NBA Playoffs Studs and Duds

The first round of the NBA Playoffs has turned out to be a very exciting one. Many players are having huge games every time they take the court, while others are choking horribly.

Each player on the team is expected to contribute to the team in some way, but some are stepping up to the challenge of the postseason while others are backing down. I am going to tell you which ones have been "studs" and which ones have been "duds."

I will start out with the most obvious pick for the "stud" category: It is obviously Rajon Rondo of the Boston Celtics.

This kid has been unstoppable in Boston's first-round matchup against the Chicago Bulls. Watching him play has just been amazing, as he has done nearly everything the team needs from him and more. Dude's averaging a triple-double in the series, and that has been on a bum ankle.

It doesn’t look like anyone can stop him, especially not rookie Derrick Rose. I had previously thought of Rondo as just being a solid contributor to this C's squad, but after watching him in these Playoffs, it is obvious that there isn’t only a “Big Three” in Boston.

The next stud in these Playoffs has had to watch Rondo dominate his team each game of that same series. I am talking about Ben Gordon of the Chicago Bulls.

The Bulls are currently down 3-2, but Gordon has shown up to play in every game. If not for him, the Bulls would probably be out, as it seems that no one else is willing to step up in the big moments to take the big shot for this Windy City club.

All but one of the games in this series has been decided by three points or less, and the one game that wasn’t occurred the same night that Gordon struggled a bit. If his injury worsens, I really question the Bulls' chances of taking the C’s to a Game Seven.

Another obvious stud is definitely Chauncey Billups of the Denver Nuggets. Denver is currently winning their series against the New Orleans Hornets 3-1, and Billups is a big reason why.

He had two monster games to start the series, which allowed the Nuggets to glide to an easy 2-0 lead. Then, after posting modest numbers in a tight loss in Game Three, he helped his Nuggets get a huge lead in Game Four and got some much-needed rest.

Denver went on to tie a Playoff record for biggest margin of victory by beating the Hornets 121-63 in the fourth contest of the series, which resumes tonight in the Rockies.

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