This Is My House!

There seems to be a contention among our voters that the Sixers, Knicks, Magic and Jazz are most probably going for an early vacation. I would agree. The Mavs-Thunder matchup may go 6 to 7 games so we'll revisit them late in Round 1. The remaining three matchups may go 5 to 6 games so there's no hurry to pick from them as well.

Here are the prospects from the non-favorites, who are playing the first day of the playoffs:

• Andre Iguodala -- We're only looking at about 26 PRA from him, so he's not enticing to pick this early. With his last game against the Bulls, he only pulled 14 PRA in 38 minutes; that's not a statistic we want to see, especially if the Bulls still remember how to shut him down.
• Ryan Anderson -- Well with Howard injured, there's no one.. no one in Magic that are consistent enough to merit our look. Even with Anderson, we can only expect a PRA of 23. This early in the game, any PRA below 30 should be snubbed. Nothing to see here, next..
• Amar'e Stoudemire -- A season average of 27 PRA is still below our target, but get this... Knicks' center Chandler is battling a flu and may miss Game 1. Now the keyword there is "may" because I know that the former Mav Chandler will not let a flu stop him from playing that game. Keep monitoring his status and if he is not listed to play, you should pick Stoudemire because he will absorb some of Chandler's numbers. It's a limited-time offer as your least favorite marketeer would often say.
• Carmelo Anthony -- Now that's a cut above all else. Season PRA average: 34. He is the safe pick. The last time he faced the Heat, he torched them for 42 points. People are asking if LeBron can stop him.. well, no! Knicks will lose, but Melo will get his numbers, that's for sure. This is why (pending Chandler's status) I am picking him.

You may be tempted to go all out and pick from the Heat's Big Two and a Half, Rose, KD, Westbrook, or Dirk. They will give you PRAs of high 30s. Reigning MVP Rose, for the last 3 years have been lighting up his Game 1s -- that's a whooping 51, 45, 51, respectively. But I would not recommend to pick any of them early this round -- not even early this playoffs. There's plenty of time to pick them much much later. Hold your horses, and you will find that you will be rewarded later for your patience :)