The next couple of games in our tourney are going up a bit early due to me having Father’s Day commitments tomorrow. To all the dads and families out there, have a wonderful day. Just finished watching Tiger Woods wrap up his third round…great stuff. Good luck tomorrow, Tiger.

The Celtics meeting the Lakers again in the Finals was supposed to wax nostalgia non-stop, but the ball has been pretty flat and ugly. With the Lakers blowing that huge lead in Game 4, the Celtics have a chance to clinch the series. The Lakers’ homecourt has been taken away before; Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls won three straight at the Forum to win their first championship back in 1991. I have heard the notion that MJ would never have let his team blow that lead in the Finals, and I agree. The Kobe to MJ comparisons will be cooled for a while. Here’s hoping the Lakers regroup and extend the series.

Searched the archives and found a picture of Dwyane Wade in an old Miami Heat uniform. Flash is in action this week.

The premise: (Feel free to skip down if you have been here with us before!)

The rules are simple. 64 of today’s biggest stars, plus some fantasy forces and a few players of the “x-factor” ilk have been chosen to participate in this exercise. Assume each player is in perfect health and in peak condition, based on their current age and abilities, as well as their ability to work with a team mate. Players are teamed up randomly and each match-up is also determined randomly. Suppose these pairs of players play each other in a game of two-on-two: games to 11, two points for a three-pointer, and losers out (this is a change from last year’s one-on-one tourney where it was winners out). You can make your comment after each article. Please vote just once for each match-up. If you are so inclined, feel free to make up an imaginary commentary of how you see the battle going down and I will try to include your input in future articles. You have one week to vote, then the results will be published and a new pair of match-ups will be announced. So check back here every week! The players will randomly get a new team mate each round.

Last year’s one-on-one champ, Kobe Bryant, has not been included in the field of 64. Due to his one-on-one prowess, it seems too likely that a Kobe-Player X team would always win. So Kobe, hit the sidelines. I’m sure if Kobe knew about this, he might be a bit miffed at the lack of an invite, but surely he has bigger fish to fry than us!

Review of last week’s match-ups:

Round 2, Game 1: Nice to have Sarge show up again on the radar! Here’s what our resident hoop expert had to say on this game.

“I see Iguodala and Pierce as being very similar players in many respects - that would be a pretty good battle.  Obviously, Pierce is a bit more polished, but I don’t think it’s enough to compensate for what LBJ would do to Howard.  Yes, he’s taller, will grab every rebound, etc… but c’mon… I’m going with LBJ/Iggy.”

Equating Pierce and Iggy in this match-up seems very reasonable. Pierce is more ball savvy and seasoned, but Iggy brings more athleticism to the table. So that leaves the very, very, VERY interesting game within a game between LBJ and Dwight Howard. My first notion was to go with Howard and the whole “you can’t teach size” philosophy. However, if asked to pick a guard or small forward to take on Superman in the game today, you’d be a fool not to go with LeBron. In a losers-out game like this one, ‘Bron’s going to get the ball a lot, even if Howard is able to own the paint and make a few stops. Over the course of the game, LBJ just has too many tricks up his sleeve. Howard is not known for his passing skills, and that also plays into who we pick to move on. Winner: LeBron James and Andre Iguodala.

Round 2, Game 2: Sarge makes his point with two short but sweet sentences. “I think Jamison’s offensive game gives he and KG the nod in this format.  The fundamentals aren’t enough to put Timmy Duncan into the next round.” I have been waiting for KG to step up in the Finals. He was clutch in the first half of Game 1, but his team went away from him and since then, it’s not like he’s carried the team on his back. Raptor fans get frustrated all the time with Chris Bosh when he opts to take jump shot after jump shot. How strange it is to see KG come down with the same problem. Him going against TD in a game like this would make for great pay-per-view. Artest and his defense are deservedly universally known, and his head would be in the game for something like this. I cannot recall him checking Jamison in a game before. Jamison can shoot the three and he can help KG on the glass. Over ten games, I think the better team on that day would win maybe six games. Winner: Antawn Jamison and Kevin Garnett.

And now on to this week’s match-ups:

Round 2, Game 3: Dwyane Wade and Elton Brand vs. Monta Ellis and Amare Stoudemire.
Generally speaking, the up-and-comer loses to the established star in the tournaments we have run. Wade and Brand are assumed to be at full strength here. Amare had the best season of the bunch. Let’s see if that’s enough for people to lend their support to the perceived underdogs, Ellis and Amare. Brand and Amare teamed up in Round One and beat Baron Davis and T. J. Ford. Now like in a comic book where the heroes battle it out all for the sake of geek entertainment, they fight each other!

Round 2, Game 4: Josh Smith and Zach Randolph vs. Manu Ginobili and Rashard Lewis.
No offense (which means I’m about to be offensive, right?), but if I was Josh Smith, and I went from having Chris Paul to Zach Randolph as my partner, I would consider it a serious downgrade. Smith and Paul were the clear faves over Danny Granger and Carmelo Anthony in Round One. Meanwhile, Zach benefitted from a lucky draw and was paired with KG in Round One. This team lacks a playmaker. Plus, they are outgunned from long range as both Manu and ‘Shard are solid three-point shooters. On another note, if these four had a dunk contest, who would finish second?

See you next week.

Previous match-ups:
Round 1: Games 1 and 2
Round 1: Games 3 and 4
Round 1: Games 5 and 6
Round 1: Games 7 and 8
Round 1: Games 9 and 10
Round 1: Games 11 and 12
Round 1, Games 13 and 14
Round 1, Games 15 and 16
Round 2, Games 1 and 2