The Indiana Pacers are the best story in the playoffs. Yeah, we all love seeing Timmy dominate the Clippers, but who didn't see that coming. Same for Kobe and the Lakers melting down and the Celtics continuing to win games. The most interesting thing about the Pacers-Heat series isn't why Spoelstra and Wade are fighting or whatever. It is about how far the Pacers have come and how good they are going to be.

Larry Bird got the GM of the year award, but he had been setting this one up for at least 2 years. He used the draft well, managed the salary cap, and then used a couple acquisitions to get the Pacers in position to win for a long time. Comparatively, our team could be in a similar situation within 2 years if they make similar moves.

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Sportswriters are stupid. I know that. It's a hiring prerequisite. But, my goodness, this? I gotta come out of hibernation.

Can Durant overtake James?

Thesis: Kevin Durant is inferior to LeBron James at basketball, but still might be the better player, pending playoff outcomes.

LeBron James and Kevin Durant were in a tug-of-war for the MVP award all season long, at least on my ballot.

Your ballot was filled out by a stupid person. Shame on you for tricking that stupid person into filling out preliminary ballots for you, Jerk Broussard.

James grabbed the early lead with his phenomenal all-around play, but Durant moved ahead when the Miami Heat began struggling against elite teams.

Oh, so my whole "Chris Broussard outsourced his MVP ballot throughout the season" theory is debunked. He is the stupid person we've been waiting for. By this logic, Ben Gordon should be MVP.

And James' was better, so he won.

Brilliant reasoning. So this article is done, right? Oh...

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Detroit's Brandon Knight has placed 8th in rookie of the year voting in a list honoring its winner, Cavaliers' guard Kyrie Ivring. Knight received 21 votes of the 1072 cast by a panel of 120 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout North America. Irving was far-and-away the clear winner, taking home 592 votes including 117 for first place honors.

With 21 votes, Knight ranks 5th amongst rookies who started at point guard in the 2012 season. Kyrie Irving, Ricky Rubio, Iman Shumpert and Isaiah Thomas all received more votes in a point-dominant rookie class. Of the 1072 votes cast, 847 went to players who started at point guard this season, enough for 79% of the vote.

Rookie of the Year voting, like other voting for annual NBA awards, is largely a popularity contest by sportswriters. That's not to take away their merit or value-- it's hard to cherish Ben Wallace's 4 DPOY awards while knocking the vote in another breath. However, in the same way that draft consensus is often established months before draft night, Rookie of the Year awards are often decided early on. In situations like this, real talent gets overlooked and under-rewarded to instead favor the flavor of the month. To compare and contrast, what do the advanced stats say about rookie talent in 2012? Let's take a look after the jump.

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File this one under "Whaaaa?"

Courtesy of Piston Powered, it seems that the Detroit Pistons are hot for the services of small forward, Alonzo Gee, a restricted free agent.

Gee, in case you're unaware is a bruising shooting guard/small forward. I say shooting guard only because he stands 6-foot-6 (he certainly can't shoot), I say brusing because, well, he'll put a hurt on you. Gee made hardly anything outside of the painted area last season but at least was smart enough not to take too many jumpers. He likes to bull his way into the paint and use quick moves to get off a shot.

Still, his lack of height did prove to be an issue, as he was blocked on over 10 percent of his shot attempts last season, which also happened to be the lowest blocked percentage of his career. So yeah, there is that.

So according to reports, the Pistons, a team desperately in need of big men, are interested in a 6-6 forward who can't shoot, handle, create and gets his shot blocked far too often. I'm not sure I can explain this one. Is this Dumars' new form of Singler insurance (as many flaws as he has he's better than Damien Wilkins, at least)? Or is this, perhaps, Jason Maxiell insurance?

As in, does Dumars see in Gee exactly what he saw in Corliss Williamson? An undervalued "small forward" that would play exclusively on the block and exploit mismatches?

Either way, I don't think it is a match made in heaven, as the Piston Powered article indicates, the Phoenix Suns are prepared to throw upwards of $4 million per his way. I know Dumars is spend thrift. I know he was interested in Glen Davis for the MLE last season. But I don't see him outbidding Phoenix for a player like Gee, especially with two small forwards already on the roster and another (hopefully) on the way.

The first round of the Western Conference playoffs was thrilling, dramatic, and at times... maddening. Four teams remain in the West while the Mavericks, Grizzlies, Jazz and Nuggets have been forced into early offseasons. The Thunder swept the defending champion Mavericks and the Spurs swept the young-and-big Jazz in swift contests, but the Clippers and Lakers were pushed to 7 games to close out each series. Round two of the Western Conference playoffs begins tonight.

Los Angeles Clippers (5) vs. San Antonio Spurs (1)

Regular Season Series: Spurs lead 2-1

Having just edged out the Memphis Grizzlies last night, the Clippers head to San Antonio for what will be a much more challenging match-up. The Spurs led the league in the regular season and easily dispatched the Utah Jazz in four games. If the Clippers hope to compete in this series, they'll need to do so on the defensive end, as the Spurs bring the most efficient, productive offense in the league to San Antonio tomorrow night.

Key Player for the Clippers: Blake Griffin

At this point, Chris Paul is largely a known quantity. The real question is what Blake Griffin is made of and what he can accomplish against Tim Duncan in a best-of-seven series. Griffin is dealing with a sprained left knee (not enough to warrant an asterisk, John Hollinger), but he may not be playing his best against Tim Duncan. If Griffin can't compete with Duncan and help LA control the paint, you might as well pen in a quick victory for the Spurs.

