Why have I done this to myself! Okay, severe backlog. I have been neglecting the Player of the D.A.Y. since December 20th, the day after LeBron got the best of Kobe one-on-one. Seems like a long time ago. I am tearing through the season from then to now, in hopes of this whole experience making sense at voting time.
Then again, KG is probably just going to win the MVP anyways, no matter what anyone’s stats say.
Before we move on, I feel the need to share with you all an early front runner for NYPost headline of the year. Good news!
Games played December 21st: LaMarcus Aldridge had 18-8-5 against Denver, keeping the Portland run going. Edging out Carlos Boozer’s 24-9-8 at Orlando. I just feel that Portland needs to have its players rewarded as much as possible. Their season has been unbelievable. And to think, in our season previews “Bill Walton” was ready to proclaim them NBA champions. He knew.
December 22nd: Tim Duncan with 34 and 18 against the Clippers and their probable All-Star Chris Kaman. Wow that reads funny.
December 23rd: Rajon Rondo! The Achilles Heel of the Celtics had a huge game against Orlando, whose point guards can still be an Achilles Heel with a huge flaming poisoned arrow jammed into it. Rondo hit 8 of his 10 shots, went for 23 and 6.
December 24th: no games.
December 25th: The celebrated return of the Lakers to team basketball on the big stage, as they beat the Suns with a big performance from Andrew Bynum inside. Yeah, well Kobe still did have 38, 5, and 7.
December 26th: Chris Paul had 40 and 9. It’s tough to do much better than that. The opponent was Memphis, but still.
December 27th: KG and Paul Pierce both had big games at Seattle, Amare had a 30 and 15 game against the Clips, but I’ll go to the big game of the night, which was LeBron over the Mavs with 24-8-7 in Dallas.
December 28th: Allen Iverson led Denver with 39 points in a fast-paced shoot out at Golden State, then delivered this quote: “I like to run up and down the court, but they make it outrageous. They might run even too much for me, especially on the defensive end. It has to be fun to play that style, but to defend it isn’t too nice.” AI, elder statesman, even with his young body.
December 29th: People were waiting to see if Boston could prove their gaudy record wasn’t just some East Coast thing. On this night, they beat the Jazz in Utah when Paul Pierce did nothing in the first half but had 24 and 6 in the second half.
December 30th: It’s funny to look at this now, but you know how Iverson complained that he didn’t like playing at the Warriors pace? In the rematch he shot 2 of 12. Baron Davis had 28 and 8, so he wins it for that night, the same night that featured the short shorts showdown.
December 31st: Utah put an end to the Portland win streak on New Years Eve. The Blazers were reduced to a two-man show, Roy and Aldridge, and Utah had its usual two man show, but Andrei Kirilenko stepped up as the third guy, Millsap too but I’ll give it to Andrei.
January 1st: No games were played. I was unable to move from my couch. Watched the season premiere of The Wire after watching Robocop on a movie channel. Murphy and McNulty, the two greatest cops of all-time.
January 2nd: This was one of those nights where about 7 or 8 people had a case. John Salmons had a career night, carrying a Kings team crippled with injuries. They won in an easy blowout, but it was at MSG, the no D.A.Y. zone. There was LeBron leading the Cavs over the Hawks, Rip Hamilton leading the red hot Pistons over Washington… but I’m a sucker for revenge stories, much like Robocop. Dirk Nowitzki exorcised some demons in a win over Golden State, putting up 29-8-6 along the way.
January 3rd: Portland beat Chicago in double OT. Brandon Roy had 25 and 11, and putting him in the MVP conversation was officially not completely insane. He was such an afterthought going into this season. Rookie of the year, so overlooked. Usually the rookie of the year is the most hyped guy in the league. Instead it was all about how the Oden injury ruined the team. Not so.
January 4th: Golden State Warriors box scores are never to be trusted. I need to stop giving these out to players putting up numbers in Warriors games. That being said, the Hornets got a big night from two places, Chris Paul with 24 and 13, and Tyson Chandler with 22 and 22 in a big win. Split, they both get an award.
January 5th: The big Boston-Detroit game trumps everything else. Paul Pierce was the biggest of the big three, but believe it or not the award goes to Glen Davis. BIG BABY!
January 6th: LeBron had a 24 point fourth quarter yesterday, was angered by the Bosh entourage and chose to take over the game. He finished with 39-11-8. Healthy again, back in the upper reaches of the MVP race again.
And we’re caught up. Soon enough I have to go through the standings of the Player of the D.A.Y. of the Y.E.A.R. race. I don’t know what entertainment value this column provided you, but I am caught up in this public D.A.Y.tabase.
Now I must listen to the Roger Clemens “I am not a crook” and “I did not have sexual intercourse with that needle” speech.
