Just when we thought the NBA Playoffs would disappoint with two sweeps in the Conference Finals, Orlando and Phoenix rise from their graves to win two straight games and keep their Title hopes alive.

Orlando has faced elimination for two straight games now, and for two straight games they’ve been able to win, including an Overtime victory in Boston in Game 4.

Now I know it’s a bit premature to say that Boston is done and Orlando is going to win this series, but I think its appropriate to start discussing the possibility, especially with the way Orlando won last night.

First off, I think it’s important to remind everyone who the better team really is in this series. Some of you with short memories who’s opinions are swayed by the mood of the media and the flavor of the week will say Boston is the better team.

Those of you who have been paying attention all season will know that Orlando is actually the better team. This statement is a lot harder to sell today than it was when the Playoffs started, but it’s true.

Orlando has the better record, Orlando owns the Season series 3 games to 1, including two road victories that I’ll talk about later, and Orlando has the best player.

Who has the best player could probably be debated pretty effectively from both sides, but that’s for another time. Dwight Howard is the best player in this series, he’s been largely ineffective the first 3 games of the series, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s one of the most dominant players in the league on both sides of the ball.

Unlike a lot of people in the media I’m not swayed by a couple bad games, or good games. Dwight Howard’s body of work speaks for itself.

If Orlando is the better team then why did they allow themselves to go down 3-0 to Boston with a berth in the NBA Championships on the line.

Well, I think it’s a combination of a couple things. For one, Boston is a really good team. I don’t want to take any credit away from them. What they did against Cleveland was awesome, they stole that series with incredibly impressive play.

Even though I think Orlando is the better team it never occurred to me that the Magic would steam roll the Celtics, with the type of defense both teams are capable of playing I figured this series would be close.

Also, Orlando is largely a jump shooting team, with the exception of Dwight Howard of course. This team’s offense relies heavily on penetration and kicking the ball out to open shooters. Orlando has a lot of good shooters on this team, and for the most part when someone is cold, the other players are able to pick him up.

The problem was that Boston was able to play disciplined defense, avoid double teaming Howard, which makes finding open shooters a lot more difficult for Howard and Jameer Nelson. To make matters worse the Magic have shot worse in the first 3 games then in any 3 game stretch the entire season. A stretch where Orlando shot an abysmal 29% from the field.

Really this is an example of one team playing at the top of their game and another playing at the bottom of theirs. Again we have to give Boston a lot of credit here, it’s been their play on defense that caused Orlando to play so poorly.

We also have to consider Vince Carter and Rashard Lewis. Vince Carter, is and always has been the type of player that just doesn’t show up in crucial situations like this one. Even last night he only had 8 points. He got to the basket a couple times which were a good sign but he never built on it.

Vince Carter is not mentally tough, anyone who knows anything about NBA basketball knows this to be true. Fortunately for the Magic they don’t need Carter to play well to win. It has to be a concern though if you are an Orlando fan the effect someone like Carter can have on the Locker Room.

Rashard Lewis is a lot like Vince Carter in the way that if he doesn’t hit his shot or get to the basket early he tends to fade away as the game goes on and sometimes disappears. For the first 3 games Lewis failed to score more than 6 points in any game and went a combined 1 for 13 from three, far from the 39.7% mark for the regular season.

Last night however was a different story. Only 3 of his 11 shots were from long range and he went 6 for 11 from the field with 14 points. I know 14 points won’t light the world on fire but it’s a start, and some of those shots were huge, especially in the 2^nd half.

What I’m trying to say is that for the first 3 games of the series the core of the Orlando Magic was MIA, but after Games 4 and 5 they have some momentum going back to Boston, and most importantly, confidence.

Not only do the Magic know they can beat this team, but they know they can beat this team on the road, which they’ve already done once this series and twice during the regular season. One thing Boston hasn’t done well this Postseason is protect their home floor.

 That is exactly what they have to do Game 6.

It’s a bit early to say that Boston is going to lose, in fact history is on their side, never in the NBA has a team come back from an 0-3 deficit in the playoffs. In Hockey, it’s happened 3 times, and in Baseball we saw Boston do it to the Yankees in 2004 on their way to the World Series.

Actually, is it possible that if the Boston Celtics lose this series its nature’s way of restoring balance to the universe? The city of Boston has enjoyed so much success the past few years in practically every sport that perhaps it’s time to take some of that glory back.

If Boston loses this series, has there ever been a worse loss in the history of Boston sports? I don’t know you tell me. I can’t think of worse collapse in the past twenty years.

Even the Patriots losing the Super Bowl during their perfect season won’t be as bad as this. They just lost one game, a close game that took a circus catch off of David Tyree’s helmet to keep the game winning drive alive.  But that was just one game.

We will find out after Game 6 in Boston if Orlando will have a chance to make history. If they win Game 6, a big if, Orlando will have a chance to do something that none of us thought possible, win this Playoff Series.

The Zone!!  Not the Zone Defense!!!

Seriously? That’s what people are talking about? That the Suns barely won two games at home, shot 40+ more Free Throws than LA in their two wins, got 54 points from the bench in Game 4, and we want to talk about the Suns Defense?

What games are people watching?

With the exception of Game Four’s 4^th Quarter that saw the Suns go on a 18-3 run we have seen very little defense from the Phoenix Suns. Hell, the Lakers still scored 110 points a game in their losses.

There is one reason and one reason only that the Lakers lost the past two games. The Lakers didn’t need to win those games to win the Series.

Ok, before you call me crazy and ridiculous for even considering that the Lakers wouldn’t play as hard in games they don’t need to win need only look at the end of the Regular Season.

Over the last 10 games of the Regular season the Lakers went a putrid 3-7 with losses to the Clippers, New Orleans and Houston. LA all but had the Western Conference locked up at that point and they just cruised.

Remember all the talk before the Playoffs even started about the Lakers not being near as good as last year. That Kobe is old and beat up, that Bynum can’t contribute with his hurt knee. That Odom won’t show up every night. That the Lakers bench isn’t good enough to win another title.

Remember the Thunder Series? The Lakers won the first two games at home close and went on the road and lost two games. Everyone was talking about a potential historical upset with a 1 losing to an 8. What ultimately happened?

The Lakers won the next two games, including Game 6 in Oklahoma City to close it out.

Kobe Bryant won’t let this team be eliminated. Kobe Bryant won’t let this team lose.

Don’t forget, the Lakers haven’t lost a home game this Post Season. I think most people would agree with me that the star studded Lakers tend to play down to their competition, but when its crunch time and the Lakers have to win, Kobe and Gasol get it done.

