Yeah so we missed Day 16… Rob’s got you covered on that tomorrow

3 votes – Steve Nash: After playing one of the worst games of his playoff career in the close-out win against Portland, the Nashmeister rebounded with a masterful display. Looking more like Tony Parker than Steve Nash, he knifed through the San Antonio defense over and over in the first quarter to set up a nice lead for the Suns.  The rest of the game he just picked his spots beautifully, ending up on 33 and 10 with super-efficient shooting numbers. And he even managed to do a nice job defensively on first round hero (this and this) George Hill, keeping him to 2-for-9 shooting. Nash had a lot more trouble getting to his spots against Manu’s brief defensive stints on him, so expect to see more of that match-up in Game 2.

2 votes – Rajon Rondo: Led his team superbly all night, in the process racking up 19 assists (equal franchise high). Despite James not being 100%, this was still a huge away win for Boston, and they wouldn’t have done it without Rondo’s excellent control of the game. I had this series penned as a pretty easy win for the Cavs, but it has all of a sudden turned into a dogfight, and Rondo’s matchup with renowned playoff choker Mo Williams (1-for-9 in Game 2) must be giving Mike Brown nightmares. Of course, Brown could just give Delonte West more minutes, given he’s proved to be a better player than Williams in big games, but that would require…you know, coaching.

1 vote – Manu Ginobili: Had himself a very good ballgame, despite his Spurs coming up short in the end. Finished with 27 points, but it was his defense and hustle that were even more impressive tonight. He was credited with 4 steals, probably came up with another 4 deflections, and might have become the first player to take a charge with a broken nose. Also seems to be the only Spur that’s really prepared to get out and run when the opportunity presents itself, which provided the impetus for the Spurs’ comeback in the third quarter of this game. As Doug Collins said – “running teams don’t like to be run on”. Richard Jefferson, playing once again like a dog, needs to do a much better job of getting out on the break with Manu in Game 2 if the Spurs want to steal one in Arizona.

1. Round Ball Fever: The All-NBA FIFA Team
2. My All-NBA AFL Team
3. The MVP Candidates: Part I
4. Most Valuable Protagonist
5. Day 23 - When Point Guards Ruled the World

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