Greetings. We've reached that time of the year. You know the one. It's when stars on bad teams disappear. It's when injuries and bad timing open the door for excuses. It's why we all love and hate Head-to-Head fantasy basketball. Or is it just me?

Every team in this league has a reason to complain about something. Mid-week injuries. Games played imbalances. Playing your A game when you're facing another's A+ game. I get it, it's tough. It forces you to grow another layer of skin to endure it all. Some get lucky, some get unlucky, and others are lucky and good. I've learned to understand that just because I win in a Head-to-Head fantasy league doesn't necessarily mean that I fall into the "Lucky and Good" category.

Last week was a good example of how luck plays with a fantasy league. George Lopez lost to Kenny Smith by 85 points. Lots of points, you say? Sure, but he also lost three games in the middle of the week due to injury. Those injured players? Shawn Marion and Pau Gasol. On the flip side, nothing can go wrong for Kenny Smith. His team is good, but even more lucky.

Samuel L. Jackson led Donald Faison heading into Sunday's action -- all while having a three game deficit heading into the week and enduring an unexpected week off (a four game hole) from Chris Kaman. Kaman averages 35 fantasy points per game. Sam lost by about 60 points. You do the math.

Once the first place team in this league, Tony Potts has now lost four of five games including a 140 point shellacking at the hands of -- WHO?? -- James Denton last week. Potts missed a total of five games due to injury -- an amount that could have closed the gap on even a 140-point deficit.

Bill Simmons, Zach Gilford and Kenny Smith keep on winning, and all but Kenny are assured a playoff spot with some serious momentum. With two weeks to go, the only teams not in the top four who have yet to be eliminated are George Lopez, Samuel L. Jackson and Will Ferrell. All three of these teams took a major step back last week.

So what's in store for this pivotal week? Let's take a look.

The games with playoff implications....

Bill Simmons (15-4) vs. Adam McKay (5-14)
Ok, McKay has no shot and Simmons is a lock for the postseason. But McKay can still be a spoiler by knocking off Simmons and forcing him to struggle for the first seed. Simmons' worst nightmare came true recently when Dwyane Wade was shut down for good. Granted, he lasted longer than most of us expected, but the injury could be an important factor in the Celebrity League Playoffs.
Prediction: No need to break this one down. Simmons wins.

Zach Gilford (14-5) vs. Tony Potts (12-7)
Game of the week. Gilford is assured a spot in the Celebrity League Playoffs, and Tony Potts is on a terrible late season slide. A loss doesn't knock Potts out of the playoffs, but it makes things very interesting for him going into the final week of the Celebrity League Regular Season. One has aspirations for the first seed, the other is just trying to hang on. As much as I knocked Gilford early in the season, he's come on at the right time. Seven wins in eight games.
Prediction: Make that eight of nine. Potts stumbles into the final week.

Kenny Smith (12-7) vs. Will Ferrell (10-9)
Welcome to Bizarro World. Kenny opened the season with a 1-6 record. Since then, he is 11-1. It defies logic. There is no explanation (other than having the league lowest Points Against). He's been lucky and good at the same time. Ferrell needs a win or his season is essentially over. A loss for Kenny also opens the door for George Lopez (although Kenny holds that tie-breaker).
Prediction: Amazingly, Kenny keeps rolling, assuring himself a playoff spot.

George Lopez (11-8) vs. Samuel L. Jackson (10-9)
A loss for either of these teams, and they are out of the playoff picture. As it is, neither team controls their own destiny. Amazingly, four of Lopez's losses have come against Potts and Kenny, so he loses the tie-breaker in either case. The ideal situation for Jackson is that he ties with Potts for the final spot since he wins that tie-breaker. The season is on the line, but Jackson is without Kaman and Lopez is without Gasol. This game rests on George's Shawn Marion, who is questionable with an injury. If the gamble pays off, he wins. If not, he could fall back four games in this match-up.
Prediction: Miami, having nothing to play for, won't rush Marion back and Jackson benefits.

And the games with no playoff implications whatsoever....

Bernie Mac (8-11) vs. Donald Faison (8-11)
Faison was able to seriously damage Samuel L. Jackson's playoff hopes last week, but this one is just for pride.
Prediction: Bernie takes home the Pride Trophy.

James Denton (5-14) vs. Spike Lee (4-15)
Denton enters this match-up on a two game winning streak. He's on a roll!
Prediction: Denton wins.