Pop Quiz: NBA Postseason Recap (Part One)

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As a college graduate (heading back to school) watching the NBA playoffs, I couldn’t help but question the importance of a college degree.

Don’t get me wrong.

Degrees are nice and they make your family proud, but they can be costly and sometimes ineffective.

Thus far in my short stint out of college, it’s been largely ineffective, and eventually it will be very costly (Can’t wait).

Besides, lots of successful people didn’t go to college or don’t have degrees.

I mean, look at the NBA playoffs.

So many key players spent little to no time in college:

Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, LeBron James, Rashard Lewis, and Kevin Garnett—straight from prom. The one-and-doners: Carmelo Anthony, Derrick Rose, Trevor Ariza, and Lamar Odom, etc…They tried the whole school thing out, but ultimately decided they liked money better than calculus.

Shocking.

Anyway, I like money more than calculus too, but recognize that it’s in my best interest to get as educated as possible.

So, to get me back in the mood for school, I created a little test to see just what was learned during the 2009 NBA postseason (at least from my perspective).

1. What do Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo have in common?

Both won the Rookie of the Year.

Both flashed their respective sets during the postseason.

Both were elevated to elite-point guard status after their performances in Boston and Chicago’s epic first round playoff series.

All of the above

If you answered C, or someone answered it for you, you are correct.

Everyone knew Derrick Rose and Rajon Rondo we’re pretty good heading into the postseason. Then they met in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs, and they took their games to another level.

Rose, the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, was not to be intimidated in his first go-round of the NBA postseason. In his first career playoff game (on the road in Boston), Rose led the Bulls to a 105-103 overtime victory to upset the defending champions and set the basketball world abuzz.

Rose scored 36 points (tying Kareem Abdul Jabbar’s playoff debut record set in 1970) on 12-19 shooting, including 12-12 from the charity stripe and 11 assists.

Rose played superbly in Chicago’s two other wins of the series.

In Game Four, Rose posted a near triple-double with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists to lead the Bulls to a 121-118 victory. Rose also delivered in the Bulls, thrilling three 0T, 128-127 victory in Game Six.

Rose scored 28 points to go along with eight rebounds and seven assists. Ironically, it was Rose’s defense that sealed the victory and forced a Game Seven. Rose blocked a potential game-winning shot by his counterpart in the game’s waning seconds.

However, as good as Rose was, Rajon Rondo was even better.

Boston’s feisty young point guard played phenomenal throughout the series. In Game Two, Rondo notched a triple-double with 19 points, 12 rebounds, and 16 assists.

Rose recorded another triple double in the Celtics Game Four loss: 25 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists.

In fact, for the seven game series, Rondo almost averaged a triple-double:  19.4 points on 45 percent shooting, 9.3 rebounds, 11.6 assists, and 2.71 steals.

Those are pretty remarkable numbers for a 6’1’’, 23-year-old point guard.

If we learned anything from this series, it’s that these two young point guards are very, vary talented. Their paths are certainly going to cross again in the postseason.

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