R.I.P. OFWGKTA

The 2011 MTV Video Music Awards were around the corner and I partook in the annual online fan voting for the awards as I usually do.

As with every award show, everyone had their different takeaways after the show whether it was Beyonce's baby bump, Katy Perry winning Video of the Year for the cheesy mess that was "Firework" or 85-year old Cloris Leachman presenting an award with the cast of Jersey Shore (You're welcome for the reminder that Jersey Shore was a thing society just accepted on our televisions). For me, the real takeaway was the hip hop collective known as Odd Future taking over the show with their bizarre stage presence. Which brings me back to how I discovered them.

While voting for the VMA's that year, I noticed there was one video that I had not yet seen and that was the video that grabbed America's attention.

"Yonkers" is one of the most captivating music videos of the 2010's. At first viewing nonsensical, "Yonkers" was really about Tyler's character in the video quickly dissolving into madness to the point where he eats a cockroach, threatens to kill Bruno Mars and B.O.B. and hangs himself to end the video/his life. "Yonkers" ended up winning Tyler, The Creator the award for Best New Artist at the VMA's.

Nobody in the world of music showed more genuine emotion at winning an award than a 19-year old Tyler in that moment and it won me over. So much about it was fascinating like, who voted for these guys over Wiz Khalifa and Foster The People? and who was Earl? where was Earl? What the hell were those fifty dudes doing on stage? There was so much that I did not know yet. For instance, I hadn't even realized that I had seen Tyler and a few others earlier in 2011 during the MTVU Woodie Awards and it was just as mysterious as everything else around this group of dudes.

Further research was necessary.

The leader of Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA) was led by the gruff voice and style of Tyler, The Creator and featured many of his friends that he grew up with in Los Angeles. The other members were Earl Sweatshirt, Hodgy Beats, Domo Genesis, Mike G, Left Brain, Syd Tha Kid, Matt Martians, Hal Williams, Jasper Dolphin, Taco Bennett, L-Boy, Lucas Vercetti and Frank Ocean. They were the quirky, weird, music-obsessed kids who had fresh, original ideas brewing in their drug-fueled minds. After MellowHype (Hodgy Beats and Left Brain's duo) released their first album, BlackenedWhite, without a whisper of hype, the real fire-starter was Tyler's Goblin album (his first official release after the Bastard mixtape) which featured tracks like "Yonkers", "She" and "Sandwitches". It was new, it was different and gained a ton of traction after Tyler's VMA win.

Also gaining tons of traction after Tyler's VMA win? The entire Odd Future collective. They created their own appropriately-titled Odd Future Records record label (before the VMA's), had a widely-successful Golf Wang Tour 2011 and were even booked by Cartoon Network's Adult Swim to make their own television show called Loiter Squad. They were building a brand.

2011's 12 Odd Future Songs, a compilation album featuring 13 previously-released OF tracks.

The first and most likely only official album from Odd Future came in 2012, was well-received and featured every member doing something (rapping, producing, singing, talking, making appearances in the music videos). The OF Tape Vol. 2 really nailed home the style and general aesthetic of the artists with their bold usage of color in music videos, carefree attitude within lyrics, unique flow and fashion sense (Knee-high socks, Hawaiian shirts and bucket hats). With their relatable personalities and odd charm in interviews they became bigger than they ever imagined.

Then Earl finally showed up. Right as the group had been brought into prominence, Earl's mother sent him to a retreat school for at-risk boys in American Samoa after he repeatedly got himself into undisclosed trouble. He finally made his debut in the newer, much-wider spotlight in New York and the mystery of the missing OF member was solved.

Even the doubters and critics of Odd Future were silenced on July 17th, 2012 when one of the three best albums of the year was made by Frank Ocean.

I recommend "Forrest Gump" and "Pyramids" if you aren't already aware of those songs.