Don’t believe me? Still think last years Lakers are better than this years version? Need another example? Ok I can do that. Remember last year in the Conference Semis against the Rockets, the Lakers lost game 1 in that series at home. To make matters worse Houston lost Yao and already were missing T-Mac and the Rockets pushed the Lakers to a game 7, which LA won.

My point is in a series that featured a team missing their two best players, two All Stars in Yao Ming and Tracy McGrady we saw the eventual NBA Champs pushed to a Game 7.

How many games have the Lakers played where they faced possible elimination the past 2 years?

One. Game 7 against Houston in 2009. Again, they won that game. The Lakers haven’t lost 3 games in any Playoff series the past two seasons. That’s pretty good.

In the 2009 Conference Finals against Denver the Lakers lost Game 2, a home game, and there was talk then LA wasn’t good enough. They won in 6 games.

So far in 2010 the Lakers have yet to lose a Home game. The Lakers win the games they need to win. LA has actually shown us on a consistent basis that they can win  a Game 6 on the Road. If they win tonight, which I strongly think they will, then they will have an opportunity to close the Suns out back in Phoenix.

So far the Lakers have eliminated the Thunder and Jazz on the road, are the Suns next?

Yes, the answer is yes.

So all you Phoenix fans enjoy today while you can, because this will be the last day that you have any hope that your team can win this series. After tonight all doubt about the Lakers dominance will be erased. Remember Game’s 1 and 2 that saw the Lakers win by 20+, if not you are going to get a reminder tonight in the form of Kobe Bryant and the LA Lakers.

LA has to win this game, and when they have to win a game, they do. There’s a reason Kobe’s the best closer in the league, and that title isn’t just talking about at the end of games, Kobe closes out teams in the Playoffs better than anyone in the NBA today.

Oh geez I love what I’m seeing. I am watching the legend of the “Chosen One” get evaporated right before our eyes, in his building against an “old, over the hill” Celtics team that was billed to have no shot against this Juggernaut called the Cavaliers.

And I couldn’t be happier. I won’t lie to you, I’m a Kobe Bryant loyalist, through and through. When asked who I rather have its Kobe all the way, always has been. I feel alone on an island lately.

Lebron has swayed a lot of Analysts and NBA Hardcore’s over to his side in the argument over the League’s best player, and rightfully so. He’s had an extraordinary season and I believe he earned the MVP award. Without Lebron Cleveland goes nowhere. He is amazing.

But, he’s not Kobe. He’s not a Killer.

When Lebron is on the sideline with his teammates dancing and having a good time snapping pretend pictures of each other Kobe is studying his enemy, locating any and all weaknesses, and striking his opponent with no mercy, and he never stops improving his game(the addition of an excellent post game this season).

Kobe’s a killer.

At this point in his career Lebron is far ahead of Kobe as far as talent level and the ability to take over a game with his explosive play. Every night Lebron is the best athlete on the floor. But it’s the killer instinct that he lacks, and that’s what’s holding back The King.

Lebron’s always had the fact that his supporting cast has been lacking as the reason he’s failed to get a ring at this point in his career. Well, now his teammates are pretty good. A couple potential Hall of Famers and current All Stars makes up one of the best supporting casts in basketball.

As far as talent, only the Lakers and Magic have as much talent on their rosters as the Cleveland Cavaliers. Yet we are watching them fail against an older less athletic team.

Rajon Rondo is a killer.

In a series where we are witnessing the legend of Lebron James as an unstoppable force we are all also seeing the emergence of a true Super Star talent in Boston Point Guard Rajon Rondo.

If Boston is able to pull off the upset, and believe me this is as big an upset as any, Lebron’s status as “Worlds Best Basketball Player” will really come into question. Not his talent mind you, there’s no denying his immense talent, but if he really is the player we think he is.

We all rave about his “Vision” and passing ability and assume that means he’s making his teammates better. But is he really? How much better did Carlos Boozer really get when he went to Utah? Not much really. But he didn’t become a real All Star until he got out of Lebron’s giant shadow.

We are seeing it now with Mo Williams and Antawn Jamison, two guys who are All Star caliber players but frankly are being drowned in the ocean that is Lebron James. No star player has ever thrived playing with Lebron James. .

Yeah Jamison will have the big game here and there, and sometimes Mo Williams will step up and play big, but there is no consistency.

Pau Gasol shines in LA, even though he plays with Kobe Bryant, who has always been dinged in the area of making his teammates better when compared to Lebron. I argue however that Kobe knows when to defer and when to allow a teammate to shine and when he needs to take a step back.

He also knows when to step up and take over, that balance has allowed Kobe to now play with some great players but allow them to be great right along with him. In Cleveland its only Lebron.

Until Lebron finds his inner killer, he’s never going to win a championship and every year that he gets bounced early from the Playoffs, the doubters out there, like me, are being vindicated.

Kobe Bryant loyalists out there are smiling right now. Cleveland down 22 points at home, Game 5 about to go down 3 games to 2 and about to go to Boston for Game 6 and potentially Lebron’s last game in Cleveland.

That’s the other story here. Do you really think Lebron will stay in Cleveland now that he’s once again failed to win his first Championship with perhaps his best supporting cast ever in his still young career? I don’t think so.

The NBA is about to experience a big shake up. I’m not going to pretend to know where Lebron is going to go, because I don’t, but I don’t think its Cleveland. It will really depend on what some of the other big free agents do that will determine where Lebron finally goes.

But no matter where Lebron ends up in 2011, unless he finds a way to let his teammates really shine, especially All Star caliber teammates, and until he finds that killer instinct that’s helped Kobe win Four Championships, Lebron will lead a very disappointing career.

Best Basketball Player ever? Not without the hardware my friends. Not without the hardware.

Well as the old saying goes, “Stick a fork in ‘em, they’re done”

This couldn’t be more true then when describing the Utah Jazz’s current situation down 3-0 to the Defending Champ LA Lakers.

In a season filled with ups and downs and highs and lows last night’s loss was the epitome of the way the season has gone for Utah.

So close yet so far.

The Jazz led for much of the game, coming out of the gates swinging and hitting their shots. Andrei Kirilenko made his return and it was obvious how much of a difference he makes on defense, especially on Bryant.

AK got some key Offensive boards early and blocked a couple of Kobe’s shots to help Utah lead by 5-9 points for much of the game.  Against Lab that’s just not enough.

It was fitting that the game ended with a missed tip by Rookie Wesley Matthews off Deron Williams missed 3 pointer just before the buzzer. If the tip went in this series would be completely different. There would be hope. But, it didn’t go in and this is where we are right now.   

Tonight Utah has one more chance at extending this series and I expect them to come out swinging. Deron Williams had a good game 3 but will need a great game 4 if he wants to play another Playoff game after tonight. Don’t count on it though.

Another disappointment for the Jazz and their fans is probably coming..tonight.

