Playoffs: Round 1 Preview

The chase for the Ring begins. All the playoff teams in the West won in the tuneup to the playoffs but that might mean nothing when it comes time to crown our inaugural champion. A lot of role players are being thrown into key roles to replace injured stars so this playoffs could be a wild one. Let's take a quick look at our first matchups.

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Fat Jubas (16-4-1) vs Funk Coalition (12-9)
The prohibitive West favorite, Fat Jubas, is entering the playoffs without team leader Dwayne Wade. Just like the Heat however, the Jubas haven't missed a beat, having ripped off five straight wins. The Jubas are sitting the new age Ben Wallace, LaMarcus Aldridge, as his REB and BLK won't help against the Funk. In his place? Linas Kleiza, 3PT shooter extraordinaire (10 3PT in last three games). It's this type of savvy move that could spell victory for the Jubas.

The Funk are ailing a bit themselves, as Raymond Felton sat out Saturday's game for the Bobcats. Can he return in time to turn in his usual stellar combination of AST and STL? The Funk and the Jubas will be hotly contesting the PTS, STL, and FT% categories. It might just come down to Lebron's free throw shooting, which has dramatically improved in recent weeks. Can the King topple the reigning monarchy?

Chunky Monkeys (12-5-4) vs Buffy (13-8)
One of the most intriguing matchups of the playoffs. Buffy started the season as a high flying perimeter orientated team. Chris Paul and Joe Johnson exited stage left, Elton Brand and Tim Duncan entered stage right, and Buffy suddenly transformed itself into a physical powerhouse. Add in the resurgent Chris Webber and Shaquille O'Neal, and this is probably the one team that really gives Evan's front line (Tyson Chandler, Andris Biedrins, Josh Smith) a run for its money.

For the Monkeys, the amazing play of Josh Smith and Gilbert Arenas has been uplifting, but losing Joe Johnson for the forseeable future has probably doomed them to the scrap heap, even if they're going to insert Brian Skinner (31 REB and 5 BLK in last three) into the lineup in a valiant attempt to save a sinking ship. This late in the game, you can't replace the fiery starpower of a Joe Johnson. We smell minor upset.

The kicker here is that this matchup might have been decided two months ago when Joe was swapped for Tim.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Squirtle Squad (14-7) vs Human Amoebas (11-9-1)
The East leader has been dominating the regular season with an impressive roster of draft gems, anchored by the inside-out combo of Ray Allen, Kevin Garnett, and Carlos Boozer. Brandon Roy and Deron Williams are bonafide stars, Delonte West and David Lee really turned it on this year, and even Jamaal Tinsley stayed healthy. Here's the problem though: Ray Allen is out for the season with bone spurs. The Squad already has a history of inconsistency, and is actually only 3-5 after an undefeated January.

Then again, the Amoebas aren't exactly paragons of consistency themselves -- going only 1-3 after an undefeated February. Brian will try to use the sweet shooting Walter Herrmann (15 PTS and 2 3PT average in last three games) to replace Allen, but while he has the locks of Jesus, he doesn't quite have the game of Shuttlesworth. Or can Herrmann turn water to wine and avoid a first round upset?

Rhythm Drive (12-8-1) vs The Poobic Heirs (11-9-1)
Finally, an East contender finishing off the regular season strong at 4-1 since the All Star Break, Rhythm Drive is poised to become the champion of the East. With a healthy Chris Bosh, Dwight Howard, and Luol Deng, the youth driven Drive needs veteran players such as Mike Miller, Kyle Korver, Grant Hill, Eddie Jones, and Derek Fisher to really step it up for the playoffs. Why not pick up Robert Horry off waivers for good karma here? While Emeka Okafor was supposed to make Reno unstoppable in BLK and on the boards, his current injury has him sitting the sidelines -- along with Brad Miller and Sam Cassell.

It's the bad luck of the Drive to be running into the Kobe buzzsaw right as he's setting scoring records. Then again, Kobe better keep it up because The Poobic Heirs have lost 4 of their last 5, and that's with Yao's return to the lineup. Defensive lynchpin Caron Butler is out for awhile (although he could return mid-week), as is Andrew Bogut, who's out for the season. Kevin Martin is getting a seat on the pine too, after suffering an eye injury on Sunday. That's three key cogs unavailable for duty; making a vaunted and feared team a lot less impressive. Stepping in for those guys will be Devin Harris (18 AST and 5 STL in last three games) and the sturdy but unspectacular Udonis Haslem. If the Heirs can beat the streaking, but injury ravaged Drive, they could go far in the playoffs.

Coming later in the week: A look at the Toilet Bowl.