By Rick Morris
April 22, 2008 11:57am CDT

Boston Celtics vs. Atlanta Hawks:

In this space last week, Kevin Garnett's credentials as the top player in postseason fantasy drafts were examined and endorsed. His individual numbers in Boston's first playoff game (16 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists) didn't lend much credence to that assessment. But the ease with which the Celtics dispatched the Hawks in a 104-81 beatdown reinforced the value of the top superstar on the team with the clearest path to the finals. KG's final numbers for the year (18.8 PPG, 9.2 RPG, 3.4 APG) were down from his 2006-07 tallies (22.4 PPG, 12.8 RPG, 4.1 APG). Inasmuch as his scoring numbers were anticipated to be the only ones to take a hit in Beantown, the overall production levels are a bit curious. However, Garnett's motivation level in the postseason should be without peer and he's going to have a chance for some explosive games, at least in the first round against an outmatched Hawks team. Neither of the other two members of the Big Three really went off in the Game 1 rout. Paul Pierce had 16 points, three rebounds and three assists, while Ray Allen notched 18 points, three rebounds and two assists. The factor that has helped raise Boston to skyrocketing heights while hobbling the raw numbers of their superstars has been the capacity of their unheralded teammates to chip in with nice production, and the series opener was no exception to this rule. Rajon Rando had 15 points and nine assists and even tied with Kendrick Perkins for second on the team with six rebounds! For the Hawks, rookie Al Horford had a startling playoff debut with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Joe Johnson's 19 points and seven assists were also noteworthy, as were Josh Childress' seven rebounds.

Detroit Pistons vs. Philadelphia 76'ers:

While few of the Pistons' key players are particularly dynamic from a fantasy standpoint, they did at least carry a good amount of fantasy value because of Detroit's chances of deep advancement. A lackluster Game 1 performance against Philly dampened those prospects a bit, though. Ironically, a few Pistons actually had standout performances (Rasheed Wallace with 24 points and nine rebounds and Jason Maxiell had 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench). For the Sixers, Andre Iguodala filled the stat sheet with 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Philadelphia was powered in part by some excellent surprises, such as 17 points from Willie Green and Reggie Evans' 14 assists! The two Andres, Iguodala and Miller (20 points, six assists), will have tremendous value if their team is to gain any traction against Detroit.

Orlando Magic vs. Toronto Raptors:

This season marked Dwight Howard's ascension into franchise-player territory (20.7 PPG, 14.2 RPG) and in his first playoff game of the year he made quite a statement (25 points, 22 rebounds, five blocks). Much more surprising was the ability of Jameer Nelson to pair 24 points to his seven assists. Hedo Turkoglu's breakout campaign (19.5 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 5.0 APG) manifested itself almost perfectly in Game One (21 points, six rebounds, six assists). Likewise, Rashard Lewis' disappointing statistical year (18.2 PPG, 5.4 RPG after tallying 22.4 PPG and 6.6 RPG in 2006-07) was reflected in his numbers in the playoff opener (13 points, four rebounds, five assists). Meanwhile, Chris Bosh, who did not take a step forward this year (22.3 PPG and 8.7 RPG as opposed to 22.6 PPG and 10.7 RPG last season) put up numbers that were decent but not sensational - 21 points and six rebounds. Rasho Nesterovic continues to perform as though a body-snatcher surreptitiously found an actual NBA player to replace him with, gaining 16 points and eight rebounds in this one. Jason Kapono used four three-pointers to help garner 18 points in the game.

Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Washington Wizards:

Lebron James' greatest statistical season (30.0 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 7.2 APG) was offset in terms of his perceived postseason fantasy value by his team's miserable play with no cohesion down the stretch. Then Gibert Arenas and DeShawn Stevenson (Who???) made the mistake of angering of the league's most dominant player. Big mistake! The Cavs are playing like locks for at least the second round by having ripped out Washington's heart down the stretch in Game 1, 93-86 and then stomping a Game 2 mudhole in them and walking it dry, 116-86. Lebron's numbers thus far? 31 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 8 APG. That does constitute upping his game from his usual stellar level, even if it's not by much. Zydrunas Ilgaukas is absolutely abusing D.C. down low with 19 PPG and 10 RPG - and after Brendan Haywood's complete loss of self-control in the form of a flagrant foul in the second game, he could be looking at a Game 3 suspension and a huge gift being unwittingly presented to Big Z. Daniel Gibson is slowly regaining his shooting stroke to the tune of 12 PPG in fairly limited opportunities and Ben Wallace is demonstrating just how much magic is contained in that 'fro of his, as the revival of his classic hairstyle has seen him chalk up 6.5 RPG in only 20.5 MPG. Meanwhile, the biggest fantasy story by far surrounding Washington has been the exposure of Gilbert Arenas as still significantly less than 100%. After his sterling Game 1 performance (24 points in 28 minutes, including 4-5 shooting from three-point land), he regressed to seven points on 2-10 shooting in the follow-up affair in Cleveland. This mirrored the falloff of Antawn Jamison, who was ferocious in the first game (23 points, 19 rebounds) and all-too-human in the next (nine points on 4-13 shooting). Caron Butler has been pretty mediocre to this point (13 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 4 APG, 3 SPG). One very pertinent question heading into the playoffs would be how Cavs' coach Mike Brown would set up a rotation when such an issue had been fairly inconsistent throughout the year (in fairness, owing to injuries every bit as much as the presence of so many up-and-down players). With Sasha Pavlovic on the sidelines due to injury, Brown made Damon Jones the "final cut" from the rotation, utilizing Z, Big Ben, Lebron, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West as starters and the combo of Gibson, Anderson Varejao, Joe Smith and Devin Brown off the bench. If Pavlovic can return in the next round, he will put Devin Brown "on the bubble." Speaking of comebacks, Arenas' has victimized Nick Young, taking him out of the rotation for the Wizards.