The Lakers smell blood and Kobe Bryant, the best closer in the league, will want to close this series out as soon as he can and I can see the Black Mamba dropping 40 on the Jazz to end this series.

A lesser team might overlook the Jazz, think they are dead and take it easy in Game 4 but this is the defending champion Lakers we are talking about. Certain teams just know how to close games out and finish a series, LA is one of those teams.

If you are a Jazz fan I know the easy thing to is to start pointing fingers, to start dishing out the blame where blame is due. But lets be realistic, did anyone really think Utah would get by the Nuggets like they did in the first round.

At the beginning of the season did anybody think that Deron Williams would play so well this year that he would be the NBA’s consensus Number 1 Point Guard?

Did anybody think Carlos Boozer would stay healthy most of the year and contribute to this team the way he has? Did anybody think that undrafted Rookie Wesley Matthews would be contributing major minutes over First Round draft pick Eric Maynor (who was traded to Memphis)?

Did anybody really think that Andrei Kirilenko would be the spark after Utah’s 12-9 start to the season that would see Utah own the West’s best record from December to Febuary?

All of these things happened this year and Utah fans need to consider the strides Utah has made towards becoming a great team before they pass judgment based on a Second Round loss to the defending Champs LA Lakers.

There are a couple questions going into the Offseason for Utah, but there are a lot of things to be hopeful about for 2011. Boozer being the biggest question and the Draft will be huge for Utah.

Over the next couple weeks I will be reviewing 2010 and discussing what we can expect for the Utah franchise in 2011.

I’ll already say it here before anybody can beat me to it. If Utah, who owns New York’s First Round pick, gets a top 5 pick they are going to make some noise.

Enough noise to perhaps make the Finals next season? Maybe! I think if Utah gets a top 5 pick next year they are going to be good enough to go the NBA Finals. Yeah I said it!

With the impending Free Agency storm that’s brewing we are going to see a definite shift in power in the NBA. Teams that have struggled, Nets, Heat, Bulls, Knicks, to get out of the first round or even make the Playoffs will get a lot better.

But, this discussion is for another day, and believe me there will be plenty to discuss.

So we are about a month into the season and now is the time to really start making moves. Whether it’s through the waiver wire or through trades, if you don’t want to fall too far behind, or for those of you playing in leagues with me, if you want to stay on top you can’t just sit around.

Well, I guess you can if you want, I’m not the boss of you. But, if you want to win your league, get off your ace and get to work. Now is the best time to pick up a couple players off the Waiver Wire for a couple of reasons.

First, with a month under their belts, or jockstraps if you want, players are starting to show us who they really are. If we look closely we can find out who is for real, and who is pretending. Right now is the key time to identify who these guys are. Lucky for you I’ve already done that for you….maybe. Which brings me to the second reason;

If you wait too long these guys will be gone. The Aaron Hills and the Ben Zobrists of the world don’t stay Free Agents for long. Everyone is looking for the next big thing and we all want a little edge. Finding one of these breakout stars can be the difference between a First place finish or missing the playoffs completely.  

So who are these up and coming stars you ask? Keep reading and you’ll find out…smart a$$! Players are listed in no particular order.

(All ownership percentages come from Yahoo Fantasy)

 1B Justin Smoak                  Texas Rangers           20 Percent Owned

Super prospect Justin Smoak is the real deal and before the Season started Scouts were raving about his 30+ Homerun potential. Well he’s made it to the Show and is ready for your Fantasy Roster, that it, if you are ready for him. He’s only hitting .158 but boasts an OBP of .370 and just hit his first homer last night against the Cubs. He could be a good source of runs too in that potent Rangers lineup.

 2B Kelly Johnson                   Arizona Diamondbacks  71 Percent Owned

Who’s the top ranked 2B so far? No its not Chase Utley or Ian Kinsler, it’s Robinson Cano. What does that have to do with Kelly Johnson? Nothing besides the fact that sometimes power can come from where you least suspect it. Anybody think Mauer was going to hit 30 homers last year? Kelly Johnson could be this year’s Joe Mauer, he’s hit 9 homers in 75 at bats already, tops in the league, compared to 8 dingers in 303 at bats last season. Johnson is the 6^th ranked player overall in the Yahoo game and should be owned in every single league. He’s still available in 29% of leagues so go get him, don’t wait, I already got your page view, I don’t mind.

SS Alex Gonzalez                Toronto Blue Jays             65 Percent Owned

Ok so he’s not one of the sexiest names on the list but the guy can mow. His numbers don’t blow you away but when you look at them in relation to what other Shortstops are doing you realize Gonzo needs to be owned in more than 65% of leagues. 2^nd to only Jason Bartlett in RBI’s with 15 and sporting a .277 average and 5 dingers, you get the 5^th ranked Shortstop, statistically speaking that is, in Fantasy Baseball. He’s ahead of guys like Hanley Ramirez, Elvis Andrus, Ben Zobrist, and Stephen Drew, all owned in more leagues. I know the season is young and he probably won’t finish better than the HanRam, but he will finish top 10, and that’s good enough for your Roster. (Note: As I’m writing this Alex Gonzalez just finished a 2 homerun game against Oakland.)

1B Adam LaRoche          Arizona Diamondbacks          46 Percent Owned

I know, LaRoche is the second 1B on this list, and 1B is already a deep position, but you can’t ignore a guy that is owned in less than half of Fantasy leagues, has turned in the 48^th best Statistical season thus far, and is a notoriously slow starter. LaRoche has been operating on a May Opening day the past few years but already has 16 runs, 4 homers and 15 RBI’s, Ryan Howard has 17 RBI’s. Adam LaRoche is actually one of the best hitters in the league but injuries have really damaged his rep the past couple years. Pick him up and hope he stays healthy, if so there’s at least 30 homers, 90 RBI’s and a .280 average in it for ya.

OF Andrew Jones            Chicago WhiteSox                   34 Percent Owned

This pickup is for all you Nostalgic Atlanta Braves fans who remember the good old days when 50 homers and 130 RBI’s were a reality. Oh, wait, nobody misses those days but me. Oh well, if you need homers Jones could be your answer. He’s got two multi-homer games already, 6 bombs on the year total and is hitting better than he has in years. If he can get hot and reclaim his long lost glory, don’t you want to be the guy that believed?

OF Kosuke Fukudome     Chicago Cubs                            24 Percent Owned

The young star out of Japan has been somewhat of a disappointment during his first two seasons with the Cubs, so he’s fit right in with that Cubs team. If you need help in Batting Average Fukudome is a great add, but what’s surprising is the power numbers that we are seeing right now. In the past 7 days Fukudome, (I love saying his name phonetically, go ahead and try it), is hitting .421 with 3 homers and 7 RBI’s. His season numbers are even better with 5 homers on the year and 16 RBI’s while batting an impressive .344. In 2009 Fukudome hit 11 homers in 499 at bats, with 5 already Fukudome is primed for a breakout. 

