Player of the D.A.Y.
Too bad for the Warriors it’s not Team of the D.A.Y.
Last night the big story in the league was, of course Golden State taking down the Mavs, ending their 17 game winning streak. When the T-Wolves pulled this same trick on the Suns, I gave KG a much-deserved Player of the D.A.Y.
There was no individual Golden State Warrior that stood out though. It was a team effort, the type of basketball that John Wooden sees in his dreams, but not the individual greatness that gets a player a digital trophy. Sorry Warriors. You’ll just have to be content with winning a huge game and ruining the Maverick machine’s streak before it runs into the showdown with Phoenix.
Derek Anderson and Vince Carter are almost deserving, but not quite. Shawn Marion had a big game rebounding, playing defense on T-Mac, and even scoring a little.
But I’m giving the Player of the D.A.Y. to Leandro Barbosa. It was his blurriness that changed the game into one of speed not Van Gundy ball, and tilted it in the Suns favor against a legit playoff team. Barbosa scored 32 for the second time in three games. That’s even more impressive when you consider that he is doing it in spite of the SLAM curse, which has been off the charts of late.
I’m seeing 300 in less than three hours. Already got my tickets. Very excited.
28 Responses to “Player of the D.A.Y.”
Mar.13 at 4:18 pm
J-Bird says:
Barbosas better than Ginobili
Mar.13 at 4:22 pm
a-town shortie 16 says:
Barbosa is MAJOR PIMPIN…..!
Mar.13 at 4:26 pm
Hersey says:
Hell yeah! LB has been automatic lately. Hope he has something nasty for Dallas.
Mar.13 at 4:28 pm
Reggie Evans says:
Barbs is the real Flash.
Mar.13 at 4:31 pm
Vitor says:
Thanks for the shoutout to Brazil, Sam! We really appreciate it! Barbosa has got to be the favorite for 6th man of the year. I wonder if the Brazilian national team will finally come together with Leandrinho morphing into a star and Nenê becoming (hopefully) the player we all thought he would be after his rookie year.
Mar.13 at 4:34 pm
SwingMan says:
Barbosa was just unreal last night. No conscience and Houston had absolutely no answer for him. Probably the most dominant game - end-to-end - of his young career. One can only hope that the kid will use this game as a springboard to another big game in, well, another big game in Dallas tomorrow. After seeing the Suns’ team effort rally behind Barbosa last night, I, as a Suns fan, have a pretty good feeling about said game.
Mar.13 at 4:42 pm
sush carter says:
you haven’t seen 300 yet?! this is blasphemy! this is madness!
Mar.13 at 4:45 pm
jbn74sb says:
Sam - Whenever I am expectating to be blown away by a movie, it never meets my expectations. Keep yours in check, homie, and you’ll enjoy it.
Mar.13 at 4:46 pm
J3K says:
The Brazilian Blur is one of the best nicknames in the League! And the best 6th man! Fo’ sho’!
Mar.13 at 5:26 pm
Aaron says:
Love the sound effect at the arena when Babs scores. The roadrunner “beep, beep”. Good ish.
Mar.13 at 5:30 pm
TONIO says:
j-bird u gotta be one remedial mutha to think barbosa is better than ginobili..
Mar.13 at 5:40 pm
J-Bird says:
Just like in soccer, the Brazilians are always better than the Argentines. No different here, sorry you dont like my opinion.
Mar.13 at 5:53 pm
Vitor says:
That’s so true J-Bird. Those guys never seem to understand they will always be second to Brazil.
Mar.13 at 5:54 pm
Kyle Watson 35 says:
Barbosa look like he just sit around eatin soup all day. I ain’t never seen that man’s teeth.
Mar.13 at 7:38 pm
Tariq says:
As far as basketball: Even though you’re basking in the glow of Barbosa’s “digital trophy”, we all know that the best South American in the NBA is GINOBILI! As far as football: Five world cups don’t lie, but don’t sleep on Argentina. My boy Messi is unreal. And I know some of you will start whining about Pele, but no one, in any sport, has done anything like what Diego did in Mexico in 86. He was on some Luke Skywalker/Batman/Michael Corleone/American Psycho/Lil Ze ish by way of Pan’s Labyrinth. Even if he did score a goal with his hand.