The soulful vocals of Ocean, mixed with some of the most breath-taking instrumentals of the decade so far, made Channel Orange my third favorite album of that year (behind The Heist by Macklemore & Ryan Lewis and Master of My Make-Believe by Santigold). Ocean went on to win the Grammy Award for Best Urban Contemporary Album and was also nominated for Best New Artist, Album of the Year and the song "Thinkin' Bout You" was nominated Record of the Year. As with all OFWGKTA storylines, there was one more mystery that remained and that was Frank Ocean's sexuality after many interpreted the lyrics to be about a male. All those rumors were confirmed by Ocean and he received immediate support from the OFWGKTA crew when they had known for a while. As Tyler so elegantly stated "I kinda knew, because he likes Pop Tarts without frosting on them, so I knew something was weird. [Laughs] But that's my n----.".

Domo Genesis and MellowHype went on to release albums at the end of 2012 and then Tyler returned with the critically acclaimed album Wolf. In all honesty, I was confused as hell by some of Tyler's lyricism and even though I understood his usage of slurs in what he wants to be non-offensive ways, the overall messages of each individual song were sort of trapped behind classic beats and the sheer grittiness of his vocals. Once Wolf was released into the public, I finally figured it all out. Tyler was telling a story in reverse through each of his albums, dealing with multiple characters, summer camps and love. It was just as bizarre as everything else Tyler released but with features from Pharrell, Erykah Badu, Nas and Casey Veggies, it was Tyler's most complete album in both sound and storyline. 

Wolf featured tracks such as "Tamale" and "IFHY".

The cover art for Wolf's deluxe edition was a departure from the minimalist approach of previous OF album covers. On August 20th, 2013, Earl dropped his heavily-anticipated debut album, Doris, which was met with widespread praise even though I still think it is Odd Future's weakest release outside of anything MellowHype has released. With Doris's success, Earl became the rapper with the most credibility and highest chance of success once OF broke up, something that was bound to eventually happen considering the amount of members. 

Standouts on Doris included "Whoa", "Burgundy" and "Hive".

Then the hip hop collective went silent. Outside of another annual Camp Flog Gnaw carnival, another season of Loiter Squad and the unveiling of an Odd Future radio station, the guys didn't release much music and began doing their own separate projects. Tyler produced music videos including the tremendous "Glowing" video for pop singer D.A. Wallach.

Left Brain produced the score for an independent film, Earl worked on his latest album, I Don't Like Shit, I Don't Go Outside, Domo Genesis halted any future MellowHype productions and instead, began working on his own mixtapes, Frank Ocean distanced himself from the group but continues to work on a follow-up to an instant classic while the rest of the group has remained fairly anonymous since 2013 outside of cameos on Loiter Squad.

It was another mystery to the OFWGKTA-obsessed. 

Hope was somewhat restored when Tyler dropped the album Cherry Bomb out of nowhere on April 13th this year but sadly, it was a departure from the story arc he had been working on for his entire musical career in the public eye these past five years. Tyler stated that he was tired of that gimmick and wanted to "grow up" in his music when in reality, there aren't many more grown-up things to do than construct a story told through multiple albums in a six-year span. With features from Kanye West, Pharrell Williams, Lil' Wayne, Schoolboy Q and Charlie Wilson, Cherry Bomb was a commercial success despite being an underwhelming album for about 50-60% of the album. One thing that was an under-the-radar huge deal was that Tyler was big enough now that not a single member of the OF collective appeared on Cherry Bomb and it was seen more as an oddity and experimental then anything else but of course, call up Scooby Doo and the gang because this was the first clue something weird was about to go down.

Cherry Bomb will mostly be remembered for "Perfect/Fucking Young", "Smuckers" and "Deathcamp".

Even with a ton of Odd Future favorites appearing in the video for "Perfect/Fucking Young", it just seemed as though Earl Sweatshirt was distancing himself from the group also. After a couple of cryptic tweets this week from Tyler, it was widely speculated that the group dynamic was gone and that OF had OD'd. Earl Sweatshirt tweeted about the issue today and lucky us, another mystery!

