In case you hadn't noticed, the NBA playoffs started last weekend.

The best way to prepare for the playoffs is by clicking to some of the favorite basketball sites of die-hard fans. The best sites are the ones gathering news for you, offering unique opinions and giving you a forum on national issues.

HoopsHype

Site: www.hoopshype.com

The skinny: What this site does best is also what can make it confusing. HoopsHype excels at aggregating, which means it collects NBA news from sources across the country on a page called "Rumors." The problem, though, is that it's not always easy to tell where one "Rumors" story ends and another begins.

The call: HoopsHype also has some name columnists — like former Kings player Eddie Johnson and former Chicago Tribune NBA writer Sam Smith — contributing original articles. What makes this site great is the "Rumors," and you'll find it addictive.

Inside Hoops

Site: www.insidehoops.com

The skinny: Not as good as HoopsHype in its "Rumors" section, but the fan talk in the "Forums" area is excellent. This site seems to get more vents about the NBA than most sites. The other advantage to this site is that it also has areas for college and high school basketball. Also, this site hosts pages for Rucker Park and other streetball news.

The call: Of all general basketball news sites not run by a conglomerate (ESPN, CBS Sportsline, FoxSports etc.), Inside Hoops has the deepest content.

HoopsWorld

Site: www.hoopsworld.com

The skinny: HoopsWorld concentrates on the NBA, and this site has a sense of humor. For instance, its news/opinion area is filed by "Rumors," "Seriously" and "Obviously." Also, this is one of the few basketball sites that provides original stories from NBA beat writers, like The Sacramento Bee's Sam Amick (shameless plug), the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen and South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman.

The call: HoopsWorld is the easiest to navigate of the smaller sites. The organized links make it easy to use and it has the look and feel of a bigger site. But the NBA beat writers' contributions make it worth bookmarking.

82 Games

Site: www.82games.com

The skinny: You thought stat freaks only followed baseball? Check out 82 Games, which breaks down the NBA by the numbers in many different ways. For instance, the sortable "Leading 5-man Unit" stats or the "Clutch Stats" will grab your attention.

The call: This is a very smart site that steps back from the rumors and looks at the league's hard numbers. For an NBA fan, it's a fun site to get lost in for 15 minutes, especially since it is filled with hundreds of sortable databases.