OF Austin Jackson           Detroit Tigers                            40 Percent Owned

Ok so you will have to move fast to get this one, but you won’t be disappointed. Austin Jackson was drafted in 2005 but is finally getting his first shot in the big leagues and he’s making the most of it. Only Robinson Cano and Evan Longoria have more runs than Jackson, who has 20, he’s hitting .364 in his first 99 Major League at bats and has swiped 5 bags so far. Obviously Jackson probably won’t finish the year hitting .364 but it’s not far-fetched to think he can hit at least .310 with 90 runs if he stays healthy of course. With his speed 25-30 steals is a real possibility as well. Not bad production from your 3^rd or 4^th Outfielder.

If you are looking for Pitching help any one of these guys could be a good pickup or spot starter depending on the matchup.

SP Livan Hernandez    Washington Nationals                     34 Percent Owned

31 IP    3 wins  10 Strikeouts   .89 ERA     .87 WHIP

SP Carlos Silva             Chicago Cubs                                   37 Percent Owned

26 IP    2 wins  15 Strikeouts   1.76 ERA   .77 WHIP

SP Doug Fister            Seattle Mariners                               26 Percent Owned

27 IP    2 wins   13 K’s            1.67 ERA  .93 WHIP   (Has gone at least 7 innings in 3 of 4 starts)

RP Matt Capps             Washington Nationals                      79 Percent Owned

13 IP   10 Saves  15 K’s          .68 ERA   1.35 WHIP                                                                                     

 Ok so this one shouldn’t have to be said, Capps is the league leader in Saves with 10 but is still not universally owned. If he’s still available in your league, well, then either you play with idiots or Saves isn’t a Category. Even so, his K/9 is fantastic and his ERA is out of this world. Go get him.

RP Franklin Morales    Colorado Rockies                               39 Percent Owned

9 IP    3 Saves  6 K’s             3.72 ERA  1.34  WHIP                                                                

 This one is more for you deep leaguers looking for some saves help. Morales is Huston Streets backup and has shown promise. He’s blown a couple of saves this year and could lose the Closer job to Manny Corpas but it’s his job right now and if you need saves and have the roster spot he’s worth a pickup. Given Huston Streets extensive injury history it might not be a bad idea to have Morales rostered just in case Street does go down again at some point this season. Just sayin.

Fear the Deer!!!!!

Yeah I’m going to open this post with a shout out to the Milwaukee Bucks! Brandon Jennings has had a heck of a Playoff Debut. Though he most likely won’t win Rookie of the Year or his first Playoff series, Bucks fans can take comfort in the fact that in a league packed with elite Point Guards they have theirs for the foreseeable future with Brandon Jennings.

Nene is Down and Denver is Out

Early word was that starting Center Nene Hilario tore his ACL in his left knee, however its being reported by Yahoo Sports that a Thursday MRI revealed no ligament or meniscus damage, only a sprain. Still bad news for the Nuggets who could be eliminated Friday night in Salt Lake. Without Nene Denver’s already suspect defense takes a huge hit and I don’t think they will be seeing the Second Round this year.

Deron Williams is Good

The are officially known as the  NBA Playoffs but let’s call it what its really become, Deron William’s coming out party. We here in Utah already knew he was the best Point Guard in the league, now the rest of the league is finding out. D-Will is the first player in NBA history to start a Playoff series with 5 straight games of at least 20 points and 10 assists. The guy can straight ball.

Boston Advanced Already?

Really, that series is done already. Besides a Game 1 scrap that resulted in a Q Richardson fine, Paul Pierce faking another injury and a Kevin Garnett suspension for Game 2, not much to talk about in this series. Boring really, a far cry from Boston’s First Round with Chicago last year.

Orlando Does the Nasty to Charlotte

Oh Snap!!! Orlando straight worked the Bobcats. My pick to come out of the East, Orlando showed they have way too many weapons for anyone to stop. K answer me this, if Lebron averaged almost 22 minutes and 9.8 points a game for an entire series, do the Cavs win? I don’t think so. Dwight Howard, Orlando’s best player, was a complete non-factor in the First Round and Orlando still managed a sweep. Too many weapons on the Magic, too many for Lebron and the Cavs to handle? Maybe.

Brandon Roy is not Portland’s Savior

I have to say, that was a gutsy move by Brandon Roy to come back early and try to contribute, but he’s obviously not himself. And though team Doctors have said that he can’t further hurt the knee by playing, he’s hurting his team’s chances of winning with his play. Roy has played a total of 46 minutes and scored 15 points, total in the past two games. Portland could win tonight and force a Game 7, but I don’t think they can win this series even with Roy playing.

Hey!! Hey!! Hey!! Good-bye!!!

Dallas and Denver were the two teams in the West that people thought had a chance to beat the Lakers in the Playoffs. How wrong we all were. Denver is one game away from being eliminated by the 5^th Seeded Jazz. Even worse than that is the fact that Dallas, a 2 Seed, has already been eliminated by the Spurs, the 7^th seed. Wacky!! So let’s see here, Dallas  has now lost in the First Round as the top overall seed and the 2 seed, in just the past 4 years. Add to that the fact that Dallas lost in the Finals after going up 3 games to 1. Not pretty. That does not look good on Dirk’s Hall of Fame Resume. The guy is good, we can all agree on that, but for some reason he hasn’t been able to win the big one, and 2010 was another year of disappointment for the Big German. Dirk won’t be leading any seminars about performing under pressure anytime soon.

I Hate You Lebron

Ok Lebron! I know what you are up to!!! Don’t think for a second you have me fooled. Elbow injury? What? You’ve had it for a few weeks now? Are you serious? I don’t believe him for a second. Lebron is all about image and more important than money to him is that he looks like a Super Hero. What could possible make Lebron look like the best basketball player the world has ever seen than winning a title this year with an injured right shoulder? Legendary! We wouldn’t hear the end of it, all over ESPN about how great Lebron is and how much better he is than Kobe and how he led his team to the Finals with an injured shoulder. Doesn’t that sound grand? This is a win win situation for James, now he has an excuse if he doesn’t win the Title. Just perfect!!! Damn Lebron James!

Ok so I was wrong……kinda.

I thought Utah would take advantage of Fill-in Coach Adrian Dantley and win Game 1 of the series against an unmotivated Denver team. Well, they didn’t, despite keeping it close for the first 3 Quarters, staying within 2 points throughout. Then the Fourth Quarter started and Denver took control, led by JR Smith and Carmelo the Nuggets outscored the Jazz 38-27 highlighted by transition 3′s by JR Smith and drives to the basket by Scoring Guru Carmelo Anthony.