Ultimately, it is assumed though not known that Odd Future has drifted apart. It should not be sad or depressing because their group growing into their mid-twenties and hanging out less and less is much like the path of basically every college graduate or high school graduate eventually losing contact or drifting away from the dozens of people he/she used to converse with constantly. 

I'm writing this today because even though I was never the hugest fan of Odd Future, I have followed their careers and this break-up could make or break the prime of every one of their careers (except Frank Ocean, he's too chill to care about any of this).

Like it or not, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All were sort of the voice of a generation. That generation being middle-class white kids who disapprove of society's norms and are super angst-filled but, the voice of a generation none-the-less.

For now, we'll always have "Oldie".

The 2015 NBA Playoffs: Round 3 and More!

Before I get to previewing the Conference Finals Match-ups, here a few miscellaneous topics I feel like addressing.

- I never announced this on my blog last month but, Alabama Shakes, Run The Jewels and St. Vincent won the Coachella Festival's first weekend (which has been live-streamed on Youtube for the past five years). It also sounds like Florence + The Machine (who was certainly on the Mount Rushmore of weekend one performers) won weekend number two by putting on a strong performance despite breaking her foot while bouncing around weekend one (something nobody could have known until after the set). Drake lost big time.

- This whole TIDAL business is something I will never invest in but, I get it. I can tolerate it's existence as long as it does not turn into some war where some great artists are strictly on one music streaming service and some great ones are on another service. If I can't find your music anywhere fairly easily (Taylor Swift), I tend to dismiss the music as non-existent and not worthy of being heard (ouch).

- I am not a movie-viewer whatsoever and have not even been to a movie theater for nearly a decade but, with a few months of free movie channels, HBO, Showtime and a spacious DVR, I've been on an extreme movie-watching spree. Expect a mega movie-based post sometime before the end of the Summer (unless the weather is nice enough that these movies can be kept on the DVR until Autumn).

- I have been to my first baseball game of 2015! On May 10th, I went to Miller Park for the exciting extra-inning game between the Milwaukee Brewers and Chicago Cubs. The roof was up (thank god) as it was fifty degrees while feeling like a shivery thirty thanks to rain cold enough to give me a week-long cold. It was all worth it in the end as I found a bunch of free stuff (Khris Davis's head on a stick, free posters and Brewer towels!) and as is the usual recently, I acquired another bobblehead with the Mother's Day Hank the dog statue/figure/bobblehead/thing. It looks quite nice next to Hawaiian Roscoe P. Rafter and the Packer Gnome that I use to hold my shutter shades. The Brewers also won their first game that I was in attendance for for the first time in eight years (and I've attended nine games) in extra innings. The final score was 3-2.

Photo Credit: Steve Todd

- Bill Simmons getting fired by ESPN is one of the dumbest things to ever happen at ESPN but, uncensored Simmons should be fun wherever that may be.

- The winner of the Hip-Hop Video Bracket?

If it wasn't "It Was A Good Day" or at least "Runaway", what was the point?

- I am not a big reader but, I am currently reading Live From New York AKA: the Saturday Night Live book by James Andrew Miller. Pretty early in the book but, I'm already fascinated by what happened behind-the-scenes early in the show's history.

- The Billboard Music Awards were quite awful from the 30-40 minutes I could see of it.

- I was in Eau Claire, Wisconsin about a month ago and found my favorite place ever, a store called BAM! (no affiliation with Emeril Lagasse). The place is filled with books and albums and there were even records on vinyl and a coffee shop. It was so hipster-ish, I just wanted to live there, inside of that store.


At last, here is my preview for the Conference Finals of the 2015 NBA Playoffs...

Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
Will Trevor Ariza continue hitting clutch threes with Draymond Green guarding him?

