"Silky Johnson" Award Nominee: Nicolas Batum

Late on a winter night in Portland, with the euphoria of a victory over the Bulls still fresh in his mind, Trailblazers' Forward Nicolas Batum - ye old 12 points and 4 rebounds per contest - was added to the list of finalists for the 2011 Silky Johnson Award for HATING!

Batum had just watched LeMarcus Aldridge drop 40 on the Chicago squad, while his counterpart, Andre Miller added 27 and 11 assists. Miller was matched up with Derrick Rose for much of the night. The All-Star Game starter scored 36 of his own, but apparently didn't impress Batum.

"We know that Derrick Rose is a good offensive player. But you have to play defense, too. He can’t guard Dre. You gotta play defense. He can’t play defense, so that’s why we put Dre inside and try to attack him. He did a great job."

In a move that shocked the Silky Johnson Voting Committee, Batum quickly pulled a 180 and paid homage to Mr. Rose this afternoon,

"What I said was Derrick Rose is a better offensive player than he is on defense. And, in a game like that, if we can get him to play defense, that can get him in trouble and be better for us, especially if we can get him in foul trouble."

This reversal could hurt his chances with the voters!