Yeah, missing Andrei Kirilenko and Mehmet (who left the game with a torn Achilles and will miss the rest of the playoffs) was huge in game 1. For Game 2 however, the Jazz came to play.

In a game that featured 15 ties and 17 lead changes it was the unsung heros of the Jazz bench who stepped up. Kyle Korver, who set a record for 3 point percentage during the regular season ( 56%) played 24 minutes and scored 13 points, going 5 of 7 from the field. Backup Center K. Fesenko, who played sparingly during the Regular Season, played 20 big minutes clogging the middle and altering shots all game long. He didn’t score a block but he played hard and made things incredibly difficult for Denver in the paint.

Five Jazz players scored in double figures.

Carmelo Anthony had another good scoring game, dropping 32 points, 6 boards and 4  dimes, but it didn’t come easy this time. After scoring a playoff career high 42 points on 18-25 shooting Carmelo went a horrific 9-25 from the field. Alot of the credit has to go to Jazz rookie Wesley Matthews and CJ Miles who made it their focus to play more physical with ‘Melo and try to limit his easy shots.

In Game 2 every shot was difficult and Wesley Matthews made sure to get a hand in his face every time he shot the ball. 

‘Melo is going to average 35+ points a game in this series, its important that the Jazz make it a tough 35 points though, because if he continues to shoot under 40% Denver will not win this series.

Another difference in Game 2 was JR Smith’s performance. Smith was the player who keyed Denvers run in Game 1 during the 4th that gave the Nuggets the win. In the first game JR scored 20 points on 4-10 shooting from 3 point land, hitting 3 of them in the Fourth Quarter, however Smith only scored 9 points last night and went 1-6 from 3 point range. Smith is definitely the wild card for the Nuggets this series. Like I said before Melo is going to get his, but, if JR plays well Denver is really tough to beat.

Denver almost made a comeback however, down by 14 Denver stepped up their Defense and kept Utah without a field goal for 5 minutes, going on a 14-0 run to tie it. That’s when D Will took over. He ended the scoring drought with 2 free throws and assisted on two of Kyle Korvers 3 buckets to take a 88-82 lead.  

 Thank goodness for Deron Williams.

After Game 2 this is what a friend of mine had to say after strongly disagreeing with my post about a month ago that Deron Williams was a top 5 overall player in the NBA.

“Ok, I agree with you now. D Williams is top 5.”

People outside of Utah who don’t see D-Will on a daily basis have no idea how good this kid is and I got alot of response from my Post that I was crazy to think D-Will was a top 5 player, except from my Utah fans of course.

After this series I think alot more people will start to agree with me. D Will scored 33 points on 7-14 shooting with 14 assists and a steal and blocked shot. Its amazing to watch Williams play, there is no quit in him and he always goes balls to the wall!!! When you have a player like that on your team its very hard to lose.

D-Will isn’t the only Jazz man to step up his game during the first two games of the series.

Carlos Boozer is had a big game as well, scoring 20 points and grabbing 15 rebounds on 10-16 shooting, For the series Boozer is averaging 19.5 points and 11.5 rebounds. The shorthanded Jazz need some more of that when they come back to SLC for Game 3 on Friday at 10:30 EST and I think they are going to get it.

Despite Boozer’s oblique injury that kept hin out of the Season Finale against Phoenix I predicted that Boozer would have a monster series and so far so good. He knows he’s playing for alot of money, and so far he’s delivered. I know Utah fans hate Booz but they are going to miss him if he doesn’t get re-signed after the season.

When the series started there weren’t alot of people giving Utah a chance, even I doubted alittle bit that they could pull it off even though I picked them to win in 7. The Playoffs are tough and even tougher when you are missing your best defender (Kirilenko) and  one of your best shooters (Okur), but Utah knows they can’t use their injuries as excuses, and so far they haven’t. They still need players like Korver and Fesenko to play well and step up to their new expanded roles.

Denver has some problems of their own as well. When I previewed the series I talked about how big missing George Karl for the series hurts Denver and it was pretty clear at the end of the regular season when Adrian Dantley took over that the Nuggets don’t respond to him as well as they do Karl. Well that’s rolled over into this playoff series, and Denver lost homecourt because of it.

If fill in Coach Adrian Dantley doesn’t figure out a way to reach his players and get them to buy what he’s selling this will be a short Post-Season for the Nuggets.

Danny Shapiro is the NBA Director of Content for Prosportsblogging.com. He lives in Salt Lake City Utah and has followed the Jazz for over 10 years. He’s a diehard Lakers fan and isn’t afraid to tell everyone how much better Kobe is than Lebron. You can also follow Danny on Twitter at DanShap@twitter.com or Facebook under Danny Shapiro. Also, Danny is a competitive Fantasy Sports Manager and loves to answer Fantasy Sports questions. If you would like to reach Danny with your questions you can reach him at dannyshapiro@sportstalkbuzz.com

Not again, really? Utah blew it. Utah blew it big time. Its going to take alot of praying to  get Utah out of the First round of the Playoffs…….again.

A year after Utah lost 7 of 9 to finish 8th in the West Utah had another opportunity to secure homecourt in at least the first round of the Playoffs, and they crumbled under the pressure….again.

On the final game of the 2009-2010 season Utah hosted Phoenix, on the second night of a back to back, and Utah was the team that looked tired and unmotivated. Utah went down by 10 early and never could get close again. Phoenix came into the game knowing they needed the win, just like Utah, but they actually played like it, and Phoenix took the 3 seed from the Jazz, on their homecourt.

Well, what’s done is done and now Utah has to forget about their late season struggles and get focused on Denver, who they play tonight in Denver in game 1 of their Playoff matchup @ 10:30 EST.

I planned on writing in my Blog the many reasons why Utah has this series in the bag and why they have a great chance to move to the next round, but things have changed, and I don’t know if I can lie to you like that. Right to your face…….blatant lies…….can’t do it.

First of all, we have to talk about injuries, because Utah is dealing with some big ones right now that can definitely make or break this series depending on which direction Utah’s injured players go. Andrei Kirilenko has come out and said that he plans to return for game one of the series, but now that’s come into question as well. AK has missed 15 of the past 17 games due to a strained calf and yesterday on ESPN radio Mike Tirico said that Ak might not be ready for game 1. In addition its being reported by the Deseret News that AK reinjured the calf in practice Thursday and will miss two more weeks.