#1 Golden State Warriors v. #2 Houston Rockets
The Houston Rockets shocked the world and, most importantly, shocked the Clippers in the second round by taking a series in which they trailed 3 games to 1. Another surprising revelation of the second round was how entertaining the Rockets can be, especially when James Harden is taking a breather on the sidelines. Will the emergence of role players like Josh Smith, Corey Brewer, Trevor Ariza and Terrence Jones be enough to take down the #1 seed in the NBA in the Warriors? Probably not. Stephen Curry is un-guardable when Klay Thompson and Draymond Green are also on the court and the same goes for those two when the other two are on the court. Steve Kerr runs an incredibly efficient offense and that's not their only strength either. Andrew Bogut will get out-rebounded by Dwight Howard fourteen out of fifteen times but, the Warriors have the defensive advantage at every other position as long as David Lee doesn't get big minute totals. The Finals are a long-shot for Houston but, after the last round, they seem to have the path of a team of destiny.

Key Match-up To Watch: Josh Smith vs. his overconfidence.

Step-back three! IT'S GOOD!?

My Pick: Warriors in 6. (I REALLY REALLY Wanted to take Houston)

DeMarre Carroll will get his first of potentially many attempts at defending Lebron in the postseason.

#1 Atlanta Hawks v. #2 Cleveland Cavaliers
Just do what Jimmy Butler did defensively, DeMarre Carroll. The rest of the Atlanta Hawks (Teague, Horford, Millsap and Korver) can all quickly respond offensively or defend the Cavs quite well. It should be a closer series than most are predicting (which is 5 games). Matthew Dellavedova made himself an NBA household name with his hot shooting in the Bulls series and could make the series a whole lot easier for David Blatt if he has a deja vu series and inexplicably explodes (metaphorically) mid-game. Kyrie Irving's limp needs to go away before he plays against the likes of Jeff Teague and Dennis Schroder for Lebron James to have the entire weight of Cleveland off his shoulders for half of the possessions. The Hawks are still lacking a bench that we can take seriously thanks to the NYPD (Thabo Sefolosha) and the lack of a shooter outside Pero Antic'. Their bench is crucial for them to pull off an upset even though they're the #1 seed. The Cavs have plenty of bench players and role-players that have reached their seasonal peak at the right time including Iman Shumpert, J.R. Smith, Dellavedova and James Jones. It's an uphill battle for Mike Budenholzer.

Key Match-up To Watch: Tristan Thompson vs. Paul Millsap.

Tristan Thompson is a robot programmed by Lebron to grab offensive rebounds and do nothing else. If he can beat out Paul Millsap for boards and keep him out of the paint, this series could get ugly fast.

My Pick: Cavaliers in 7.


MY FINALS PICK AT THE MOMENT: Cavaliers over Warriors in 6! 

Thanks to the Clippers imploding, only 50% of my Finals prediction is still alive and I'll stand by that team as they continue to improve and even though it seems crazy to say now, I'll take them over Golden State in a best-of-7 series.

More game sevens please and thank you!

MLB's First Month All-Stars

Even though it's completely ridiculous to waste any time voting for all-stars based off of one month, I do it every year just to keep up on who might end up in Cincinnati for the July 14th game.
With all that said, here's my April all-star ballot based off of me overreacting to one month of baseball games.

AL Roster

Catcher: Stephen Vogt (Oakland Athletics) - Vogt for Stephen Vote or something like that. .358 batting averages and 7 homers will lock you into those juicy first-month votes, especially at the weakest offensive position (Catcher). Honorable Mention: Salvador Perez (Kansas City Royals) - The Royals backstop is batting over .300 with solid production in all of the other flashy offensive statistics plus, he's a superior defender to Vogt and coming off of a World Series will always inflate a player's vote total.