Mar.13 at 8:00 pm
Vitor says:
wow Tariq hold on…While Pelé was to soccer the equivalent to MJ to basketball (or even better if that’s possible), Maradona had a really short prime (1985-1990). Even though he was unreal in 86, he would never be able to carry Pelé’s jocks. Pelé was the best player (by far) in the ‘58 World Cup - when he was 17 years old! - and dazzled the world in 1970. You can’t argue with over 1300 goals and Athlete of the Century status. And to be completely honest, if you wanna give me the second best soccer player ever, I’ll take Beckenbauer or Cruyff or even Zidane and Ronaldinho over Maradona any day of the week…
Mar.13 at 8:41 pm
mdshuai says:
DEREK ANDERSON IS STILL ALIVE!!!! Can you believe the Blazers traded Smittie for him? To be honest though, DA’s had some super bad luck with injuries. Dude’s broken both shoulders since he’s been in the L. And did any one else ever notice that DA was the best player in NBA live 2004? Dude would light up my squad for 30 every game.
Mar.14 at 12:52 am
joeking123 says:
Kind of amazing how in NBA live games the best player is never hu u think its gonna B, DA 2004 AND kg 2006!
Mar.14 at 5:32 am
James says:
Vitor is right. Pele was the man in ‘58 AND in ‘70. And have you ever seen the amount of punishment he took from defenders? They would kick the hell out of him to try and stop him. It happened the worst against Portugal in ‘66. But im kind of glad that it did cos England ended up winning (yay!). Maradona didnt have to deal with that. You know the amazing goal against England (not the Hand of God)? If that was in the 60’s he would have been taken out by a defender straight away.
Mar.14 at 7:35 am
Tariq says:
Ok, now we have a debate on our hands!
James, I only need two words to respond to your entire argument: Claudio Gentile. Vitor, first of all, Pele v Maradona is arguable, not as clear-cut as you make it out to be when you say that Diego “would never be able to carry Pele’s jocks”. I mean, in 1970, Brazil had Rivelino, Tostao, Jairzinho, Carlos Alberto and basically a football version of the 60s Celtics. Maradona had …um…Burruchaga? Brazil won the 62 cup without him. Without Maradona, Argentina in 86 would have joined the CBA. And when you compare Maradona’s time at his peak with Pele’s (I think it’s a bit longer than 85-90, I mean the Bernebeau crowd gave him a standing O in 83, but anyway…) I think you’re missing my point. I wasn’t arguing that Maradona was better than Pele overall, I was arguing that no one in the history of sports, in my opinion, and at least in the world of football, has ever given any type of single performance over one tournament like Diego in the 1986 World Cup. So if you compare Pele circa 58 or 70 to Diego86, I don’t think the Black Pearl, great as he was, comes close.
Mar.14 at 7:38 am
Tariq says:
And Ronaldinho better than Maradona? At 27?! Say it ain’t so, Vitor. Don’t tell me you’re one of those people who thought Vince was better than Jerry West when he won the dunk contest!
Mar.14 at 8:10 am
Troy Dallas says:
Ronaldinho better than Maradona? That must be some real good sh*t you’re smoking
Mar.14 at 10:27 am
Tariq says:
Indeed, Troy, indeed.
Mar.14 at 12:29 pm
Vitor says:
Ok, i might have said that for the sake of arguing, but you can make a case that Ronaldinho’s best years so far (2003-2005) were just as good as Maradona’s best years, except for 86. Of course Maradona was a better player than Ronaldinho (again, so far), but if you take Bernabeu’s standing ovations as a parameter for greatness, Ronaldinho has received a couple of those and, as you said, he’s 27. I grant you that, but I would never take Maradona ahead of the Kaiser. And, to say Pelé doesn’t come close to ‘86 Maradona is at least sacrilegious to anyone who remotely knows football (thank God i don’t have to call it soccer around here…)
Mar.14 at 2:35 pm
xocoo says:
yep yep yep last 11 games 7-4 WARRIORS leading MAVS what made win was teram work!!!! barbosa is good
Mar.14 at 2:50 pm
Tariq says:
Vitor, just to be a stickler, Ronnie (my favorite player by the way) only received one standing ovation, not a couple!
Anyway, if we’re talking about Pele, Maradona, Beckenbauer and Cruyff, we’re always in the realm of the arguable as opposed to the absolute. I might have exagerrated when I said that Pele doesn’t COME CLOSE to 86 Maradona, but I still think Diego’s performance in 86 beats any performance in a single performance by Pele, whether it’s the 58 cup (which gets my vote) or the 70 edition. And regarding the Kaiser, you might not take Maradona ahead of the Kaiser, but you do realize that most people would, don’t you? Again, I’m not arguing that Maradona was a better player than Pele (although I think he was), I’m arguing that his performance in 86 is superior to any single-tournament performance by Pele, and indeed any player in any sport, ever, with the possible exception coming from Muhammad Ali.
Mar.14 at 3:00 pm
jbn74sb says:
Soccer is for little kids.
Mar.14 at 4:03 pm
Tariq says:
Yes, jbn, I agree…soccer is for little kids. Futbol, on the other hand, is for manly men!