Thats bad folks. AK-47 is a huge reason for the teams success this year, he’s in better shape, motivated, and just seems to be playing refreshed, like he loves basketball again. It could be argued that Utah wouldn’t have been near as good this year without AK, and I agree with that. Kirilenko is incredibly important for Utah’s defensive efficiency as well as ball movement on offense, AK is definitely an underrated passer and doesn’t get near enough credit.

So who guards Melo? I didn’t expect Ak to shut Melo down, but he’s good enough and long enough defensively to make things difficult for Carmelo, which is all you want to do against players like that. You can’t hope to stop guys like Kobe, Melo, Lebron and Durant, you can only hope to slow them down and make things as difficult as possible. AK can do that against Melo.

Now, its looking like Rookie Wesley Matthews will draw the defensive assignment on Melo. As good as the Rookie has been this season, especially defensively, this is the Playoffs and we’re talking about Carmelo Anthony here. This is defintely the matchup to watch in the game, it will be interesting to see if Matthews can have any success against the scoring machine.

Not likely, but if Utah wants to even think about advancing Matthews has to play out of his mind.

If that’s not enough, starting Center Mehmet Okur and PF Carlos Boozer are both questionable for game 1. Mehmet has said publicly that he will most likely play, somehow I don’t feel reassured because we have heard that before from Okur. He’s not exactly known as a tough guy.

Heck, speaking of toughness, Carlos Boozer is the Paper Mache’ Power Forward of the NBA. That’s been the biggest knock on the All star since he’s been in Utah, is his durability and toughness. Boozer has done a decent job this season of staying on the court, but that’s only because he’s a Free Agent at the end of the year, and he’s playing for a contract.

This is actually a good thing for Utah, because I think Boozer will play tonight, and I think he will play well. Nothing is more important to Boozer than money, and he’s got alot on the line at the end of the season and if he’s able to stay on the court and put a good series together that will go along way in proving to the league that he’s worth a big contract.

“I wouldn’t miss it for the world” Is what Boozer told the Salt Lake Tribune after practice Thursday.

Utah really needs Boozer to go off.  I think he will.

Despite the odds, everything going against Utah, the injuries, losing home court……despite all that I think they can do it. Denver has some problems themselves, this isn’t going to be an easy series for them either.

Coach George Karl is undergoing Cancer treatment and will miss the entire series against Utah. Coach Karl has missed Denvers last few games and its shown on the court. Nothing against former Jazz assisstant and Denver Asst Coach Adrian Dantley, but this team is not responding to you as well as you would like.

You can see it on the defensive end big time, no accountability for their assignments, no accountability to the coach. This wasn’t more apparent then on April 10th at home against San Antonio, Denver got straight man-handled in this game, losing 104-85. One of the most potent offenses in the league led by scoring Phenom Carmelo Anthony, held to 85 points.

Denver scored fewer than 85 points one other time this season, on January 29 against the Thunder, one of the best defenses in the league. Thats huge. Denver is not playing good basketball right now. Kenyon Martin is just coming back from his knee injury and he is clearly not confident in his pogo sticks because he is not flying around the lane like he usually does. Denvers already weak defense relies on K Marts athleticism in the lan eand ability to alter shots, without him Denver is likely to get abused by Utahs inside game.

So Denver might have home court, but don’t be suprised if Utah comes out with a chip on their shoulder and steal this first game to reclaim home court advantage for themselves. Far-fetched you think? Chauncey Billups is too good to allow that to happen.

I don’t think so. I’ve made my claim that Deron Williams is a top 5 player in the NBA and I fully expect him to put those skills on display in front of a National television audience against what’s widely considered one of the best defensive Points Guards in the game in Chauncey Billups.

There are mismatches all over the court in this one, on both sides, and that usually makes for a great series. Expect fireworks.

Prediction: Utah will come out throwing bows and will win big on Denvers floor tonight. Every game thereafter will be close, decided by 5 points or less. Utah Wins in 7 games

Danny Shapiro is the NBA Director of Content for Prosportsblogging.com. He lives in Salt Lake City Utah and has followed the Jazz for over 10 years. He’s a diehard Lakers fan and isn’t afraid to tell everyone how much better Kobe is than Lebron. You can also follow Danny on Twitter at DanShap@twitter.com or Facebook under Danny Shapiro. Also, Danny is a competitive Fantasy Sports Manager and loves to answer Fantasy Sports questions. If you would like to reach Danny with your questions you can reach him at dannyshapiro@sportstalkbuzz.com

What the heck!!!  Ok I’m going to need my heart medicine for the rest of the season because the Jazz are going to give me a heart attack! I can’t take all this up and down up and down up and down up and down up and down.

Before the Houston game last night Utah was entrenched in the number two hole in the west, focused on capturing homecourt throughout the playoffs, well at least til the conference finals, and now Utah is in 5th again, losing homecourt for the first round of the playoffs.

Wow, they go from number 2 to number 5. Thats how tight the west is right now.

Utah knew they needed last nights game, they needed a win badly to keep pace with Dallas, Denver, and Phoenix who are all a half game ahead of the Jazz.

This is the way its going to be for the last week of the season. Up and down up and down up and down. If you like drama then following the West this season must be like a dream come true, unless you are one of the players of course.

Every loss, every win changes the landscape of the West’s playoff picture, you know the saying, clear as mud, thats the outlook for the west.

What happened last night though? The Rockets aren’t even a playoff team, victory should have been theirs, especially considering how valuable each and every win is.

Well, realistically the Rockets are a tough matchup for anybody. They aren’t a big team, Scola is their biggest guy at 6’10” and he plays a lot smaller. The Rockets like to push the tempo as often as they can against anybody, against a team that played the night before in an Overtime thriller like the Jazz, they are running every chance they get.

Utah was obviously tired last night, they had to fly 1200 miles to Houston right after the Thunder game and didn’t get in until 3 am. They had to be tired. 

One way you can tell a team is tired is to look at their shot selection and the results. Utah went 3 of 15 from long range, thats only 20% for you math illiterate. This can mean one of two things, one they just sucked last night and missed shots, the other, they didn’t have their legs under them and couldnt hit, becuase they had to be tired. 

Ever try launching a 26 foot shot after playing 2 or 3 pickup games?

Air Ball!!!

Oh wait, that happens every time I shoot a 26 footer. No really, if you play basketball you get it, you use your legs to shoot the ball, jump shooters get alot of momentum from their legs and how much lift they get. The Jazz had no lift last night and it showed.

The Rockets tried to run the Jazz out of the building in the first quarter jumping to a 33 to 22 lead and it never got close after that. Aaron Brooks and newcomer Kevin Martin each scored 28 points. The Rockets also had their legs, as evidenced by their 52% shooting night from 3 point land. Aaron Brooks alone made 5 three pointers himself. That kid is good.