First Baseman: Miguel Cabrera (Detroit Tigers) - If someone has an on-base percentage over .400, chances are they are an All-Star. If that same person is playing the best offensive game of any player at his position and has a reputation of doing that for years, like Miguel Cabrera, then he's a lock for the All-Star Game. Honorable Mention: Prince Fielder (Texas Rangers) - The strongest Comeback Player of the Year candidate, Fielder has become the player Texas wished he would be last year before he injured himself and lost 4-5 months. Fielder's .354 average isn't digging Texas out of last place in the AL West but, it certainly is not hurting them.

Second Baseman: Jose Altuve (Houston Astros) - After winning the batting title in 2014 with 225 hits and a .341 batting average, the 5'6'' Altuve is on pace for even better statistics this year. He's becoming an annual lock for the mid-summer classic before our very eyes and is vital to Houston's success this year. Honorable Mention: Devon Travis (Toronto Blue Jays) - Acquired this off-season from Detroit for Anthony Gose, Travis has made his presence known with a position-leading 7 home runs and is the strongest AL Rookie of the Year candidate thus far. Time will tell if he can keep batting .309 but, the power seems very real and he should challenge 25 homers at least.

Third Baseman: Josh Donaldson (Toronto Blue Jays) - It's surprising to see Toronto's consistent stars like Edwin Encarnacion and Jose Bautista struggle to start the season on a good note while Travis and Josh Donaldson take over the reigns as the new stars of Canadian baseball in their first seasons in Toronto. Donaldson, so far, is the only 3rd Baseman to keep a nice batting average along with his power (.303-6) and is not quite an AL MVP candidate yet (as I called this preseason) but, he is still playing better than any Blue Jay and that is impressive. Honorable Mention: Mike Moustakas (Kansas City Royals) - Moose Tacos are in season as Mike Moustakas has pulled off the first nice April of his career. A consistently-bad starter, Moustakas has saved his job for a couple of months by batting above .300 instead of below the Mendoza line. 

Shortstop: Jose Iglesias (Detroit Tigers) - Where did this come from? Known for his defense and not his offense, Iglesias has been flashing his glove AND bat throughout the month of April with an impressive .354 batting average that would call for him to go up in the order in lesser lineups but, this is the land of Miguel Cabrera and Yoenis Cespedes and a small sample size from Iglesias is just an added bonus, not the focus of the entire team's offense. Honorable Mention: Jed Lowrie (Houston Astros) - Another former Red Sox Shortstop, Lowrie is off to a good start with his strongest (4 homers) start to a season yet with his typically good defense still in tact and a .300 average to really nail home his early All-Star case.

(Tommy Gilligan, USA TODAY Sports)
OF Adam Jones, Orioles

Outfielders: Adam Jones (Baltimore Orioles), Mike Trout (Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim) and Hanley Ramirez (Boston Red Sox)

Amid all the turmoil happening in Baltimore, Adam Jones has been the one thing to come out of that city this year that has been super positive. Jones is playing like he's coming for Mike Trout's throne as the AL MVP. Leading the race for the batting title (.396), Jones has performed exceedingly well in all categories and has not shown any signs of slowing down through the first week of May.

Mike Trout is, once again, still Mike Trout.

Hanley Ramirez's transition to the Outfield has worked unbelievably well as he has only recorded one error and has taken total advantage of the batter-friendly Fenway Park with 10 home runs (2nd in MLB). He did suffer a sprained left shoulder recently however, and it has yet to be seen if he can keep up his gaudiest power numbers yet in his decade-long career.

Honorable Mentions: Josh Reddick (Oakland Athletics), Jake Marisnick (Houston Astros) and Michael Brantley (Cleveland Indians)

Designated Hitter (AL-only): Nelson Cruz (Seattle Mariners) - Duhhh. .326-14-26 is the most impressive stat-line for any American League batter so far this young season and it would take a miracle (or an injury) to knock him out of the All-Star Game already. Honorable Mention: Kendrys Morales (Kansas City Royals) - The former Mariners' DH is playing his best baseball since he stepped on home plate and tore his ACL many years ago.

