Watching Chauncey Billups float through the latter stages of Denver's 103-94 loss to the Lakers in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals on Wednesday, you could only think one thing:He's going to play well on Friday night in Game 6.
That's the only logical conclusion you can draw after Billups' rather ordinary 12-point, five-assist night on Wednesday. It wasn't that Billups was bad, mind you. He wasn't. Billups was better than a slew of Nuggets; it's just that this postseason – and every postseason, for that matter – we expect more from him.
That's why if you're a Nuggets fan, there's no other point guard around you'd want running your team on Friday against L.A. than Billups. After all, he's having a great 2009 postseason, and he can throw his overall resume up there against anyone.
Seriously, you hear about Chris Paul , Deron Williams and Tony Parker, and even Gilbert Arenas. Then there are the young point guards such as Derrick Rose, O.J. Mayo and Rajon Rondo who get a lot of play. Just a couple of years ago, it was Steve Nash, Jason Kidd and Baron Davis who were considered elite.
It's never Billups. But watching the Nuggets in the playoffs, and then thinking about the Nuggets one year ago, it's hard to imagine a better point guard, all things considered. Oh, sure, you'd take Paul and Williams, probably Parker, too. But that's for age reasons.
If you're playing a game tomorrow – and the Nuggets happen to be – I'd take Billups to give me the best chance to win.
One of the problems with Billups is that during the regular season, he always seems to fly under the radar, or certainly well beneath the more darling point guards. It's almost like his relentless consistency just doesn't play well over the course of an 82-game season, and we get more caught up in the highs and lows, whatever they might be.
And one thing Billups isn't is a player of extremes. His consistency is what has come to define him, but that consistency works against him reputation-wise. In an era of numbers, Billups isn't a stats guy.
Sometimes a player is so consistent for so long that it becomes part of his greatness. That's the case for Billups, and yet you can't truly measure Billups without considering his seven straight trips to conference finals and his winning an NBA Finals MVP.
Billups' numbers have always been a notch below the numbers of more recognized point guards. But Billups played for the Pistons, a team known for their unselfishness and balance.
Billups might never have been a 20-10 guy, but his assist-to-turnover ratio always has been good, and all you have to do is take one look at the Pistons without him to see how valuable Billups was ... and is.
The problem Billups has – insofar as "problems" go – is that he's good at everything. He doesn't have any one thing that catches your attention. But is there a more well-rounded point guard in the game?What can't Billups do? He can drive and finish at the rim, hit the mid-range or make 3-pointers. He can post up at the offensive end if he has to. He can penetrate and dish, and he's a great foul shooter.
He doesn't need to dominate the ball on offense – like some point guards – and yet he can take over a game if and when necessary. He's no doubt among the league's most clutch players.
Defensively, he's above average and has the ability to defend point guards and shooting guards. Billups has been guarding Kobe Bryant, for goodness sakes, at times in this series.
Most point guards won't even attempt that. Billups is too strong to get bullied in the low post, and yet still has enough foot speed to hang tough with real quick ones.
As far being a leader goes, what point guard out there can rightfully claim to be more of one? There's no denying what he's meant to the Nuggets, turning them from a one-and-done team into a bona-fide title contender.
Billups took only seven shots on Wednesday night against the Lakers and struggled to make a positive impact. That doesn't happen a lot to Billups in the postseason.
And it's why we certainly don't expect it to happen Friday.