Deron Williams had a tough matchup guarding Brooks all night, chasing him around screens, trying to stay in front when he drove the hoop, Brooks has a non stop engine and he’s fast, D-WIll has been known to struggle against smaller faster guards and it showed last night. D-Will even struggled on the Offensive end, going 3 for 9 and finishing with only 12 points and 7 assists, a far cry from his career high 42 against the Thunder.

I’m not worried though, and neither should Jazz fans. Utah is the second best team in the West, I’ve been saying it for months now and finally the National Media is starting to pay attention. Not going to name any names but the four letter sports network we all love has shown love to everyone besides the Jazz for most the year. Its only been recently that we get any pub on the national spotlight and it’s about time.

Utah is going to make noise in this seasons playoffs you watch! Utah is the best passing team in the league, leading the NBA in Assts/game at over 25 and they lead the league in FG% as well. Two key factors in playoff basketball, unselfish play and good shooting. Utah can do both. We may have missed it against the Rockets but hey, everyone loses sometimes, and back to backs are hard, I’m willing to cut this team a break.

The Jazz have to figure out a way to give D-WIll some help on the defensive end however becuase once the playoffs start Utah can’t allow Deron Williams to be a liability on the floor, especially against all the great guards out west that we might see in the Playoffss, Chauncey Billups, Tony Parker, Steve Nash, Russell Westbrook, and Jason Kidd. Tough Tough matchups.

First things first however, the Jazz need to win out to have any hope of locking up the 2 seed.Utah has three games left, the last one on the 14th against Phoenix, which could be the game that decides the final seeding in the playoffs, and guess what folks, its on the second night of a back to back, lets hope the Jazz have their legs this time.

Danny Shapiro is the NBA Director of Content for sportstalkbuzz.com. He lives in Salt Lake City Utah and has followed the Jazz for over 10 years. He’s a diehard Lakers fan and isn’t afraid to tell everyone how much better Kobe is than Lebron. You can also follow Danny on Twitter at DanShap@twitter.com or Facebook under Danny Shapiro. Also, Danny is a competitive Fantasy Sports Manager and loves to answer Fantasy Sports questions. If you would like to reach Danny with your questions you can reach him at dannyshapiro@sportstalkbuzz.com

Here’s the thing you guys, I am a Fantasy Baseball Genius, a Guru if you will.

It’s pretty safe to say that I am the best Fantasy Baseball Player in the entire world. No doubt about it.

What do I do with this power? Fix the Economy? End world hunger? Develop a cure for Cancer? No, not big enough. It’s like Peter Parker’s Uncle in Spider Man said, “With great power comes great responsibility.”

Amen old man whose name I can’t remember right now!

I know what I have to do. I have to share this gift with the world! I have to pass on this knowledge that makes me the Jesus of Fantasy sports.

Ok, here’s what I’m going to do, I’m going to give you 2 to 4 rock solid predictions for every team, you can decide for yourself what to do with the information. I can only show you the door people, I can’t walk through it for you. Bam…..I know, I’m super deep right.

2010 Predictions that Guarantee to Blow Your Mind

           Tim Hudson will surpass 200 strikeouts with 17 wins

           Jair Jurrjens will have more wins than Tim Hudson.

           Free Agent acquisition Troy Glaus will hit at least 25 home runs this season.

            Rookie Phenom Jason Heyward will live up to the lofty expectations everyone has for him and win NL Rookie of the Year. BLAM!!!

            Dan Uggla has hit at least 31 homeruns each of the past three years while never hitting any better than .260, in 2010 Uggla hits .280 with at least 35 homeruns, all from the Second base position. Only Aaron Hill will challenge for the league lead in homeruns by a Second baseman, sorry Ian Kinsler.

             Hanley Ramirez will swipe even fewer bags than his career low 2009 total of 27, the fourth straight year his steal total decreases.

              David Wright, looking to  rebound from an injury plagued 2009 bats better than .330 with 35 homeruns.

               Even though he really wants to Jose Reyes will not rebound this year, expect less than 250 at bats on the Season.

              Stay away from Carlos Beltan, its not pretty and the decline, even if its injury related, will continue. He will have less than 400 at bats this season, with the abundance of young talented Outfielders you can find another option, let someone else take the shot on Beltran.

              Cole Hamels will win at least 17 games.

               Roy Halladay will get injured at some point this season, but not while Pitching, he will get hurt while batting, most likely getting hit by a pitch. That’s why he’s stayed in the AL all these years, so he wouldn’t have to hit.

              Outfielder Raul Ibanez hit a career high 34 homeruns last year, his 17th season in the Majors, this year he hits less than 20.

              Everyone is talking about Steven Strasburg so I refuse to jump on that bandwagon and will keep my Strasburg thoughts to myself. He’s going to start the season in the minors by the way. Washington is cheap.

              More people will follow the WNBA than the Washington Nationals, heck I’ll pay more attention to Dora the Explorer reruns than the Nationals. That was mean, they’re really not that bad. Yes they are.

             Outfielder Nyjer Morgan will have a better fantasy season than Thirdbaseman Ryan Zimmerman. Boo-Yaa!!! In fact Morgan will steal more than 65 bases.

             Carlos Marmol will most likely start the season as the Cubs closer with Kevin Gregg stinking it up last year. Finally given the opportunity Marmol will have at least 43 saves.

             Aramis Ramirez, dogged by injuries most of 2009, will finish the year with more Homeruns and RBI’s than Manny Ramirez.

             1B Joey Votto will hit 35 Homeruns and bat over .315.

            2B Brandon Phillips has stolen more than 30 bases once, he accomplishes the feat this year with 35 steals, thats in addition to his 30 dingers, helping the Reds to make the playoffs this year……….Sorry that was too much! HA HA Cincinatti making the playoffs! Oh my Gawd! No they won’t make it, they have no pitching they suck.

            SP Wandy Rodriguez will finish the year with a Sub 3.00 ERA and fan over 200 batters with 16 or more wins. He’s good people.

             1B Lance Berkman will rebound from a career worst 2009 season and get back to his hitting ways. Expect 30+ dingers with 105+ RBI’s

             Houston will play baseball games and nobody will care.

           You would be crazy to think that Prince Fielder couldn’t get any better but hes just entering his prime, we could see another level, maybe 55+ homers is possible.

            The Pirates will be the worst team in baseball. Sorry Pittsburgh.

             Brad Penny will finish the season with more wins than Chris Carpenter.

             Matt Holiday will have the best statistical season of his career and nobody will notice because he plays on the same team as Albert Pujols, whose numbers will still be better than Holidays.

             Lindsay Lohan will go back to rehab, get out, start a relationship with a Groundhog and begin a career traveling the world selling home security systems.

