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Chauncey Billups is the Pistons' best player?
Timmy and Sheed is the matchup that's worth the price of admission, but it will be very interesting to see how effective Billups and Parker are this time.
Monroe: Detroit follows its freed leader in Billups
Web Posted: 01/12/2006 12:00 AM CST
San Antonio Express-News
http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b....17caa5db.html
Keeping it real about the Detroit Pistons, who are 27-5 entering their game tonight on a court where they were last seen losing to the Spurs in Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals:
Yes, the Pistons have been the NBA's best team this season.
No, they aren't going to win 70 games.
With the chains off their offense under Flip Saunders this season, the Pistons are as good offensively as they had been stingy defensively during back-to-back Finals runs in 2004 and 2005. It's just that they're not the 1995-96 Bulls, the only team that has cracked the 70-victory barrier.
"I don't want that (70-victory talk) at all," said Chauncey Billups, the best of the Pistons and among a short list of Most Valuable Player candidates once the season is far enough along to begin considering such things. "We've got a good team, but like I already told anybody who wanted to talk about (70 victories), you can't even fathom that.
"I'm not saying we're not good enough to do it. I don't know if we are or not. But that's an unbelievable feat. I wouldn't even start talking about that unless we had 15 left and were already at 60. It doesn't make any sense, otherwise."
When it comes to historical perspective, Billups knows whereof he speaks. The Bulls, who finished 72-10, had 15 games remaining when they hit 60 victories on March 21, 1996.
The Pistons didn't set out to win 70. Their motivation derives from believing they should be aiming at a third consecutive le. Their Game 7 loss in San Antonio is all the impetus they need to go after a stated goal of securing home-court advantage in the playoffs for each round. Winning 70 doesn't factor into such thinking.
Resolve born of disappointment isn't the biggest reason the Pistons are better this season. Billups' emergence as the league's second-best point guard, behind only the Suns' Steve Nash, has a lot more to do with it. And Saunders' approach to offense has helped Billups reach this point.
Saunders can turn any defensive discussion into an exercise in graduate-level geometry, going on about floating parallelograms, or some such. When it comes to offense, his approach is simple.
"He says, 'If you're open, shoot it, and if you see that man cutting to the basket, go ahead and pass it and lay it up,'" said Rasheed Wallace, clearly enjoying basketball more than he ever has.
That's a perfect fit for Billups.
"I definitely have a lot more freedom that I had last year, or the last three years," Billups said. "And I'm playing better. People are seeing my maturation process. I don't have to shoot all the time to get a lot of points, and I don't have to score 22, 24 points to dominate a game."
Nonetheless, his numbers — 19.7 points and 8.3 assists per game — shout All-Star. Amazingly, he never has made an All-Star team.
He will be an All-Star this season if the Eastern Conference coaches have a shred of common sense. There was a time the Nets' Jason Kidd was the no-brainer choice as the best point. Today's choice isn't so simple. Ironically, Nash has done more this season to merit being MVP than he did when he led the Suns to a league-best 62 victories last season. But Billups is the Pistons' motor, and the Pistons have the league's best record. You can't have a premature MVP discussion without mentioning him.
"I think Chauncey should be mentioned with anybody in the league," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "I think Steve Nash has been great keeping that team at the level it's been at. Chauncey has run the show and been the head of the snake for Detroit. He's done a great, consistent job all year long. I think those two guys should be mentioned in every sentence with anybody else you might mention who scores more points."
Billups watches Nash play whenever he can because he loves seeing what he does better than any other point guard, which is run the pick and roll. He also knows there are aspects of his own game Nash can only dream about.
"I like what I do," Billups said, "but I love what he does, too. We're different. That guy is 100 miles per hour, the whole game. Me, I'm more control the tempo and score in different ways."
Nash's Suns aren't going to repeat their Western-best record, no matter what Nash does, and Billups' Pistons aren't going to be the second team to win 70 games.
That's not a knock on either player or either team. That's just keeping it real.
Chauncey Billups is the Pistons' best player?
Timmy and Sheed is the matchup that's worth the price of admission, but it will be very interesting to see how effective Billups and Parker are this time.
Timmy, Manu & Parker will cancel out Sheed, Billups and Hamilton, the key to this victory lies with people like Prince, Dice, Van Exel, Finley & Barry. Did I mention that Ben will own the boards as usual.
I thought consecutive meant one after the other? Guess not....
:p
Oh, and when did they win their second championship?
I think they're refering to the fact that they could have won last year also...they were about 5 minutes away from repeating. And IF they had won...then now they would be going for their 3rd straight...
Yeah, you're probably right.
I still prefer my version though :p
Last edited by Slomo; 01-12-2006 at 12:00 PM.
The Pistons get more credit and press for ing almost winning than the Spurs do for ing actually winning.
Spurs (as well as Miami and Indiana) got more pub last year when the Pistons were the defending champs. Relax. It's what the media does.
Billups' game has really evolved into a thing of beauty. It's a great luxury to have a PG with the rare combination of ballhandling, passing skills, defensive prowess, ability to stick clutch jumpers and the dependability to shoot FTs at a 90% clip.
Many teams passed him over early in his career. Big ups to Billups.
Can't wait until tonight and hopefully another Finals rematch.
Now you know how we felt summer of '04.
My stance: the media. They know less about these teams than the fans do.
And Parker on his own gets more press than both teams put together, just for ing who he's ing. Life goes on.
Sometimes in the back of my head I wish we would drop a few more games so people would stop talking about winning 70. That is unimportant, and I think it hurts more than it helps. Let's focus on getting better, staying consistant, and being primed for the Finals.
And yes, I'd agree that Chauncey is the best player on this team. If there's ever been an "Underrated Players" list in the NBA, he's got to be near the top. Isn't he the first player ever to be the Finals MVP but not make the All Star Game in the same year? I thought I heard that somewhere, but I don't have anything to back it up.
I'm jealous about that, too.
You're just jealous.
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