Key Player for the Spurs: Tony Parker

For the first time in 18 contests, the Clippers defeated the Spurs in San Antonio in January. Tony Parker was not present. Chris Paul has struggled against the Spurs in the past but he can control the series if Parker isn't playing at his best. So long as Parker is in uniform and on the court, he can hold his own against the player widely considered to be the best point guard in the league.

Verdict: The Clippers are tired, the Spurs are rested. And despite the Spurs age, they were the best team in the league in 2012. The Clippers have a bright future ahead of them but they are no match for this prolific, dynastic Spurs team that is hungry to put the 2012 Lob City story to bed. Spurs in 6.

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While we're slightly behind in the previews thanks to the wonky playoff schedule, I think it is still appropriate to take a look at the semi-finals matchups for each conference. First up, since they've already got two games in the books, the Eastern Conference.

Nobody could have predicted that Derrick Rose would go down and take the top-seeded Chicago Bulls with him in the first round of the NBA playoffs. Otherwise, things played out how they were supposed to: Miami, Indiana and Boston all advanced.

Philadelphia 76ers (8) vs. Boston Celtics (4)

While I think that The 76ers were obviously lucky to make it past the Chicago Bulls, that doesn't mean that there playoffs will end at the hands of the Celtics. The Bulls defense got the lion's share of the credit for the slugfest that was the Bulls-Sixers series, but much of the credit should also go to Philly's stellar D. This will again be a low-scoring affair as Philadelphia (the NBA's third-best defense) takes on Boston (NBA's second-best defense).

Key Player for Philadelphia

Andre Iguodala. There is going to be a lot, perhaps too much, on Iguodala's shoulders in this series. He needs to play stellar defense against Paul Pierce (and sometimes Kevin Garnett) while also handling the ball when the Sixers offense becomes stagnant. And Boston will make Philly's offense stagnant. Iguodala needs to make smart decisions on when to shoot and when to look for open teammates, and he probably needs to get hot from the perimeter because the driving lanes will be closed off.

Key Player for Boston

Kevin Garnett. While Rajon Rondo got a lot of much deserved kudos for his triple double in game 1 of this series, the Celtics are going to rely on Kevin Garnett. The C's go small for the majority of their game and it creates awesome mismatches on their offensive end. But it also requires Garnett to body up and rebound against the likes of Spencer Hawes and Elton Brand. And Philly has the ability to sub out and go small itself with Thaddeus Young at power forward, so it will never really be easy for Garnett.

Verdict

My heart tells me that Philadelphia has a real chance at shocking everyone and taking this series. But knowing how well the Celtics have played in the second half I just can't bring myself to do it. Boston in 7.

Miami Heat (2) vs. Indiana Pacers (3)

The Pacers are actually the kind of team that can give the Heat trouble -- they don't get rattled, play smart, methodical basketball, shoots the three effectively, and you can't key on any one player to shut them down defensively. And now Chris Bosh might be gone for a while with an abdominal strain. Is an upset brewing? I never like to say never but ...

Key Player for Miami

LeBron James. The recently anointed three-time MVP can pretty much do whatever he wants on the court and no one will be able to stop him. The only thing he has to guard against is his own complacency regarding shot selection. If he falls in love with the jumper and floats along the perimeter then he leaves his team vulnerable. But if he is attacking the basket, creating for others and getting to the line there is no stopping the Heat.

Key Player for Indiana

Everyone. I debated which player to choose or whether to go for some sort of copout answer but really it will take everybody on the team performing to the best of their abilities. With Bosh out David West and Roy Hibbert have to dominate in the paint, getting great position for easy baskets and grabbing every available rebound. And Paul George and Danny Granger are going to have to make a lot of three pointers (the Heat were last in the league in 3-point defense) so as to open up the floor and keep Heat defenders honest. And Leandro Barbosa and George Hill are going to have to know when to push the tempo and when to ease back while hitting any open shots they are given.

Verdict

I really like this Pacers team, and they still have a lot of room to grow. But they are just no match for the Miami Heat with or without Chris Bosh. Miami in 6.

Last night, the Denver Nuggets, Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks refused to let their seasons end (not so much Orlando, thanks for playing, though). Tonight, we have two more possible elimination games. Can the Knicks prevent the inevitable again? And the Grizz look to stay alive in a series they could easily be leading 3-1 against the formidable Clips.

Read Detroit Bad Boy's official Eastern Conference and Western Conference playoff previews and laugh about how wrong we'll probably get it.

New York Knicks vs. Miami Heat -- TNT (7 p.m.)

Heat lead 3-1

I'm not sure the beloved Jeremy Lin can do anything wrong in the minds of Knicks fans. But telling reporters that you're at 85 percent and that you need to wait until your 100 percent to play would piss me off if I rooted for the Knicks. It is the playoffs. It is an elimination game. Your team has lost Iman Shumpert to a torn ACL. Your team has lost Baron Davis to a torn ACL and MCL. Your team is relying on Mike Bibby. Let me say that again: Your team is relying on Mike Bibby. Get off your ass and play.

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Memphis Grizzlies -- TNT (9:30 p.m.)

Clippers lead 3-1

My head tells me that the Grizzlies are the better team. My head tells me that Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol should be having a field day down low. But the Clippers have been riding their two stars, Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, to a 3-1 series lead and Memphis seems to have no answers. Every game has been close but it seems like Memphis fumbles away every opportunity to take a W. Is it coaching? The players? Pure bad luck?