Yee haw! Actually, boo hoo. The NBA season is in the books. Thankfully, before hoops withdrawal sets it after the conclusion of the Finals, we have the draft to look forward to this Thursday, and the rumor mill is already churning. I heard on the radio today that there might be a deal in the works involving Jermaine O’Neal joining up with Cowboy Bosh here in exchange for T. J. Ford, Rasho Nesterovic (and his valuable expiring contract) and the Raps’ first round pick. Bosh and Jermaine would make interesting partners.

Interesting partners is what our tourney is all about. Bosh is in action this week, so check it!

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 3: Dwyane Wade and Elton Brand vs. Monta Ellis and Amare Stoudemire. Sarge and coop offered their comments this past week. Thanks. Here’s what they had to say.

Sarge: If not for the ‘healthy’ assumption, this one may go differently.  If all four players are 100 percent, I think Wade and Brand own Amare and Ellis.  I bet fantasy owners are feeling a little differently right now, but those two are some of the best in the league.  Brand can hit the jumper and I think Ellis’ game is better when he has a fullcourt to run - which isn’t happening here.”

coop: I’ve gotta go with Dwyane and Elton since theyd be healthy—though there’s a 75% chance Wade would be carted off on a stretcher at about the half way point—but Amare and Monta play gritty and could make it a close one.

The assumption that all players were healthy was put into place so that no one could cop out picking for or against a team due to a player being injury-prone. When healthy, Wade and Brand are nice and there is not much more to say. I do think Amare and Ellis would make a cool combo, but…Winner: Dwyane Wade and Elton Brand.

Round 2, Game 4: Josh Smith and Zach Randolph vs. Manu Ginobili and Rashard Lewis

Sarge: Randolph drags down his team due to his lack of defense.  Lewis and Manu shoot the lights out, and even when they miss, they can snag the O-boards thanks to the hustle - something ZR is not a fan of.  Manu and ‘Shard here.

coop: Initially with the second game I thought Smith and Randolph could keep Manu from doing what he does—driving and flopping—but the more I thought about it the more I realized having Rashard forces at least Smith to play the perimeter, so Manu will be fine, PLUS I do not trust Randolph on either side of the ball…game to Manu and ‘Shard.

Isn’t it nice when everyone agrees? Winner: Manu Ginobili and Rashard Lewis. It seems easy to see these two moving the ball better. ‘Shard is a tough check even for an athletic demon like J-Smoove, and that leaves Ginobili in the relatively open court against Zach, and we all agree on how we would see that one turning out.

And now on to this week’s match-ups:

Round 2, Game 5: Luol Deng and Pau Gasol vs. Tony Parker and Marcus Camby
Gasol’s stock rides a bit low right now after getting pushed around by the Celtics and having a pretty quiet Finals. Deng was part of the controversial pairing in the first round where him and Steve Nash moved on against Kevin Durant and Joe Johnson. Gasol worked with Rip Hamilton to best AK-47 and Agent Zero in the first round. Meanwhile, Tony Parker partnered with Yao Ming and Camby joined up with The Truth to post victories. There are some rumors that Camby is on the trading block.

Round 2, Game 6: Shaquille O’Neal and Allen Iverson vs. Chris Bosh and Caron Butler.
Take the DeLorean back to 1999 and Shaq and the Answer would absolutely kill any comers. Nine years later, even at his most healthy state today, Shaq has seen better days. Congrats to CB4 for making the U.S. Olympic team. Caron Butler is the most underrated player here. He teamed up with LeBron James in Round One. So who sticks to play another day?
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
Round 2, Games 3 and 4