Big Shot: Examining Chauncey Billups' '06 Prowess

𝘿𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙩𝙬𝙤, 𝙩𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙡𝙚𝙛𝙩.

The Detroit Pistons found themselves in a dire situation—either they let their fatigue and lethargicness get the best of them, or they rally from behind. Though the Pistons held the first seed, their loss would be an indicator of the eventual seeding in the Eastern Conference. With the New Jersey Nets, Indiana Pacers, and Philadelphia 76ers remaining near the top of the conference, their game against the Hawks was clearly a must win.

Within the final seconds, Detroit scores and ties the game, erupting for over thirty points in the fourth quarter. Thanks to the last second efforts from the Pistons along with Jason Terry missing, the game inevitably goes to overtime. Five minutes transpire and both teams manage to score a mere five points. Despite playing for nearly an hour, the two competitors find themselves neck and neck with 99 apiece.

With seven seconds remaining, the fate of the Detroit Pistons remained in one player's hand. The final seven seconds winded down. Chauncey Billups received the rock and dribbled, looking for an open shot.

𝙁𝙞𝙫𝙚…𝙛𝙤𝙪𝙧…𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙚𝙚…𝙩𝙬𝙤…𝙤𝙣𝙚

❝𝐇𝐞'𝐬 𝐡𝐢𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫…𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐧𝐞. 𝐎𝐇𝐇𝐇 𝐘𝐎𝐔 𝐁𝐄𝐓! 𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐀𝐃𝐄 𝐈𝐓!❞

Once again, Chauncey Billups seized the opportunity to hit another game winner in the face of his opponent. Coincidently, the fate of the Pistons was dependent on a scrawny and unathletic guard. While many initially criticized Billups for taking that shot, he capitalized.

𝙃𝙚 𝙝𝙖𝙙 𝙨𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙢𝙣 𝙜𝙪𝙩𝙨.

After knocking down two crucial shots within the final seconds of the game, Billups gradually established a name for himself. To some, he was known as another point-guard. On the other hand, others viewed him as a hero. In any given moment, he could make the

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𝐓𝐖𝐎 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑 . . .

Chauncey Billups delivered once again for the Detroit Pistons; Billups erupted for 28 points, 19 assists, and six threes made as they defeated the Sacramento Kings. Merely three seasons ago, Billups was an unathletic and scrawny journeyman. In a span of six seasons, Billups played for five different NBA teams. He rarely received any minutes and came off the bench. Yet, he developed into one of the league's premier guards in solely two seasons.

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙈𝙤𝙩𝙤𝙧 𝘾𝙞𝙩𝙮 𝙝𝙚𝙡𝙥𝙚𝙙 𝙝𝙞𝙢 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙚 𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙜𝙪𝙚'𝙨 𝙛𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨𝙩.

Around the same time, the Detroit Pistons solidified their case as the best team in the league. After winning for the sixteenth time that season, the Pistons proved to not only be the hottest team in the league, but evidently the best. The Pistons dominated both ends of the floor, finishing top five in both defensive and offensive rating. As a matter of fact, the Pistons' unit clearly couldn't be topped; Chauncey Billups reached the apex of his career, Ben Wallace continued to dominate on the defensive end, Rasheed Wallace played at an adequate level despite his old age, and Richard Hamilton boasted new career highs. As a result, the Detroit Pistons seemed to eke out a victory most nights, regardless of how their stars and starters performed.

Due to Chauncey Billups emerging as a premier point-guard, the Pistons flourished. Detroit arguably had a better roster compared to their two consecutive finals appearances. For the second time in their franchise history, the Pistons amassed over sixty wins and clinched the first seed in the Eastern Conference. Moreover, they finished second in the league with a SRS of +6.24. On the offensive end, Detroit boasted an offensive rating of 110.8 (+4.6 relative offensive rating, fourth in the league). Meanwhile, the Pistons' defense also prospered due to Ben Wallace's rim protection, the defensive backcourt of Antonio McDyess/Rasheed Wallace, and Chauncey Billups' perimeter defense.

Consequently, the Pistons finished the season with a defensive rating of 103.1 (-3.1 relative defensive rating, fifth in the league). Though the Flip Saunders led unit was loaded with ample talent, one thing was clear: Chauncey Billups ran that team. Billups provided stellar offense, along with satisfactory perimeter defense.

❝𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞. 𝐖𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐤 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐡𝐮𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐞, 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐦.❞

While Billups was already a household name in Detroit for his championship run in '04 along with his clutch shots during crunch time, he developed into one of the premier guards and players during the 2005-06 campaign. The shooting guard added an all-star appearance, an all-nba team, and an all-defensive team to his resume. In addition to that, Billups finished fifth in MVP voting as he had his best season to date.

'𝟎𝟔 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐩𝐬 || 𝐏𝐞𝐫 𝟕𝟓 𝐏𝐨𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬

•𝐏𝐏𝐆: 𝟐𝟏.𝟐.