NL Roster

Catcher: Derek Norris (San Diego Padres) - A slightly controversial choice as A.J. Pierzynski has the better stats but, with less at-bats. I chose Norris because he's played the most time at the Catcher position among all the Catchers in the majors and he's still batting .310 and knocking runs in (16 to be exact). Honorable Mention: A.J. Pierzynski (Atlanta Braves) - After stealing the job from prospect Christian Bethancourt, Pierzynski has played out of his mind with a .344 batting average and keeping Atlanta afloat despite a terrible roster.

First Baseman: Adrian Gonzalez (Los Angeles Dodgers) - One of two players (the other being Bryce Harper) to hit three home runs in a game this season, Gonzalez has displayed his power often this April and is proving to fans that his dip in power numbers since leaving San Diego are nothing to become concerned with. Honorable Mention: Paul Goldschmidt (Arizona Diamondbacks) - Even with all of Arizona's problems, Paul Goldschmidt is still playing like the top-3 First Baseman we have come to expect every year. 

Second Baseman: Dee Gordon (Miami Marlins) - Apparently Gordon's 2014 season was no fluke. The Major League leader in batting average through May 6th (.422) is really coming back to bite fantasy owners who passed him up for the just-as-speedy likes of Billy Hamilton. Gordon does not have any power but 12 stolen bases and 11 RBI's are enough proof that his presence can majorly enhance a lineup's production. Honorable Mention: DJ LeMahieu (Colorado Rockies) - A similar player to Jose Iglesias in the fact that neither showed much potential on offense while both were outstanding defenders, LeMahieu must have an extra long bat or something because his .392 batting average is ridiculous, even by Coors Field standards.

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
3B Matt Carpenter, Cardinals

Third Baseman: Matt Carpenter (St. Louis Cardinals) - Matt Carpenter has never been as aggressive of a hitter as he has been so far in 2015. He is on pace for career highs in every major category and, as always, is a run-scoring machine. His defense might not be as flashy as the honorable mention at his position but, he is also an effective third baseman defensively. Watch out for him if his power numbers keep up. Honorable Mention: Nolan Arenado (Colorado Rockies) - Arenado is probably the Platinum Glove winner so far this season (the award handed out to the best defensive player at any position in all of baseball) and his batting is still supremely impressive on it's own. 

Shortstop: Adeiny Hechavarria (Miami Marlins) - Pronounced carefully, this Miami Shortstop is one of the most underrated defensive players in the sport. The one negative to his game previously was that he never hit like the potential he showed in his cup of coffee with Toronto in 2012. This year, he is starting to show some of the potential from his Toronto days again, batting .310 with two home runs and 16 RBI. He will almost certainly fall off at some point but, what if he doesn't and becomes a slower Dee Gordon instead? Honorable Mention: Zack Cozart (Cincinnati Reds) - I have to dig pretty deep for an NL Shortstop with good production outside of Starlin Castro and Hechavarria.

Outfielders: Bryce Harper (Washington Nationals), Giancarlo Stanton (Miami Marlins) and Juan Lagares (New York Mets)

It is time. We have all been hearing about how great Bryce Harper is supposed to be since he was sixteen years old and despite flashes, he never quite broke out of his above-average shell. Voted as the most overrated player in baseball by his pears at the beginning of the season, Harper has fed on all of the world's hatred and it has fueled him into becoming a worthy (unlike his previous appearances) All-Star.

After being struck in the face by a Mike Fiers fastball, many fans wondered how Giancarlo Stanton would recover and if he would return to the constant 40-homer threat he had been. On pace for around 35-40 home runs, Stanton is adjusting just fine to his new batting helmet and should be representing the National League come July if he keeps this up.

Juan Lagares does not have much of a fair chance at the All-Star Game with "sexier" votes like Matt Holliday and Matt Kemp being candidates for the same position. Lagares has no power (a disadvantage from a fan-vote perspective) and the main reason I chose him is his superior defense to any of the other National League Outfielders (might not have been the case had Carlos Gomez stayed healthy). The .311 average after 106 at-bats does not hurt his case for my vote either.

