Phew....

Okay, I'm finally ready to end my self-imposed vow of silence... I don't know whether it was the fact that I didn't really have anything nice to say about the Jazz at that point of the series, or whether I just felt there was some kind of connection between my blogging and the teams putrid performance the other night. In any case, I'm back now, and hopefully so are the Jazz.

With the conclusion of last night's game, and subsequently the first round series with the Rockets, it's time to hand out the first ever Post-Series Awards, First Round Edition.

Most Valuable Player of the Series
Deron Williams and Rafer Alston

-I couldn't help but come to this conclusion here...
Deron didn't always perform up to what we've come to expect from him, especially come playoff time; but as we were able to see in the third quarter of last night's game - Utah doesn't really have anyone else who can put the team on their back and will them to victory. They'd be truly lost without him.

Which brings me to Rafer... I was one of those guys who scoffed when analysts made a big deal about Alston missing the first couple of games. I mean, it's Rafer Alston, how big a difference could it make? Yeah, the guy can hit the three, but he's nowhere near the same class as Deron Williams, so it doesn't really matter if he's there or not... As we saw from games 1 & 2, and in game 6 once Alston went down, when Jackson and Brooks were all Houston had to throw at Williams and the Jazz, the tone of the game was much MUCH different.

6th Man of the Series
Jazz Fans

-Yeah, I'm biased on this one, and I don't care. Houston fans brought it too, I'm not going to discredit that in the least bit. In fact, I'm going to miss the intensity you could see, hear and feel coming from the crowd in Houston or Utah; something I can't help but feel we won't be experiencing in the LA series. Edge goes to Utah on this one due to the fact the Jazz won twice in Houston.

Surprise Performance of the Series
Andrei Kirilenko - Game 1

-Booze and D-Will both put in good numbers for game 1, but it was AK that really jumped out at me. 21 points, 8-12 from the field, 1-2 from behind the arc, 4-5 from the free-throw line; when he's shooting that well, the Jazz are hard to beat.

Surprise Player of the Series
Carl Landry

-So maybe this is isn't quite the "surprise" to Houston fans, but this guy was someone not on my radar before the series started, and he's played out of his mind once it started. His game saving block in game 3 helped prevent what could've probably been a sweep by the Jazz, and he was part of the three headed monster along with Hayes and Mutombo that helped make this series a nightmare for Carlos Boozer. Glad the Lakers won't have anyone even close to that come next round.

The "Better Luck Next Time" Award
T-Mac

-I don't feel as much animosity towards McGrady as my co-contributer here at JazzHype. I'm certainly not a fan or anything, but I do feel for the guy. You can't deny he's a talented player, and that 10 years of this type of failure in the post season has just got to be eating away at him, and for that I am sympathetic... However, when he pulls stuff out like his "DER-on" comments, and his throwing of teammates under the bus it sure makes it easier to throw him under the bus. Better luck next year Tracy, let's hope you face off against someone other than the Jazz in the first round.

Well, I guess that'll wrap our first ever "awards ceremony" - congrats to the Jazz, hats off to the Rockets for one hard fought series, and let's bring on the Lakers.