Billups Is Better but Still Questionable

Chauncey Billups has made improvements in his recovery from a strained hamstring, but the Pistons refuse to let him rush him back. From Krista Jahnke of the Detroit Free Press:

"I don't even know what we are. What are we? OK, 3-1," strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander said. "To me, it doesn't make a difference. I look at purely the comfort level of a player, what they can do. He's getting much closer to it."

How close? For one, Billups hasn't had a single setback from day to day, and he's tested the hamstring with a lot of strenuous activity.

"He can do a lot of pretty intense things on his legs right now," Kander said, "and he has no pain." Kander said he worked with Billups "doing everything from hard dribbles, defensive slides; we box, we did all sorts of maneuvers and he didn't feel anything. So it's good."

The fact that Detroit has a 3-1 lead over Orlando certainly gives them a bit of cushion in terms of being cautious with Billups, as does the fact that Game 5 will be played at the Palace. But if he does sit again, it's not like the don't have a solid backup plan: rookie Rodney Stuckey and veteran Lindsey Hunter may have combined for only six assists while replacing Billups in Game 4, but they didn't turn the ball over once. Plus, the team frequently runs the offense through Tayshaun Prince, who had five assists himself in Game 4.

The Pistons don't need Billups to beat the Magic, nor do they need to win Game 5 to advance to the next round. Considering a sixth-straight Conference Finals appearance is seemingly in the books, getting Billups back at full strength, no matter how long that takes, should be the primary goal. As Pistons fans say, in Arnie we trust.