By Jon Loomer

If anything is clear after the first week of the NBA Cares Celebrity Fantasy League, it's that Bill Simmons doesn't like to lose. The stars were aligned for an embarrassing week one defeat at the hand of Kenny Smith's Kids following a week of gloating that included a Simmons prediction for an undefeated season. It was close, but The Sports Guy eked out a victory by a 53-point margin. Ok, it wasn't that close, but I'm trying to build the drama here.

I also predicted that Samuel L. Jackson would defeat Zach Gilford -- er, "Chi Town's Finest." Wrong.

What did I get right? Anyone? Anyone? Bernie Mac over Adam McKay. Will Ferrell over James Denton (although it was far from the predicted blow-out). George Lopez over Spike Lee. Tony Potts over Donald Faison.

Huh. Them's some good odds, my friends. I can call 'em.

Let's take a closer look at this week's match-ups...

Can Samuel L. Jackson bring down Bill Simmons?
Bill Simmons vs. Samuel L. Jackson
Let's start with the battle of the week, again involving Bill Simmons. Dude's a lightning rod for Celeb League attention. Simmons said himself that Samuel L. drafted a roster that will provide him some of the stiffest competition. With the teams playing an equal number of games, this could be a serious rumble. Let's search out advantages... Jackson has four games for all players except for Michael Redd, Tayshaun Prince and Jamal Crawford. The three gamers on Simmons' squad are Jason Williams, Paul Pierce and Shaquille O'Neal. Pierce and Redd are about equal, and neither squad relies on three games from another superstar. One potential hole for Simmons is the hobbled Boris Diaw, who eats up four of his games. This relies heavily on the health of Amare Stoudemire. If Stoudemire is healthy, Boris could post a light four games worth of production. Coincidentally (THE DRAMA!), Stoudemire is on Jackson's squad, but on his bench as he nurses an injury. These rosters are eerily similar, with the injury to Stoudemire capping the comparison. Bill's best player (Dwyane Wade) is also on the bench. He needs solid performances from Jason Williams, Hedo Turkoglu, Marvin Williams, Boris Diaw and Shaquille O'Neal. Jackson's biggest question marks are Tayshaun Prince, Amare Stoudemire, Anthony Parker and Chris Kaman.
Prediction: This is as close to a draw as it gets. I'm flipping a coin here and going with Jackson. Just because it's fun to root against Simmons.

Tony Potts vs. Kenny Smith

Thirty games from Potts vs. 30 for Kenny's Kids. I just don't see Potts winning this game, though. He had a huge week from Andrei Kirilenko that won't be repeated. His three-game weeks are from AK, Jason Kidd, Mike Miller, Antawn Jamison, and... well, Darko. Outside of Darko, that's a lot to make up. Other than Vince Carter, Kenny's three-gamers aren't team-carriers. I prefer Tony's team, but this isn't his week.
Prediction: Kenny's Kids prevail.

Zach Gilford vs. Bernie Mac
Bernie was last week's highest point scorer, so you'd expect him to be the favorite. However, Gilford surprised us all (or at least me) by toppling a league favorite, Samuel L. Jackson. Problem: Bernie has a two-gamer this week, and his name is.... Kobe Bryant. Ouch. On top of that, he has three games from Kevin Martin, Carlos Boozer, Richard Jefferson, and the majority of his capable contributors. Gilford, on the other hand, enjoys four additional games to work with. I'm not going to doubt Gilford again, particularly with the extra games.
Prediction: Gilford remains unbeaten.
NBA Cares Celebrity Fantasy League Standings
Team W L PTS
Bernie Mac 1 0 795.60
Tony Potts 1 0 716.57
Bill Simmons 1 0 667.92
Zach Gilford 1 0 664.52
Will Ferrell 1 0 613.22
George Lopez 1 0 569.05
Donald Faison 0 1 701.49
Adam McKay 0 1 651.58
Kenny Smith 0 1 614.81
Samuel L. Jackson 0 1 614.64
James Denton 0 1 609.62
Spike Lee 0 1 553.50

Adam McKay vs. James Denton
Two solid teams looking for their first wins. This one screams of desperation. Or maybe that was Eva. Denton is starting Stephen Jackson. Buddy. Jackson's inactive for the first seven games. My apologies to McKay if this news moves Denton to swap out Jackson for the points needed to win. I can't look past that sloppy managing, no matter who is playing this week.
Prediction: McKay. Just because.

Spike Lee vs. Will Ferrell
Spike is loaded with three-game weeks, only getting four from Steve Nash and Jameer Nelson. Will enters the favorite and boasts four games from Manu Ginobili, Tracy McGrady, Yao Ming... Do I really need to keep writing?
Prediction: Spike and the Knicks begin looking towards next year. Will Ferrell in a laugher.

Donald Faison vs. George Lopez
Faison scored over 700 points last week and lost. George Lopez scored 569 and won. Life sucks sometimes, right? Lopez just happened to face off against Spike Lee, the lowest scoring team last week. Lucky, lucky dude. With two games from Baron Davis, karma digs a ditch this week. Or something else less publish-able.
Prediction: Faison wins.