I question the basketball IQ of anybody saying Chauncey Billups isnt a HUGE reason why the Nuggest are a elite team in the West. If they hypothetically did trade Billups and had Lawson starting they'd NEVER be as good as they are with Billups. Ofcourse he was outplayed in the playoffs, but that was by arguably the best point guard in the league (Deron Williams). Let's not forget just two years ago Billups DESTROYED Chris Paul in the playoffs.
I honestly can't remember an opposing 1 in the playoffs he hasn't either gotten the better off, or flat destroyed, prior to this one. (meanwhile I can say the same thing about Williams--no shame in Billips being outplayed this once considering the below point) The whole Denver team underachieved late last year, but in this case it isn't hard to consider external factors (like a coach & mentor fighting cancer and not being the on court leader & a sucky replacement) and at minimum give a few months next season to see if the team is on the same page again. I still think Denver is dangerous.
I don't know about never, but I would say this post is pretty much the truth. I agree Billups did destroy Paul that series lol. I think I only watched some of that series, I wonder how much of that was the defense focusing on Paul because his team isn't that good (we saw how well they did last year without him and with Collison) or if big point guards give him trouble (maybe it was just how good Billups is defensively). Billups is a very good defender at the point position and a leader who really gave that team some toughness. If someone has some info on how CP fares against big Point Guards I think it could give us a better idea if Paul has trouble with big PGs or if he just didn't have help to take defensive pressure off him.
I don't know why people keep saying Carmelo has had no help in Denver. In my eyes that team has been well-managed and assembled rather nicely to complement him. Their GM did a great job getting guys like Billups, Nene, JR Smith, Birdman and Lawson onto the Nuggets, and if anything I rather would take on Billups/Denver's good role players rather than Carmelo Anthony. Those guys are the real winners on that team.
I see this as an excuse to get out of Denver quicker. Also, I remember reading that Billups wants to play 4 more years in the NBA before he retires, and it wants to be as a Nugget...
Um, you do realize he averaged 9 free throw attempts per game last year right? That's fifth best in the league. The only guys who were better were Durant, Lebron, Dwight Howard, and Wade.
I'm going to futily try one more time here. Can a mod please change the obviously false thread title?
