Photo by Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

3 votes – Kobe Bryant. I saw it, if only for a brief second or two, in between a barrage of shots Kobe was making in the third; that protruding jaw snarl that became a trademark of his ‘09 playoff campaign. For a second there it felt like Kobe was on his way to 45 points in a vintage postseason performance for the ages. As it turned out, it wasn’t so much “vintage” as just “very good”. And according to a Tweet from J.A Adande, Kobe’s 6th-straight 30+ point close-out game. Sure he missed the potential game-winner that Pau cleaned up, but it was Kobe’s third quarter that kept LA in control of this game and reminded his Western Conference foes that he can still be a killer, when he wants to be. The snarl is usually the measure of those moments.

2 votes – Carlos Boozer. Talk about beastly. Booze monstered the Nuggets front-line for 22 points on 10-14 shooting, to go with 20 rebounds and 5 assists. Just how special was that kind of effort? Special enough that only 8 other players had gone 20-20-5 in the playoffs since 1991: Duncan, Shaq, KG, Barkley, Daugherty, Ewing, Nowitzki and D-Rob. That is privileged company right there. It capped off a super series from Boozer where he averaged 22 and 13 on 58% shooting – and somehow, didn’t even end up being the best player on his team. That honor goes to Deron Williams, who thanks to an elbow injury needed every one of those 22 points and 20 rebounds from his partner in crime to close out the Nuggets.

1 vote – Ron Artest. Nearly gave this to Jamal Crawford for his 24 points off the bench in an unlikely Hawks win in Milwaukee. And you could argue that Gasol was stiff too with 18 rebounds and a game-winning tip. But Ron Artest’s game yesterday was truly something special, and for fear of it being overshadowed by Kobe and Pau’s heroics, I needed to give it 1 vote today. Ron Ron, for all the ridiculous things he’s said in the past, might have been correct when he stated yesterday that “Durant would’ve averaged 40 points if he was playing against any other team”. Durant, remember, finished the season averaging 34 points in April and hit the 25+ mark in 29 consecutive games. Artest didn’t only slow this Juggernaut, but rendered it ineffective for most of the series. Didn’t you find it strange, that Russell Westbrook and the Lakers inability to stop him became the headline story of this series? Not once did the Lakers voice concern about slowing Durant. The reason? “I guess you’re looking at him”, Artest said yesterday. It was typical, brash Ron Artest. But this time, I think he was right

1. My All-NBA AFL Team
2. RoBloG Playoff Diary
3. Things I Learnt from Day 1
4. Day 22 - The Orlando and LA Juggernauts roll on
5. Backing the Green

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