Congratulations to the Cleveland Cavaliers for making the NBA Finals! I am sure everyone other than Pistons fans are glad to see you on the ticket. ‘Bron in Game 5 will be a performance put on par with the other greats and their awesome games when the stakes were high.

Kobe and ‘Bron kicked off our tourney more than a month and a half ago. The votes did not fall ‘Bron’s way; would things be different if he could ride his current momentum against Mr. Trade Me/Don’t Trade Me? Never fear, because as always, we have two nice match-ups for you to consider.

The premise: (if you know how this tourney operates, feel free to skip down!)

The rules are simple. 32 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. Suppose these players play each other in a game of one-on-one: games to 11, two points for a three-pointer, and winners out. You can make your comment after each article, or if you like, send me an e-mail at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). You can now also make your comments on our Facebook group discussion board. 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!

Review of last week’s matches:

Game 11: Chris Paul vs. Yao Ming

Mike from ElevationMag: “Since it’s winners out, I’m gonna have to go with the big guys in both match-ups. There’s no way Chris Paul can defend Yao, who would just back him down.”

Patrick from Give Me the Rock: “We’re not talking about Zydrunas Ilgauskas here. While Paul can beat Yao the basket, there’s no way he’s stopping Yao from backing him to the hoop or grabbing rebounds.”

Will was the first to comment on these match-ups and had some great things to say. He was in the minority and gave the nod to Paul (and Nash too as you can see below). “Eventually Paul would get possession and just beat the lights out on Yao.” Will sounds like a baller, and talks about a center playing a guard…“When you’re a center and playing a speedy guard, when the guard misses their shot, they crash the boards way too fast for a sluggish center to get the rebound.” Kerry, after making a major faux pas in mentioning a player that used to play here in Toronto, also broke it down using some serious logic. Kerry’s a bro, and we are both guards who can only dream of backing someone down and jamming it home. So it’s kind of a big deal when he picked “Yao in a landslide.” On the counter-point, Terrance, also a return visitor, cited Yao’s “lack of aggressiveness” as a cause for concern. We have all see Yao totally gassed in a game, and Terrance thinks “Paul would run ragged and tire him down” so he took CP3 in a close one.

One of our resident gurus, Sarge, sealed the deal by stating “Paul doesn’t have the range to outshoot Yao.” The final score is 4 votes for Yao, two votes for Paul. I do not think it is impossible for Paul to win, but feel the “you can’t teach height” adage just plays too strongly here.

Yao: Yo!

Paul: Yao!

Yao: Can I write a check?

Paul: Why do you need to write a check, bro?

Yao: Cuz I’m money.

Winner: Yao Ming

Game 12: Chris Bosh vs. Steve Nash

Will was the lone ranger in Nash’s corner. Here are his comments in full. “Now this is a tough one because I have love for the two of them. Nash is my favorite player, and Bosh grew up in the same city as I did. How many times in games have you seen Amare set a screen on Nash and the defense switch up the defenders? And how many times have you seen Nash shoot it over the big man? This game would be close because Chris Bosh has better handles than any regular center, but Nash is a veteran player who plays smart basketball. Sure Nash might not have Amare rolling into the land as a distraction, but how can you not go for the two-time (should be 3) MVP?”

It turns out it wasn’t that hard to go against a two-time MVP. Mike notes that his reasoning in Yao beating Paul applies to Bosh and Nash also. Like Paul, Nash “would have to rely on their outside shots if they get the ball and one miss means game over.” Patrick gave major props to Nash saying he’d go with him “with just about any team mate in a game of 2-on-2, but I don’t see him beating Bosh when he’s got to create his own shot.” Kerry said he thought this would be a close one “if Nash’s 3-point shooting is on.” Terrance sums up Bosh’s advantages succinctly…“Bosh has a nice post game, and a nice midrange jumper and won’t have to try hard to create a shot against Nash.” I have seen on many a occasion Bosh fall in love a bit too much with his perimeter game, but in this situation, that would not be a problem. I thought the voting would be closer. Canada still loves you, Steve. Winner: Chris Bosh

And now on to this week’s feature match-ups.
Game 13: Marcus Camby vs. Andre Iguodala

Tony Parker destroyed Ben Wallace in our voting a few weeks back. Now we have Camby, the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Camby brings a little more offense to the table than Big Ben did, and he’s not facing a player who is faster than fast. However Iggy is one of the most exciting players in the game today. The steals tell you Iggy is a ball hawk ready to prey on any unprotected rock; the assists tell you he possesses good court vision. And he stands six-foot-six, unlike the just cast away Paul and Nash. This might not have the sizzle like some of our other match-ups but ballers know this would be a good one. So just Camby fan Iggy’s back as Iggy blows by him like Big here in the pic? Or does cotton turn out to be stronger than we give it credit for?

Game 14: Dwight Howard vs. Andrei Kirilenko

How many more years can Dwight rely on his “potential” before he is deemed to be “under-producing?” I figure he will make some small strides next year, and then in 2008-09 he will be an all-planetary force. Facing him today is one of the toughest players to figure on a fantasy level. Where are you going to draft AK-47 next year? Or maybe the better question is ARE you going to draft him next year? Sure, maybe your team did okay after you picked him in the first or second round, but he was outright dropped in some leagues this past season, and deservingly so. Along with the Jazz, he has garnered a longer than expected look in this year’s playoffs. Again, his boxscores were up and down like a yo-yo. Both players can clear out any weak stuff. Dwight is stronger, and Kirilenko has some outside game. Howard stands at 6-foot-11 while Kirilenko is listed at 6-foot-9.

Time to put in your 10 cents! Thanks to Mike from ElevationMag and Patrick from givemetherock.com for their comments. And I want to give Mike an extra thank you for posting this tourney on ElevationMag now. Hopefully more pairs of eyes end up here and we can get even more excellent input from our readers! Check out their sites, folks. If you write or blog about hoops and have been commenting on our tourney, please bring it to my attention. And to the readers who keep coming back and throwing in their 10 cents on the regular (Will, Terrance, Kerry, 4:20, etc), you guys obviously know your ball. Thanks for taking the time to be here.

See you next week, when our first round concludes!

If you are just joining us now, feel free to visit the previous posts.

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