Last night the Denver Nuggets beat the Dallas Mavericks and advanced to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1985. The idea of Denver even winning a series would have seemed ludicrous back in October, but now it’s reality and there’s even talk of it. them beating the Lakers or Rockets and heading to the NBA Finals. While I think the Nuggets have little chance of making it to the Finals, I can’t ignore Chauncey Billups’ play. Watching Billups in this postseason made me ask the question: Where does Chauncey rank among the elite PGs in NBA history and is he Hall of Fame worthy?
Billups’ play this postseason has been as good as it is from point guard. Looking at the numbers won’t do Chauncey justice, but here are a few to peruse. Billups has averaged 37.5 minutes per game and has posted 22.1 and 7.3 assists, but more impressive is his 4.29 assist-to-turnover ratio. To put that into perspective, only twice this decade has a player had a higher assist-to-turnover ratio in the playoffs (he played more than one series): Jason Kidd at 05-06 at 4.45 and Chris Paul at 07-08 at 6.1. Expect! wow! What? Chris Paul’s attendance at turnover was like what last playoffs? WOW!
Moving forward though, Billups is protecting the ball and making everyone better like an elite PG is supposed to. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, though, as it’s something Billups has been doing since he turned his career around in Detroit. It’s no coincidence that the Pistons were embarrassed in the first round of this year’s playoffs and Billups is on track for his seventh straight conference finals.
Of course, there’s more to Chauncey’s game than passing and protecting the ball. So far this postseason, and really since his first year in Detroit, Billups has had the ability to score when his team needs him most. If you look at the New Orleans series, for example, Chauncey played early on and scored 36 and 31 in Games 1 and 2. This helped a Nugget team with a generally weak image gain confidence and show that they don’t They were going to be the doormats they have been in years past. As good a scorer as Carmello Anthony is, I’d like to get the ball in Chauncey’s hand with one play to win it.
The last part of Billups’ game on the court is defense. Learning to play from Larry Brown, Billups has that tough team defense mentality. Although he didn’t defend Chris Paul much in the first round until the fourth quarter, the toughness and physical defense that Chauncey plays rubbed off on the entire Denver team and slowed down the best PG in the game.
Looking back on a career that has led to 1 NBA title and Finals MVP, 7 consecutive Conference Finals, 3 All-NBA 2nd/3rd Team selections, 4 All-Star selections and 2 Top 10 MVP voting , how can we compare Chauncey Billups with the great PGs of all time. Here’s a list of some of the all-time greats in no particular order and how Chauncey compares:
· Jason Kidd- Kidd is a unique point guard in that he could do things that no one else in his position could. Jay Kidd took two bad teams to back-to-back Finals and I think without a great scorer or a group of great scorers, Billups couldn’t do that. Kidd Advantage
· Gary Payton- The Glove was one of the best two-way PGs the league has ever seen. Chauncey matches his toughness on defense, but Payton was light years ahead of any point guard he’s ever seen on that side of the ball. Offensively, Payton could put him in with the best of them and spread him out just as well. Payton Advantage
· John Stockton- The all-time assist leader is a far better passer than Chauncey. Of course he had Karl Malone to serve, but his assist-to-turnover ratio is a full point higher than Chauncey’s. Stockton is a legend of all time. stockton advantage
Magic Johnson – LOL. Next.
· Kevin Johnson- One of the most underrated players in recent memory, KJ averaged a double-double 4 times in his career and came close 3 more times. This is a guy that is a close comparison to Billups, but looking at his scoring numbers, especially in the playoffs, I have to say KJ wins. Of course he doesn’t have the title that Billups has, but you can chalk it up to Jordan. johnson advantage
Isiah Thomas: As much as I hate the guy, I admire the way Zeke played the game. Isiah could score in the clutch and was the leader of the “Bad Boys” Piston teams. Thomas is the true example of what a PG and another great of all time should be. thomas advantage
There are plenty of other great PGs that could make the list, like Nate Archibald, Walt Frazier, Bob Cousy, and Oscar Robertson, but it’s unfair for me to talk about guys I’ve never really seen play. Judging from the list above, Billups doesn’t qualify as an all-time great and, at this point, he probably isn’t a Hall of Famer. Chauncey is a very good player and he is having a great postseason. If he continues to have years like this, we can go back and reexamine him, but for now the verdict on Billups is very good, if almost excellent.