With Games 7 and 8 wrapping up, our one-on-one tourney finds itself halfway through the first round! So far the winners include Kobe Bryant, Gilbert Arenas, and Tony Parker. Unlike the conference semi-finals, Shawn Marion gets to move on with Tim Duncan.

The buzz has been about how suspensions to Amare Stoudemire and Boris Diaw tainted the Spurs-Suns series. Also it has come to light what a cheap shot artist Bruce Bowen is. And I do mean artist...he’s the Picasso of the gut punch! Have no fear as Bowen did not receive an invitation to our tourney. But I do have him pictured defending one of our contestants, someone who has gone on record saying just how much he appreciates Bruce’s play.

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

Thanks to all who have voted and/or have taken the time to read this feature so far. Please feel free to comment on any or all future match-ups! 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. I am sure Dennis, Sarge and Ron will give me their “10 cents” on the topic when their schedule permits. Of course, if everyone is feeling shy, I will just call it as I would see it! 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 match-ups:

Game 7: Carmelo Anthony vs. Kevin Garnett
Our brand spanking new group page has yielded us an all-time high in reader input! Okay, we have six votes to review, and mine makes seven. KG was the reader’s choice, with only one dissenting opinion. Ron Chow, one of our resident writers, vehemently disagreed with the ‘Melo vote, saying KG would slap ‘Melo one-on-one…only there was another word in front of “slap” and it was spelled in such a way to provide extra emphasis. I’ll let you figure it out!

I found the response to Ron’s insult interesting. Jeff (whose profile picture shows him dunking two-handed! Though it looks like it’s a hoop set up in a squash court so for all we know, he used the wall for leverage) stated that “KG is not a one-on-one player. ‘Melo is.” This made me stop and go hmmm. ‘Melo’s skill set is definitely suited for one-on-one play. And KG’s prime health might not be so optimal these days; his knees have logged a billion miles. Still, I have trouble visualizing exactly how ‘Melo would take possession of the ball away from KG. Over time, ‘Melo could win against KG more often than he loses, but our voters have spoken. Winner: Kevin Garnett.

Game 8: Tracy McGrady vs. Amare Stoudemire

Ron summed up the way everyone sees it. “T-Mac would kill Amare 1-on-1. Pick your poison. T-Mac can drain it from outside or take it to the hole.” I overstated Amare’s edge inside in the preview. Sarge correctly pointed out that Amare is not that much bigger than McGrady. The most postive comment for Amare was from Greg on the Facebook board who said that “it would be a closer match-up than one might expect.” It’s a landslide. Winner: Tracy McGrady.

And now on to this week’s feature match-ups.

Game 9: Ray Allen vs. Joe Johnson

I figure enough time has passed where fantasy owners who were hurt by injuries to these two have moved on to bigger and better things to complain about. Both were part of my experts league team, and they were great…while they were on the court. These two all-stars have sat out this year’s playoff dance, so both are itching for some game action. Ray is listed at 6-foot-5 and 205 pounds, whereas the man with an ordinary name but hardly ordinary game stands 6-foot-7 and weights 230 pounds. Both are known for their outside shot, but both have no problem driving to the basket and ending up at the free-throw line (both averaged more than 5.5 attempts per game this past season). So how does this one go down? Does Ray just stand in one spot the whole time, checks the ball to Joe, and drains six treys in a row? Or does Joe get a chance to show off his inside/outside game? Who knows for sure, but I bet Ray Ray is happy that his opponent is Johnson and not Bowen!

Game 10: Rafer Alston vs. Michael Redd

Skip to My Lou was picked because of his “x-factor” potential. With countless street-ball battles under his belt, he probably has more experience than any other NBA player when it comes to one-on-one play. Although it did not work out between him and my hometown Raptors, I give him respect for working on his game to the point where he is a very capable professional player. On the flip side, Redd seems like the classic pedigree player. Born in Columbus, Ohio, he grew up to play for Ohio State. Leaving for the pros after his junior year, his draft stock fell and he landed in Milwaukee when they grabbed him in the second round. Trouble was the Bucks already had a capable two-guard (the aforementioned sweet-shooting Allen). Perhaps it was Redd’s performance in practice against Allen that led the Bucks’ brass to trade Allen to Seattle, a move that briefly brought Gary Payton to town. Alston seems to have the edge in quickness, street savvy and ball-handling, but Redd definitely has the better outside shot.

Time to put in your 10 cents!

See you next week!

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