             The Diamondbacks will either finish 1st or 2nd in the NL West, which includes the Colorado Rockies, LA Dodgers, San Fran Giants and the San Diego Padres. Aside from the Padres all those teams are tough.

             Mark Reynolds, with the ink barely dry on his new 3 year $14.5 mil contract, will strike out over 200 times for the 3rd straight year, this time he doesn’t clobber 44 homers, more like 35-40.

             Justin Upton is good, I mean really good, and after this season he’ll be considered one of the best all around players in Major League Baseball. Prepare to welcome him to the 40-40 club.

             Ubaldo Jiminez is the real Ace of this staff, expect 17 wins and over 200 strikeouts.

             Its been rumored that SS Troy Tulowitzki is growing a Mullet and plans on not cutting it until the end of the year, he’s going for the biggest Mullet in the league and faces competition from Ryan Howard for the Rookie Mullet of the Year award.

             I’m watching a Spring Training game with the Yankees taking on the Phillies. Burnett is pitching right now and has given up 2 runs in the 1st and just threw a wild pitch, he looks bigger thought, broader, I wonder if he put on any weight? The Champaigne diet maybe?

            Manny Ramirez is playing for another contract, is LA crazy enough to resign him again? I don’t think so, not after the Steroid admission AND his play as of late, he’s not scaring Pitchers like he used to, I think he’s lost it. Maybe he hits 20 dingers but he won’t bat over .310.

          Alot of analysts expect Russell Martin to rebound, that he’s too good not to. I don’t think so. Seriosly, he’s not that good to begin with, no power, 19 bombs are his career high, career .276 hitter, .257 with runners in scoring position. The only thing Martin has going for him is the fact that he’s remained healthy most his career, Wow!

           Adrian Gonzalez will not be a Padre by the 2010 Trading Deadline.

           Tim Lincecum looks like Paris Hilton with a brunette wig on and a baseball Cap, the kid is scrawny, and I’m fat whatever, but he is smokin’ good!!! I like me some Lincecum!!! Ummmm no prediction here, I think he’s awesome.

          Matt Wieters, entering his Sophmore season, after being hyped as Baseball Jesus as a Rookie, will finally live up to expectations, just a season too late. Better late than never right.

         Boston will finish in the bottom 10 in the league in runs scored, seriously, they are going to be one of the worst offensive teams in Baseball, they don’t have any bats and David Ortiz is done. Sorry Red Sox Nation, its Yankee time now.

         Josh Beckett will finish 2010 with 14 wins or fewer.

         Javier Vazquez will have more wins than AJ Burnett and more strikeouts than CC Sabathia.

         If the above prediction comes true go ahead and pencil in the Yankees as the 2010 World Series Champion.

         David Price, entering his 2nd full season as a starting pitcher will finally put it all together. Expect sub 3.4 ERA, sub 1.20 WHIP (walks and hits per inning pitched) with 200 k’s and 18 wins.

         Ben Zobrist, finally given the full time 2b job had a spectacular season, it was a fluke people, Zobrist will not hit 20 homers and will have a sub .270 batting average.

         Carl Crawford will be a Yankee in 2011, to make that happen he has another solid season, swiping another 60 bags and 110 runs with a .300 BA.

         SP Ricky Romero wins 16 or 17 games.

         Aaron Hill was arguably the best 2nd basemen last year with 36 homeruns and 108 RBI’s, considering he’s still in his prime don’t look at this as a fluke, don’t expect another level however, this is his ceiling. 35+ HR and 110 RBI’s are likely.

         Jake Peavy finally gets healthy and puts up the monster numbers we are used to seeing from him, alot of K’s and wins are a sure thing. 220+ K’s and 18 wins aren’t crazy to expect.

          2B Gordon Beckham, one of the best Rookies of 2009, hits a sophmore slump in a big way and barely hits .240 on the season.

          Fausto Carmona will still suck in 2010, somebody will still hope for his 2007 year where he won 19 games. Consider in 4 seasons he’s had an ERA under 5.42 only once, that’s really bad. 2009 is the norm, not 2007, stay far away!

         OF Grady Sizemore is a great player who was dogged by injuries last season which cut his season short, he probably will come at a discount come draft time so grab him if you can, expect a return to his 30-30 ways.

         Losing Placido Polanco and Curtis Granderson will impact Detroits Offense even more than anyone could have expected, they will struggle to win 75 games this year.

         One of the few bright spots on this team is young SP Rick Porcello, he’s only 21 and already one of the better young pitchers in the game, expect more growth this year with an ERA around 3.30 and 16 wins.

         Miguel Cabrera will hit 40 dingers for the first time in his All Star career.

          Closer Joakim Soria is the best closer nobody talks about, I’m thinking 40 saves aren’t out of the question. I would predict more but Kansas City is bad and there won’t be that many opportunities to close games.

           Joe  Mauer will not hit more than 25 homeruns in 2010. He might not even hit 20 but I’m not willing to go that far. Despite the power outage he still puts up a MVP caliber season, the guy’s a potential batting champ every year if not the champ, career .444 OBP and a .367 hitter with runners in scoring position. Here’s a stat for ya, For his career, when he’s at bat with runners in scoring position with 2 outs is a .400 hitter, amazing.

            At some point this season SP Ervin Santana will end up in the Minors.

            Bobby Abreu still looks swollen, like he got stung by a mutant bee that swells your entire body.

           New addition DH Hideki Matsui, set to make $13 mil this year, will hit fewer that 20 dingers and bat .270 or less.

            OF Rajai Davis will steal more than 50 bases. Nobody cares except Grandma. Well, I care because if he does I’ll be right and if you know me the only thing I like more than being right is illegal in 47 states and can’t be mentioned on a family site like PSB. Translation-I like being right alot.

            Most people like the Angels to win the AL West, but I think with all the free agent acquisitions the Mariners are set to take control of the division.

            Felix Hernandez and Cliff Lee will have more wins than any other SP duo on any team in the league.

             Ken Griffey Jr is still one of the classiest baseball players of all time and if not for injury could have been the Homerun king instead of Barry Bonds, ahhh what if……anyway he stinks now so don’t even think about drafting him. Obvious you think? Yeah I know.

              Texas has the best pitching staff in the Majors of guys that you have never heard of, well, get to know them because the names Scott Feldman, Derek Holland and Tommy Hunter need to be owned on more Fantasy rosters. These guys will be good.

              Josh Hamilton breaks the current slump he’s been in for all of 2009 to belt 35 dingers and 125 RBI’s, maybe even 8 or 9 SB’s.

Ok alot of predictions made, comment below on how big of an idiot you think I am or how big of a genius I actually am! Don’t worry, I am keeping score and at season’s end for all you loyal readers I will post the results. Heck, I could be the next Nostradamus!