CTNBAA: 2008 Comeback Player of the Year
In the ten or twelve seconds between the regular season's end and the playoffs' explosion, we'll be presenting the Haus's version of NBA awards. Following the footsteps blazed by our NFL brethren, in these posts we'll be Crowning Their NBA Asses, or CTNBAA for short. Our choices may be bold, they may be provocative. But rest assured, they will always, always come from our inner hearts and minds.
Amare Stoudemire was the unanimous winner of the nonexistant Comeback Player of the Year this year, and anyone could've guessed that last April. So why not pick next year's Comeback superstar today?
Bonzi Wells makes for an intriguing case. He barely survived a case of the Van Gundies, and there's little doubt he'll opt up of his near-minimum wage 2008 contract with Houston. If he signs a small deal with the right team, a rerun of Bonzilla could be in order.
Shaun Livingston, should he come back quickly from his devastating mutilation, would be a sentimental favorite as well. Shaun Livingston's raw potential and astonishing fro-to-muscle ratio made him a sympathetic figure already, and the gnarly injury only adds to the heartstring yanking. But Shaun Livingston is a longshot to play in 2007-08...
... which makes Robert Swift the clear favorite for 2008 Comeback Player of the Year. Swift missed the entire season after he jacked his ACL during preseason. It's too bad -- he's considered the best prospect among Seattle's trio of stick figure pivots, and he'd been named the opening day starter minutes before the crash and burn.
So what makes us think Big Red II will be ready to take the league by storm next winter? Because Seattle will have a real coach, a real offensive void minus Rashard Lewis, and a thirst for an above-average center on the floor. Swift may not dominant Yao and Camby, but he's going to shock some folks.
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