NBA Weekend Awards: The Dazed and Contused Trophy is up for grabs

One more playoff weekend is over, and somehow we still haven't hit the Eastern Conference Finals. LeBron has eaten 15 pounds of sea bass, invented three more game shows, watched all four seasons of "Orange Is The New Black," and yet he still has two more days off. Still, there were heroes and villains battling hard in the other three series. With this column, we honor, recognize, and cyber-bully the standouts from the past weekend.

Dazed and Contused Trophy: For hitting a joint. And hitting it hard. To Zaza Pachulia, who knocked Kawhi Leonard out of the game when Kawhi landed awkwardly on his foot after a jump shot. It was the same ankle that kept him out of Game Six of the Rockets series, and after the  blunt force collision with Zaza, he never returned. Zaza was indeed contesting the shot, but he also stumbled forward right into Kawhi’s landing spot. He spun and faced the other direction, but his foot landed in the perfect spot to turn Kawhi’s ankle again. This is dirty, as long you think the oafish 6’11, 280-pound Pachulia has the body control to pull it off. Our verdict? Reckless, not malicious. It’s a yellow card, not a red.

Honorable mention goes to Kawhi’s teammate, David Lee, who was the first awkward white big man to trip him up. Kawhi was well out of bounds, and the seated Lee’s feet appeared perfectly still, but we can’t completely rule out the possibility that he’s a sleeper agent working on behalf of his old team. Regardless, Zaza should pass the trophy over to D-Lee. Come on, man, don’t bogart it!

For now, Kawhi is simply getting an MRI, but it wouldn’t be a surprise if he missed Game 2. After that, the teams have three days off before Game 3 in San Antonio. Kawhi could conceivably get six days off to rest and rehabilitate. Still, it’s unlikely he’ll have healthy joints the rest of the way, though it’d be a lot cooler if he did.

The Hacksaw Ridge Memorial Hacksaw: For refusal to shoot. This goes to James Harden, who went 2-11 in the Rockets’ elimination game against the Spurs. He didn’t even take a shot until six minutes into the second quarter, when his team was already down 21 points. Maybe Manu Ginobili swatting the ball out of his hand gave him PTSD. Maybe he believes people are born with a finite amount of energy, so he can’t run around picks. Maybe he thinks being a pacifist means playing passively and passing poorly. Even Chip Kelly and Mike Leach aren’t as opposed to field goal attempts as James Harden was Thursday night!

Harden was bad, but his teammates weren’t much better. Ryan Anderson was 0-6, Eric Gordon was 2-9, and Clint Capela came original by shooting 3-11. It was as if the Rockets were in a reverse "American Pie" situation, where they all made a pact to start their summer by refusing to score. The front office might want to skip summer league this year, and send the guys to band camp instead.

Wilt Chamberlain Trophy: For excellence in scoring. This goes to LaMarcus Aldridge, who stepped up his scoring efforts as his teammates were going down around him. First, Tony Parker blew out a quad tendon in Game 2, and LMA responded with 26 in Game 3. Then, with Kawhi Leonard out in Game 6, he shot 16-26 for 34 points on the road, as San Antonio routed Houston. It could have been worse, but Aldridge sat down with four minutes left and the Spurs leading by 36. Finally, he put up another 28 points in a valiant shorthanded effort against the Warriors.

It had to be particularly sweet for Aldridge to take it to Houston, whose team philosophy runs counter to his whole game. Aldridge is the master of the mid-range jumper, a true legend of the long two, and he rarely shoots free throws. Houston tends to ignore the mid-range and only work for threes, layups, and fouls. LaMarcus Aldridge is none of those things, but Game 6 made it impossible for Houston’s number crunchers to deny his value.