BIG THANKS TO BUSTABUCKET.COM!!! http://www.bustabucket.com/articles/may-2009/the-bab-awards.html Best Scoring Performance Brandon Roy's 52 points vs Phoenix, 12/18/09 For the regular season, there wasn't a more impressive single game performance by one Blazer player. Brandon managed to sneak into the 30's and 40's but eventually everyone caught on to what an incredible shooting night he was having. When you watch this video, you get an idea of just how special that game was to everyone. Roy's 52 was also the second most points in franchise history. It also helped that I had a courtside view of this monumental performance. [video=youtube;dNy2ugleqes]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNy2ugleqes"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dNy2ugleqes[/video] Best Passing Performance Steve Blake's 17 assists vs LA Clippers, 2/22/09 For an assist performance, none was more impressive than Steve Blake's against the Clippers. Most incredible, as many of you already know was the 14 assists in the first quarter alone. That milestone became the franchise record for a quarter and propelled the Blazers to certain victory. [video=youtube;Kcbq0Uz1WWo]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcbq0Uz1WWo"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kcbq0Uz1WWo[/video] Best Rebounding Performance Joel Przybilla's 19 boards vs Denver, 12/23/09 In a match-up with so many physical big men who rebound such as, Nene, Martin, and Chris Andersen- Przybilla's 19 boards was very impressive. Portland didn't always get consistent rebounding but Joel took it into his own hands and forced a win over division rival Denver in what was a very important early season victory. Best Breakthrough Performance Nic Batum's 17 points vs Lakers on 1/4/09 or his 20 points vs NJ on 3/13/09 Much like Zach Efron in 2008, the young heart-throb Nicolas Batum came on the scene for Portland and never really looked back. He wasn't always a major contributor but it was obvious that this 19-year old was capable of big things. Some of his biggest games included 17 points and a facial on Pau Gasol on January 4th as well as 20 impressive points against New Jersey on March 13th. [video=youtube;OxNHhNXrlnI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxNHhNXrlnI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxNHhNXrlnI[/video] Best Fight Przybilla vs Chandler, 1/2/09 This category is a bit vague, technically you can't fight in the NBA, you're only allowed a slap or a push then two guys meet face-to-face, they talk a little nonsense and eventually refs and teammates step in. The pre-bout pitting Joel Przybilla and Tyson Chandler on January 2nd included all of the NBA fighting rituals. The two were cheap shotting each-other all night and it eventually came to a head here. As far as NBA fights go, this one had plenty of Hollywood charisma. [video=youtube;khM5WjeyLQA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khM5WjeyLQA"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khM5WjeyLQA[/video] Best Villain Trevor Ariza of the Los Angeles Lakers There are plenty of villains to choose from for the Trail Blazers, from Kobe Bryant to Tyson Chandler, guys get under our skin. But this season, no one induced more Blazer venom than Trevor Ariza. Ariza's late and very unnecessary foul on Rudy Fernandez in the March 9th victory in the Rose Garden created anger that I've never seen before. It stemmed from the fact that he didn't make a play on the ball and didn't seem to care about helping Rudy up. Portland is very protective of their players and I'm pretty sure Brandon, Joel and the crew were ready to wage war on the Lakers. Trevor Ariza was definitely this season's villain. [video=youtube;LdZBcbSE0Pc]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdZBcbSE0Pc"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdZBcbSE0Pc[/video] Best Comedic Performance Tony Luftman and Michael Holton Luftman and Holton. The in studio duo that has frustrated many a viewer throughout the season. These two guys are an anomaly of sorts. They basically do such a terrible job it becomes hilarious. I know Luftman attempts the humor but he gets laughs for things he probably didn't expect. Early on these two were tough to watch, now, it's like free comedy relief during half time and in game breaks. [video=youtube;VxI5buARiuw]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxI5buARiuw"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxI5buARiuw[/video] [video=youtube;9plHaTcJqkI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9plHaTcJqkI"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9plHaTcJqkI[/video] Best On-Court Duo Rudy and Sergio Does it get any better than the Spanish connection? Rudy and Sergio on and off the court create an incredible duo. From wearing matching sweaters and shopping together, to ridiculous alley-oops throughout the 08/09 season. Rudy and Sergio sprinted away with the best duo. Unfortunately, depending on management decisions, we may have seen the last of this duo in the United States. [video=youtube;Jb6x4wkXqkk]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb6x4wkXqkk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jb6x4wkXqkk[/video] Best Announcers Brian Wheeler I feel we all got to know Brian Wheeler a little more this season. With the addition of 95.5 The Game and Courtside on Comcast, we understood Wheeler's love for the Trail Blazers. Not only that, but some of his heart attack causing calls are what gave me goosebumps. Roy hitting the game winner against Houston on November 6th was the most popular. http://www.bustabucket.com/images/stories/BrandonRoyGameWinningShot11608.mp3
Probably the only time in the history of humankind has the words Nic Batum and Zac Efron been written in the same sentence. Other than this one.
Boo, they didn't do best game!!! It would have probably been the HOuston game when BRoy hit the game winner, no? Or when we blew out LA?