Honorable Mentions: Matt Holliday (St. Louis Cardinals), Justin Upton (San Diego Padres) and Charlie Blackmon (Colorado Rockies)

In case you were wondering if I have any biases, here are the players that are on my "Soler System" fantasy team that I try hard not to gush over...

Catchers - Russell Martin, Wilson Ramos, Mike Zunino

1st Basemen - Paul Goldschmidt, Victor Martinez, Lucas Duda, Mike Napoli

2nd Basemen - Daniel Murphy, Jason Kipnis, Scooter Gennett

3rd Basemen - Matt Carpenter, Manny Machado, Miguel Sano

Shortstops - Starlin Castro and Brandon Crawford

Outfielders - Yasiel Puig, Jorge Soler, Kole Calhoun, Starling Marte', Ryan Braun, Marlon Byrd

Starting Pitchers - Clayton Kershaw, Matt Harvey, Michael Pineda, Michael Wacha, Mat Latos, Drew Hutchison, Kendall Graveman

Closer - Craig Kimbrel

and please, DO NOT ask me about the rules of this overly-complicated league or why I still have Kendall Graveman after he was sent down to Triple-A. 

Lastly, I will be attending another Brewers-Twins game at Target Field next month and will have seats behind Home Plate so, I'll make sure to share some of my experiences in some form as we kick off another incredible Summer.

The 2015 NBA Playoffs: Round 2

Yesterday was awesome. You know a sports day is great when the media does not even bother to try shoving Yankees-Red Sox down our throats even though they're playing a series this weekend. Mayweather vs. Pacquiao lived up to my hype and pretty much no one else's so, the viking funeral we held for the sport of boxing last night was apparently appropriate. The NFL draft concluded with it's third day (which was weirdly more interesting than the first round). I picked the right horse in the Kentucky Derby! and most importantly, my championship pick was eliminated thanks to an instantly classic game seven. I was up until 3 AM. I apologize for the delay in this post but, I'm glad we could at least reach an understanding.

Source: ESPN
Mike Conley will need to be fully recovered from his facial fracture in order for Memphis to have any chance.

#1 Golden State Warriors v. #5 Memphis Grizzlies
I'm done looking stupid on the Warriors. They were 67-15 in the regular season and there is almost no stopping them. The Warriors shooting is almost as unbelievable as some of the stunts pulled in The Expendables franchise (Schwarzenegger just tore the door off the car!!!). Memphis is the one team that match Golden State defensively in the western conference but, they are very inconsistent offensively. Jeff Green looked alright in the first round but, Mike Conley suffered a facial injury and will probably still be swollen and he'll play less aggressively in game one. Memphis is really going to need Beno Udrih to add the fire he had against Portland.

Key Match-up To Watch: Tony Allen vs. Draymond Green.

The two best non-big defenders in the league. There's not a whole lot else to say about that.

My Pick: Warriors in 5.

AP Photo/Kelvin Kuo
This could be the breakout series for Terrence Jones, guarding Blake Griffin.

#2 Houston Rockets v. #3 Los Angeles Clippers
Who is going to get more calls? It's a series that will be decided by free throws and the Hack-a-whoever strategy. Don't groan about that either, it's actually more exciting when players have a 50/50 or 30/70 chance of putting the ball in the basket with all the pressure in the world on them. James Harden is playing very well but, I feel we are all not appreciating the talented players Daryl Morey has placed alongside him. Terrence Jones has been inconsistent but, when he's on fire... he's on FIRE. Josh Smith has revitalized his career thanks to his role off the bench and the coaching of Kevin McHale. Even Jason Terry and Clint Capela have gotten big minutes out of these playoffs and (surprise, surprise) they're playing good! The Clippers bench was terrible during the regular season and they did just barely enough to knock out San Antonio in 7 on a last second shot from Chris Paul. This is bound to be another terrific series if everyone can stay healthy and the Clippers bench doesn't play too well.

