my mind because he will play at less than 100%, he also aggravated his injury at Game 5 so there is a chance that he might do it again at Game 6. Hoping for at least 20+ PRA from George.

Philly-ing the gap

Good thing I was not expecting a lot from George Hill but giving me an 8 PRA?!?! Come on man! To make matters worse, Danny Granger injured his ankle in the game and tried to return in the second half but re-injured his ankle. He is doubtful to play in Game 6. I wish I have went with Danny G. instead of Hill but I do not dwell on the past and it is time to move on from this.

We have one game on schedule and I am going with Jrue Holiday in their elimination game against the Celts. He played poorly in Game 5 and I think he is going to bounce back to try to even the series and force a deciding Game 7. I still have Iguodala on the wings but I chose to roll with him since he is the most consistent player on the Sixer roster that would give 20+ PRA. He is also averages the highest PRA in the team.

Still hate the fact that I went with Hill instead of Paul George or Danny Granger but I think I was due of a letdown after 5 straight days of good timing picks. With only 8 points scored for the day, I am still in the top 1000 in rank and slipped 1% in the percentile. NOT BAD! Anyway, hoping for Jrue to give me 25+ PRA; I do not care if the Sixers win or lose Game 6 because the Celtics will win this series. I know they want to face Miami and give them a challenge because the Sixers does not impose as a threat to them.

It also looks bad on paper and in TV to have a Sixers/Heat matchup. Fans want to see LeBron fail and the Celtics are a true contender to do that. David Stern will rig this one believe me.

George Hill, come on down!

I hope the Laker fans cheer up since they were beaten by a much better team. Durant and Westbrook were superb in the fourth as they pulled away with a 90-106 win. With their win, they will face San Antonio and it looks to be a phenomenal series to watch as it showcases two teams that has a 1-2-3 scoring punch in Durant-Westbrook-Harden and Parker-Duncan-Ginobili.

With one game on schedule, I am picking a Pacer and it is going to be George Hill . Not hoping for a 30+ PRA since he has not reached the 30 point plateau even once. I still have Danny Granger though but I am saving him for Game 6 because he plays better at home. This is going to be a short blog for me as we only have one game and I have already picked West and Hibbert. Haven't picked a Miami player yet and if they lose Game 5, I am going all in on LeBron in the next one. Hope they win this series so that we can move on to the conference finals.

I know that I may not be getting a lot of PRA's from Hill tonight but I will roll the dice on him instead of picking Paul George who is having a miserable offensive game due to fatigue in guarding Wade/James. A 20+ PRA is what I expect from Hill tonight. If you think that Miami will lose this series and you haven't picked LBJ or Flash yet, now is the time to do so.

Pau Gasol or Pau Gasoft

I hoped you watched the Pacers/Heat game earlier as it was physical from the beginning to end. LeBron had a video game like stat with 40 points, 18 rebounds (6 offensive), 9 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks for a 67 PRA! Congratulations to those who picked him and it will surely propel his owners to a higher percentile. After hitting 1-8 in the first half, Dwyane Wade made 11 consecutive baskets and got 30 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists for a grand total of 45 PRA. Clearly, the Heat needs another type of this performance from Wade and James to gain a 3-2 lead and win the series. The Clippers lost earlier to the Spurs and my Chris Paul pick was the best player from that game with 23 points, 6 rebounds, 11 assists. A 40 PRA game from him somehow soften the blow of the 67 PRA that LeBron delivered to their owners.

For tomorrow's game, I am going with a player from the Lakers/Thunder (3-1 OKC) series. Definitely not picking a player from the Sixers/Celtics (2-2) series as I believe that this could go up to Game 7. With the Lakers facing elimination, I am going for a Laker player. Already picked Bynum (30 PRA) and Bryant (49 PRA) in games 2 and 3 and for tomorrow, I am selecting Pau Gasol .

Gasol played better on the road in the regular season and I am banking on him in doing the same on the road against the Thunder. On their last game, Kobe threw Gasol under the bus by blaming him that he was not playing aggressive in this series. In Game 6 against the Nuggets, Kobe also blamed Gasol for not playing with effort as evidenced by his 7 PRA game. However, Gasol responded the next game by having 46 PRA (his best this playoffs).

Kobe's tongue-lashing against Gasol is uncalled for as he threw contested shots but I hope Gasol gets motivated by what Kobe is saying to the media and do his best in Game 5. With the way Gasol is playing in this playoffs, a 25+ PRA is the benchmark but aiming for more doesn't hurt. Hoping for a 30+ PRA from him. If you guys already picked Kobe, Bynum, Gasol, Iggy or Holiday, I suggest that you pick Hawes or Thaddeus Young. I believe that the Celtics will close their series 4-3 so I am not yet picking Holiday and Iguodala.