NBA Playoffs 2012: Jrue Holiday's Emergence Key for Philadelphia 76ers

I don't know Jrue Holiday personally, but I almost feel like I do.

And not because I'm a fan of the Philadelphia 76ers, because I'm not.

Rather, like yours truly, Jrue grew up in the San Fernando Valley (i.e. the 818 or the Gr-818). He went to high school at Campbell Hall—which is approximately 2.37 stone's throws from my childhood home—with friends of mine.

He played his college basketball at UCLA, where I watched him underwhelm from the student section at Pauley Pavilion before he took off for the NBA after his freshman year.

You can forgive me, then, if I'm a bit more excited than usual to see the Sixers doing well, as much because of the fact that they stole a game on the road against the hated Boston Celtics as for who helped them pull it off.

The 21-year-old from Mission Hills led all scorers with 18 points (along with two rebounds, three assists and two steals) in what was an offensively-anemic 82-81 win for Philly on Monday. This, after posting his worst performance of the postseason in Game 1, during which he mustered a modest line of eight points, six rebounds and four assists while getting schooled by Rajon Rondo for a triple-double.

Holiday performed well throughout the Sixers' six-game series win over the Chicago Bulls. He averaged team highs in scoring (18.2 points) and assists (4.7 assists) along with 5.2 rebounds, albeit without having to worry about Derrick Rose over the final five games.

In that respect, then, Monday's performance was Holiday's way of showing that he's more than capable of hanging with an elite NBA point guard in a playoff setting, that his play against the Bulls was no fluke.

If Holiday continues to play this way, he may well have the Sixers on track for a surprising series win over the battle-tested C's and the even-more-shocking trip to the Eastern Conference finals that would accompany it.

I, for one, wouldn't mind. As an L.A. native, I enjoy watching Boston suffer as much as anyone.

Especially if it's a fellow Valley dweller leading the charge.

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