Key Match-up To Watch: Dwight Howard vs. DeAndre Jordan.

They will both be fouled a lot and the battle for rebounds will be fought mightily. If Dwight can average 13.8 rebounds per game again, Houston will win. If DeAndre can average 15.0 per game as he did in the regular season, the Clippers will win. It'll probably change from game-to-game who dominates in the paint but, everyone needs to pay attention to this match-up.

My Pick: I'm reverting back to my preseason choice, Clippers in 6.

Getty Images
DeMarre Carroll has emerged as a player that could create havoc for Paul Pierce in the second round.

#1 Atlanta Hawks v. #5 Washington Wizards
Originally in this series, I had picked the Wizards in 7 but that would include Randy Wittman out-coaching Mike Budenholzer and that has never happened in any alternate universe or the one that we live in, that's how improbable that is. The Wizards swept the Raptors proving that the USA is better than Canada at basketball and the Hawks had trouble early on but woke up in games 5 and 6 and defeated the Brooklyn Nets in 6. In the first round, it became apparent that neither of these teams were going to be able to play the way they did in the regular season, resulting in DeMarre Carroll and Paul Pierce bursting out of their shells and becoming two of the most efficient players in the playoffs. One problem in Atlanta is that none of their players outside of Carroll seem to be at 100% health and that could be a problem against the constant speed of John Wall, the healthy big men Nene and Gortat and the outside shooting of Beal and Pierce. Atlanta always seems to find a way to win but, even they might need to come up with a new way to win in this series (more Pero Antic'!)

Key Match-up To Watch: John Wall vs. Jeff Teague.

Jeff Teague is not at 100% health (nobody is really) and might have an unusual amount of trouble guarding John Wall. Wall is one of the fastest players in the NBA and if Teague starts to show any sign of limping, coach Budenholzer will need to take him out for Dennis Schroder.

My Pick: Hawks in 7.

Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports
Without Kevin Love, the Cavs will rely even heavier on Kyrie Irving.

#2 Cleveland Cavaliers v. #3 Chicago Bulls
THIS IS THE SERIES WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR. Of course, the basketball gods would not let every player stay healthy for this series and that's why Kelly Olynyk decided to sacrifice Kevin Love's arm in exchange for a full series of Derrick Rose. Kevin Love will have to replaced with Tristan Thompson and a bunch of washed up three-point shooters like Mike Miller, James Jones and maybe Shawn Marion. The Bulls are clearly better off of a two-day rest as opposed to the one-day rests that "cost" them games 4 & 5 versus the Bucks in round one. The Cavaliers went ahead and swept the Celtics as everybody knew they would (don't try tricking yourself out of it, Celtic fans). Kyrie Irving's first ever transition to playoff basketball went over incredibly well and now he gets to face his first REAL challenge against the D-Rose & Jimmy Butler-led Bulls. The series is unpredictable as a whole and I think we're all anxious for a game seven between these two.

Key Match-up To Watch: Tristan Thompson vs. Pau Gasol.

Thompson dominated the Celtics with his offensive rebounding and really has no other skills but, with his energy and rebounding abilities, he will create real havoc for Pau Gasol. It might be inconsistent at times but, how much Thompson and Timofey Mozgov beat out Pau and Joakim Noah for a rebound or how often they force a bad shot or get a block will decide a few of the games in this series.

My Pick: Bulls in 7. Jimmy Butler is a star and could be better than Rose would have been had he stayed healthy all these years.

MY FINALS PICK AT THE MOMENT: I'm reverting to my preseason call of "This is the Clippers year" and saying Clippers over Bulls in 7. 

I really have no idea anymore.

I hope you enjoy the second round of the playoffs and may all the series' go to game sevens!