Best Player: Rudy Gay (Individual +16). Last year, I sympathized with Rudy during Memphis' playoff run. It seemed like anything short of 1+ series wins this year would be deemed a failure, and he'd be the easy fall guy. "Rudy can't figure out how to play with Z-Bo and Gasol," etc... and look what happened. Well, here's a few other theories about what went wrong: 1) Darrell Arthur's injury left Memphis no reliable frontcourt depth. 2) The Vasquez trade left no reliable backup PG, and the 2nd unit offense fell apart. 3) Memphis had a better 1st round matchup last year. None of this softens the blow of losing, but stay the course, Memphis: with a healthy Z-Bo and Arthur, and a backup PG, the contender window is open next year.
Worst Player / Least Valuable Player: Caron Butler (Individual -22, Net -21). Caron probably could've bowed out with no shame or guilt given his injury, and he didn't. So he'll hear nothing from me. Way to tough it out.
Most Valuable Player: Nick Young (Net +17). Every once in a while (read: every time I write a summary), I wonder if this way of looking at series makes any sense at all. Nick Young as series MVP validates it for me. In a few weeks (probably) or years (definitely), the world will look back on this series as further proof of Chris Paul's greatness, or our first collective look at postseason Blake Griffin. But Nick Young loomed just as large. Given his professional resume before this series, we should probably wait a year to decide if he's truly turned a corner as a player. But, no matter what happens, Nick Young played arguably the biggest part in one of the greatest NBA playoff comebacks ever.
Jerome James Award: DeAndre Jordan. I enjoy the DeAndre Jordan career arc. College basketball talking heads trashed him for leaving early and getting drafted in the 2nd round. So he responded by working into a serviceable defensive center with some serious upside potential in 2 short years. While his 2nd contract seemed a little steep, a "poor man's Tyson Chandler" was worth it. Well, for one round, it definitely wasn't. Versus his regular season numbers, Jordan gave the Clippers 7 fewer minutes per game, 4 fewer points, 4 fewer rebounds, and very little "Chandler-lite" defensive impact. Having said all that, he's about to face the Spurs, and the league's best finisher at PG in Tony Parker, so all this could change in a few games.
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