Stock Up, Stock Down: Now Featuring Upsets!

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Stock Up: 

Chauncey Billups, who has the highest PER of anyone in the playoffs and is absolutely annihilating the Hornets by himself right now. The Hornets’ only chance was that they were supposed to have the best player on the floor.

Home-court advantage- the Jazz and Mavericks looked like completely different teams tonight with their own crowd behind them, which goes against some of the mythology-shattering early in the first rounds.

The Celtics. “Just by the way, everyone, we’re the champs here. If it takes an absolute blowout on the road to remind you of this, we’ll do it. We’re the two seed, screw this evenly matched noise.”

Rajon Rondo. Not only is he having the best fantasy playoffs in the history of ever, but if he’s off that team, they’re not nearly as dangerous. 

Erick Dampier. Hey, if you back it up…

Courtney Lee. Wow. Rookies are not supposed to be that.

Dwyane Wade. Do we realize that that was his first playoff win since he won the championship? Even so, impressive stuff. You can’t sleep on Wade.

Carlos Boozer. I’m not mad anymore. Andy/Ben is better for this team and what it does in its current incarnation. This is another post and some serious soul-searching, but I’m just not mad anymore.

Stock Down:

The Lakers and Kobe Bryant. Not stringing together 48 strong minutes of basketball. I realize the on/off switch, but it really should be on for the entire playoffs. And 4/25 from the field and a crunch-time egg is just not something you want to have happen. The trump card for this team is that we assume Kobe can go super-Kobe and take the game whenever he chooses to turn it on-the question is whether he’s picking his spots or just isn’t that guy anymore. Tonight was an argument for the latter, but he still terrifies me to no end. He’s not done until his team loses four. It’s hard to try and brush off a guy who can kill a team by raining in perfectly defended 22-footers at any time. It just is. And the Lakers losing on the last shot on a night when Kobe goes 4-25 against a fantastic home team terrifies me more than it should. I just want the Lakers to be dead. I don’t breathe easy until it happens. I don’t care if they go down 0-3 with Kobe going 2-84 for the series. They’re alive so long as the ball’s on the court.

Chris Paul. ‘Cmon, Chris. I’ve been talking you up as having the most underrated great season of all time all year. He had the second-best regular season in the LeBron era this season. And now Chauncey is absolutley cremating him on both ends of the floor. Way to make me look bad-you’re even giving the ridiculos Deron debate fuel.

Tony Parker-after the last game, I said that home-court wouldn’t make Tony Parker any slower. Well, apparently he did. There’s no way you should follow up a dominating performance by not showing up.

Dwight Howard-you want to be a legit MVP candidate? Don’t disappear in playoff games. Even on his absolute worst day, Kobe was making the game his and had an impact down the stretch. I’m sorry, Mrrs. Q. Rock and McCann, but there’s a clear other level Howard could get to in his career. There isn’t for LeBron, Kobe, Paul, and Wade. When Howard makes the jump and is a nightly force offensively, then it’s a discussion. Until then, he’s a bridesmaid.