The second round in the Smackdown
The second round in the Smackdown: 
Has the second round of the playoffs started yet? It's like somebody sneezed and three of the NBA's powerhouse teams of 2009-2010 -- the Jazz, Spurs and Hawks -- have all just been eliminated.
Now there's just the annual Celtic thrill ride left before the Very Serious Business of the conference finals.
It's all a little dizzying.
Meanwhile, it's not so disorienting, apparently for the people in the TrueHoop Stat Geek Smackdown. With eight contestants, and four series, that's 32 second-round picks they made. So far almost everybody picked the right winners in every case.
The exceptions: My mom had the Jazz. And Stephen Ilardi, Haralabos Voulgaris and Neil Paine had the Spurs.
Nobody predicted any of these sweeps, however.
So, as we sit here on Tuesday, John Hollinger remains in the lead, now with 59 points. Kevin Pelton is a mere three points back. Barring something really bizarre, the others in contention are reigning champ David Berri and Jeff Ma, who are both at 52.
Ma has a secret weapon, however. He's the only guy who picked the Celtics, and he did so in six. With two quick Celtic victories, the entire field would stay where they are, while Ma would gain seven points. He could be tied with Hollinger by the end of the week, with a little help from Rajon Rondo. Even if it takes the Celtics seven games to win, Ma would still nudge Pelton for second place.
On the other hand, if the Cavaliers send Boston packing in any number of games, with only three series left to pick after this one, it'll be hard for Ma to make up the ground he'll lose to the entire field.
Has the second round of the playoffs started yet? It's like somebody sneezed and three of the NBA's powerhouse teams of 2009-2010 -- the Jazz, Spurs and Hawks -- have all just been eliminated.Now there's just the annual Celtic thrill ride left before the Very Serious Business of the conference finals.
It's all a little dizzying.
Meanwhile, it's not so disorienting, apparently for the people in the TrueHoop Stat Geek Smackdown. With eight contestants, and four series, that's 32 second-round picks they made. So far almost everybody picked the right winners in every case.
The exceptions: My mom had the Jazz. And Stephen Ilardi, Haralabos Voulgaris and Neil Paine had the Spurs.
Nobody predicted any of these sweeps, however.
So, as we sit here on Tuesday, John Hollinger remains in the lead, now with 59 points. Kevin Pelton is a mere three points back. Barring something really bizarre, the others in contention are reigning champ David Berri and Jeff Ma, who are both at 52.
Ma has a secret weapon, however. He's the only guy who picked the Celtics, and he did so in six. With two quick Celtic victories, the entire field would stay where they are, while Ma would gain seven points. He could be tied with Hollinger by the end of the week, with a little help from Rajon Rondo. Even if it takes the Celtics seven games to win, Ma would still nudge Pelton for second place.
On the other hand, if the Cavaliers send Boston packing in any number of games, with only three series left to pick after this one, it'll be hard for Ma to make up the ground he'll lose to the entire field.
