In the Rotation: NBA Week 6

I've used the same ice-breaker/bar conversation starter for years. It's unisex, easy to understand, and the answer takes some thought.

"If you were to go on Jeopardy, what would you and Alex Trebek talk about for 30 seconds during his little segment where he interviews the contestants?"

If you have kids, it's easy. Every parent loves to tell funny stories about their kids or tell the origin of their kid's unique name.

But what if you're single, in your 20s, and with no kids? It's not so easy anymore.

I've got a ton of hilarious stories that I can be convinced to tell after a few spirits, but neither the content nor the language is exactly suitable for the 7:30 PM time slot.

And judging by some of the yarns I've seen spun by contestants over the years, I'm not the only one who would have a hard time finding something interesting to talk about.

Yet, episode after episode, people chose to suffer through the awkwardness of Alex's half-hearted questioning in order to compete for cash and prizes.

Why? Because people love trivia.

And so do I. Therefore, as we are about to pass the quarter pole of the NBA season, today's Starting Five is broken down to test your knowledge in five categories: Team Success, MVPs, League Leaders, Rookies, Individual Game Records.

Consider it your Quarterly NBA Exam.

I'll give the questions first, followed by the answers. If you need some extra time to think about the answers, I suggest clicking here.

Starting Five

1. Team Success

Q. The Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics currently have the two best records in the league at 17-2 and 20-2, respectively. Who were the last two teams to meet in the NBA Finals and finish the following season with the top two records in the league (2 points, all or nothing)?

2. MVPs

Q. With only 25% of the season complete, the early favorite for MVP (though it's obviously up for debate) is LeBron James. LeBron's numbers through 20 games have been staggering, but what may be most impressive is that fact that he's putting up these video game-type numbers playing a career-low 35.0 minutes per game.

That leads us to our next question: what player has averaged the fewest minutes per game in an MVP season and how many minutes did he play (1 point for the player, 1 point for the correct minutes played, 1 bonus point for the year)?

3. League Leaders

Q. Dwyane Wade leads the NBA in scoring right now, averaging 28.9 points per game. Wade also ranks seventh in the league with 7.7 assists per game. Only eight times in NBA history has a player won the scoring title and finished in the top 10 in assists per game. Name the last player to accomplish this feat, and the only player to do it twice in his career (1 point per correct response; Bonus: name the only two players to lead the league in both categories in the same year; 1 bonus point per player).

4. Rookies

Q. Derrick Rose is averaging 18 points and 6 assists through his first 20 games (18.5 and 6.1 to be exact). Only five players have ever averaged at least 18 points and 6 assists per game in their rookie season. Name these five players (1 point per correct answer).

5. Individual Game Records

Q. Earlier this season, Tony Parker scored 55 points in a win against the Minnesota Timberwolves. In the last 20 years, there have been 149 instances in which a player has scored at least 50 points in a game. Name the only three franchises in the league history to have never had player score at least 50 points in a game (1 point per team).

Bonus Round: Coaching

Q. There have already been three head coaching changes in the NBA this season. At this torrid pace (three coaching changes per month), we are marching towards an NBA record 15 coaching changes this season. While we're as likely to see half the teams in the league switch head coaches as we are to see Stephon Marbury in a Knicks uniform, we could still be headed towards an unprecedented amount of coaches being relieved of their duties midseason.

What is the record for most coaching changes in one NBA season?

Answers

1. Team Success

A. The San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons met in the 2005 NBA Finals (also the last Finals to go seven games), then followed it up by finishing the 2005-06 NBA season with 63 and 64 wins respectively, good for the top two records in the NBA. It is the only time this decade that this has happened. It happened twice in the 1990s and a record five times in the 1980s.

2. MVPs

A. In the 1977-78 season, Bill Walton of the Portland Trail Blazers played a record low 33.3 minutes per game en route to his only league MVP. The Sultan of Superlatives averaged 18.9 points, 13.2 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 2.5 blocks, and 1 steal per game while leading his Blazers to a league best 58-24 regular season record.

3. League Leaders

A. LeBron James is the most recent, adding an 8th place finish in assists to his only NBA scoring title last season. Wilt Chamberlain is the only player to lead the league and finish in the top ten in assists twice, doing so in the 1963-64 and 1965-66 seasons.

The other players on this list: Allen Iverson in '04-'05; Michael Jordan in '88-'89; Nate Archibold in '72-'73 (led the league in both categories); Jerry West in '69-'70; Oscar Robertson in '67-'68 (led the league in both categories).

4. Rookies

A. The five players are: Oscar Robinson (30.5, 9.7), Allen Iverson (23.5, 7.5), Steve Francis (18.0, 6.6), Magic Johnson (18.0, 7.3), Damon Stoudamire (19.0, 9.3). All but Magic were named Rookie of the Year. Ironically enough, only Johnson's Lakers went on to win the NBA title.

5. Individual Game Records

A. The Charlotte Bobcats, Memphis Grizzlies, and Minnesota Timberwolves have played a combined 2,947 regular season games in the history of their franchises, yet none of the three has had a 50-point scorer to their credit.

Bonus Round: Coaching

A. The record for most coaching changes in one NBA season was set back in the 2004-05 season when a record nine coaches were fired. Since 2000, there have been 36 midseason coaching changes (excluding coaches who defined "interim" and coached less than five games before being replaced by a more permanent coach). That leaves us just one change away from setting the record of most coaching changes in a decade, held by the freewheeling 1980s, who had a (for the moment) record of 37 coaching changes midseason.

In the Rotation

If you scored between 10-15, consider yourself in the rotation. You clearly know your basketball history, and there's always room in the rotation for someone who knows his or her stuff about the NBA.

Out of the Rotation

If you scored 5-9 points, you're out of the rotation this week, but fear not. Just because you may not be a student of the game it doesn't mean you can't enjoy the best athletes in the world competing at the highest level night in and night out. It just means you've got some research to do.

Inactive List

If you scored between 0-4 points, are you sure you're in the right place? There are plenty of NASCAR and college football articles on the website worth reading.

Special thanks to Basketball-Reference.com for providing the stats used in this article.

Be sure to check back at Sports Central every Monday to see who cracks Scott Shepherd's rotation as he breaks down what is going on around the NBA.