Since it is Saturday, as promised, it's time to unveil the winners in the inaugural 3QC End-Season Awards.
Drumroll please.
Here are the results!
Best Individual Performance In A Game (18 votes)
Any of Dwight Howard's 20/20 games - 1 vote
Dwight Howard vs. Boston - 1 vote
Dwight Howard vs. Charlotte - 4 votes
Dwight Howard vs. Los Angeles Clippers (at LAC) - 1 vote
Dwight Howard vs. Oklahoma Thunder (at OKC) - 3 votes
Dwight Howard vs. San Antonio (at SA) - 1 vote
Jameer Nelson vs. Los Angeles Lakers (at LAL) - 7 votes
Ben Q Rock - Dwight Howard, Feb. 17 vs. Charlotte: 45 points (16-of-23 shooting), 19 rebounds, 8 blocks, and a KILLER screen to set J.J. Redick up for the shot that forced OT.
magic12ball - [Dwight Howard's] 23 pts, 22 rebs, 1 monster dunk on Brian Skinner.
Surfdog - Guy [Jameer Nelson] did it all that nite. Made me smile which is hard to do.
Biggest Surprise (18 votes)
Anthony Johnson - 1 vote
Courtney Lee - 14 votes
Jameer Nelson's improvement - 2 votes
Stan Van Gundy - 1 vote
kerem - I feel he’s [Stan Van Gundy] played a huge part in taking us this far. I certainly didn’t expect him to be this good.
NBR - Jameer Nelson — I hoped he’d take this step forward, and felt he was capable of it, but I wasn’t sure if he’d become good. Jameer was my biggest question heading into the season, and I wasn’t sure of the answer, so he’s my choice as the biggest surprise.
TheGiantSquid - Who’d’ve thunk that a draft choice [Courtney Lee] would work out for us!
Defensive Player of the Year (except Dwight) (21 votes)
Marcin Gortat - 1 vote
Courtney Lee - 5 votes
Rashard Lewis - 13 votes
Jameer Nelson - 1 vote
Orlando Magic - 1 vote
Paul Finger - Became an above average defender at a completely new position after 11 years in the league. He [Rashard Lewis] may be overpaid, but its not because of his effort.
RussL - I'm going to cheat and say the whole Magic team. Its really hard to name a standout besides Dwight. The whole Magic team just played great team defense. It really was a group effort.
The Stan 'Stache - My vote is for Rashard. The PF’s we’ve played against this year have been relatively quiet and that’s because Rashard has really worked on the defensive end.
MVP (18 votes)
Dwight Howard - 16 votes
Jameer Nelson - 1 vote
Mike Wilks - 1 vote
Orlando Magic three-point shooters - 1 vote
farfromfl - His [Dwight Howard] numbers, as respectable as they can be, DO NOT tell the story of how dominant he has become. I’d say he strikes fear in the heart of every opponent that dares to drive to the rim, but he’s a pretty jolly guy, and I think “strikes fear” is a bit melodramatic. Wittiness aside, he’s gone well beyond changing shots and entered the realm of changing offensive schemes in preparation to play the Magic.
GoMagic - Any of the 3pt shooters on our team as we would not be here without them.
UNFNOLE - Dwight Howard for sure. Not only is he a dominant defensive player, he leads the team emotionally and elevates the level of play around him.
Most Disappointing Player (18 votes)
Rashard Lewis - 1 vote
Tyronn Lue - 1 vote
Jameer Nelson - 1 vote
Mickael Pietrus - 14 votes
Hedo Turkoglu - 1 vote
3.3seconds - I can’t blame Pietrus. He was good, then he got hurt, now he’s less good. Hedo, though… nobody shoots 41.3% on this team and gets away with it.
big aaron - He’s [Mickael Pietrus] been injury-prone, error-prone … every bad type of -prone. He needs to get back to driving into the lanes rather than shooting threes. Or get traded. I know which I’d prefer right now.
coque429 - i didn’t know what to expect from pietrus given what i had seen from him …even still, he has been a huge disappointment for me. it’s sad because he has so much ability, but the basketball IQ is just not there.
Most Improved Player (20 votes)
Dwight Howard - 3 votes
Rashard Lewis - 1 vote
Jameer Nelson - 16 votes
Eyriq the Red - He [Dwight Howard] has really made leaps in how he defends and in his ability to score outside of using his raw power. Defensive Player of the year, 3rd or 4th amongst MVP voting (a prediction), All NBA 1st team, and so on and so forth. The guy has arrived and is only going to get better.
funny80sguy - Who knows how far he [Jameer Nelson] could have led the Magic this year record-wise? I bet it would have rivaled Cleveland’s.
Gortastic Voyage - Two words: All-Star. What looked like a questionable contact [for Jameer Nelson] now looks like a steal, just hope the shoulder isnt a chronic thing from now on.
... and there you have it.
Big ups to the Orlando Magic for making these awards possible.
Big ups to everyone that voted. Thanks for taking the time to cast your ballot.
Well, Third Quarter Collapse will reconvene next season with the second annual 3QC Mid-Season Awards. Until then.
As for the current award recipients, what does everyone think? Agree/disagree with the winners? Want to defend your choice? Just have something to say? Fire away with your comments.