It's not too late. Play Drive to the Finals Now!

By Jon Loomer

Previous Expert Picks

April 30 -- Ah, it's a good time to be an expert. Life is so much easier when the planets aline so that you can pick Vince Carter in a must-win game. Vince performed admirably, dropping 41 PRA on the Pacers to even that series 2-2. That gives the NBA.com Experts 248 points. How many do you have?

The big game by Vince was nice, but things continue to be cloudy in that series. Does not help in terms of making a player choice there. In all likelihood, I will wait until someone goes up 3-2 and will then pull the trigger on the best player remaining (Jason Kidd or Stephen Jackson) from the team trailing.

Seeing that Michael Redd finished with 47 PRA against the Pistons last night did sting a little. I picked him for Day 2, and he managed only 17. There are times when this thing is a crap shoot. Then again, that's why they play the games. It's not all an exact science.

Today's Expert Pick

Player: Shawn Marion, PHX Opponent: L.A. Lakers Regular Season Averages Pts Reb Ast 21.8 11.8 1.8

EXPERT PICK ARTICLES April 30 -- Shawn Marion April 29 -- Vince Carter April 28 -- Bonzi Wells April 27 -- Jermaine O'Neal April 26 -- Pau Gasol April 25 -- Antawn Jamison April 24 -- Ben Gordon April 23 -- Michael Redd April 20 -- Mike Bibby FANTASY BLOG ARCHIVE April 29 -- Adjusting On the Fly April 25 -- No Doubt April 24 -- Break Out the Abacus April 23 -- Let's Roll April 22 -- The Clock Ticks

The Pick: Being an "expert" is so much easier when you can make a pick like Vince Carter or Shawn Marion. I'm guaranteed for a minimum 30 PRA with Marion up to bat. I'm not making the choice just to pad our stats early here. I've discussed it in detail in my playoff fantasy blog, but the concern here is simple. The Suns are down two games to one. If I wait for the picture to clarify itself, the Suns could go down three games to one before I make a pick from that team. At that point, I would absolutely be forced to take Shawn Marion. If the Suns then lose that elimination game, I leave Steve Nash and Boris Diaw on the table. At a bare minimum, I want to use Marion and Nash. Would love to have Diaw.

The main point here, though, is that I can use Marion and still have three great to decent players (Nash, Diaw, and Raja Bell) to choose from in future rounds if the Suns advance. You don't take this gamble on LeBron James and the Cavs because Cleveland isn't the fantasy playground that Phoenix is. If the Cavs ever go down to an elimination match-up against the Wizards, I will use LeBron. Otherwise, no chance.

Other options that have yet to be chosen by a prior NBA.com expert include Kirk Hinrich, Steve Nash and Brad Miller. Nash is a nice choice, but it really isn't close here. Marion is the man.

General Strategy: As always, I'm trying to predict the victors in each series and pick the top players off of the losing team. Lots of ambiguity in terms of who will win most of the match-ups, but we're currently taking players from teams trailing in each series.

This choice is laughingly easy. Lisa Blumenfeld/Getty Images

As I look to the future, Carmelo Anthony will likely be the best choice on Monday. The Mavericks-Grizzlies match-up is an elimination game, but we've already used Pau Gasol, and I don't see any reason to use anyone else from the Grizzlies at this point. Similar story in the Pistons-Bucks match-up, where we've already used Michael Redd. While we could consider a Pistons player to protect us in the event the Bucks win that series (since the Pistons have a handful of players we would not want to lose access to), I'm simply not ready to panic there. That leaves us with Nuggets-Clippers, where we have yet to use a player from this series. With the Clippers leading three games to one and the Nuggets playing at home, Anthony should be on your immediate radar.

There will be four games on Tuesday. The Nets are facing off with the Pacers in a 2-2 series, but I'll wait and see who goes up to three wins there before making another move (we've already used a player from each team). Both Mike Bibby and Bonzi Wells have been used from the Kings, but Ron Artest would be a nice remaining option there. If the Lakers win Game 4, it may be time to use Steve Nash in what would be an elimination game. And then you'll have Kirk Hinrich against the Heat. Wow. Lots of options. Glad I won't be the expert for that day.

But for today, the strategy is clear: Ride the Matrix.