•𝐀𝐏𝐆: 𝟗.𝟗.

•𝐑𝐏𝐆: 𝟑.𝟔.

•𝐒𝐏𝐆: 𝟏.𝟎.

•𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞: 𝟔𝟎.𝟐% (+𝟔.𝟔 𝐫𝐓𝐒).

•𝐖𝐒/𝟒𝟖: .𝟐𝟓𝟒.

Chauncey Billups excelled in many aspects on the offensive end, as he was a swiss army knife for the Pistons. Since Chauncey possessed length and bulk for a guard, he occasionally played as a hybrid—rotating between shooting-guard and point-guard. Unlike other shooting-guards, Billups could create shots for himself and his teammates. Even when he played the two, he handled the ball well and turned the ball over only 2.1 times. Meanwhile, Billups essentially played as a floor general when he played the one, opening up shots for his teammates and spacing the floor.

Billups not only flourished at spacing the floor adequately and creating certain shots for his teammates, however, he scored at a respectable volume. The combo-guard could score practically anywhere across the court; he excelled at initiating contact, finishing, shooting beyond the arc, and the high pick and roll. Furthermore, he was one of the most efficient players in the league. Billups finished sixth in the league from the charity stripe, converting roughly 89.4 percent of his attempts. Beyond the arc, Chauncey shot 43.3 percent on 5.2 attempts. Nonetheless, that brings up one question: If Chauncey Billups was so versatile, where specially did he excel in from the court?

Chauncey Billups attempted nearly 20 percent of his shots from 0-3 feet. He shot roughly around league average, only converting 43 percent around that area. On the contrary, Billups surprisingly shot a subpar 41 percent within 3-10 feet. Nonetheless, the majority of his shots fell from 10-22 feet. He took 13 percent of his shots from 10-16 feet, 21.3 percent of his shots from 16-22 feet, and over 42 percent of his shots were from beyond the arc. In those three locations, Billups shot around league average and above average. Overall, Billups' shot selection was quite diverse. Besides the fact that he wasn't an excellent scorer, he had no glaring weaknesses on the offensive end.

On the defensive end, Billups had a feasible case for being Detroit’s best on ball defender, denying dribble penetration through his strength and active hands. Unlike other guards, Chauncey Billups rarely gambled while stripping the ball and deflecting passing lanes. Instead of gambling, he anticipated his opponents moves. Against opposing point-guards and shooting-guards, Billups offered help and held his own in spite of contact.

On/Off Metrics indicate that Billups had a substantial impact on the 2005-06 Detroit Pistons. When the combo-guard was on the court, the Detroit Pistons showboated an offensive rating of 112.5. On the other hand, the Pistons had an offensive rating of 101.5 after Billups relegated to the bench. Defensively, the Pistons improved slightly while Billups was on the bench.

Ultimately, Billups was one of the better players in the league along with being the one of league's premier point-guards. He was viewed as third best point-guard in 2006, and had a case for the second best point-guard. Overall, Billups had one of the best seasons for a point-guard in the 2000s. Though he didn't match prime Steve Nash, CP3, or Jason Kidd, he still played some of the best basketball as a point-guard in the mid 2000s.

'𝟎𝟔 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐩𝐬 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐌𝐞𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐬 || 𝐏𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐭-𝐆𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬

• '𝟎𝟖 𝐂𝐡𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐏𝐚𝐮𝐥: +𝟗.𝟎𝟒 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 / +𝟎.𝟗𝟕 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 (+𝟏𝟎.𝟎𝟏 𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐎𝐑).

• '𝟎𝟔 𝐒𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞 𝐍𝐚𝐬𝐡: +𝟔.𝟓𝟏 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 / -𝟏.𝟎𝟒 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 (+𝟓.𝟒𝟕 𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐎𝐑).

• '𝟎𝟑 𝐉𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐊𝐢𝐝𝐝: +𝟒.𝟒𝟏 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 / +𝟐.𝟖𝟓 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 (+𝟕.𝟐𝟔 𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐎𝐑).

• '𝟎𝟔 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐮𝐩𝐬: +𝟔.𝟓𝟒 𝐨𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 / -𝟎.𝟗𝟓 𝐝𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 (+𝟓.𝟓𝟗 𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐎𝐑).

For context, Chris Paul had arguably a top five point-guard season and finished second in MVP voting. Additionally, he led his team en route to the Western Conference Semifinals. Down in Phoenix, Steve Nash had one of the greatest offensive seasons and also had a top five peak for a point-guard, too. On the other hand, Jason Kidd played at a high level on both ends of the court as the Nets made the NBA finals.

𝘼𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙚'𝙨 𝘾𝙝𝙖𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙮 𝘽𝙞𝙡𝙡𝙪𝙥𝙨.

Billups' success didn't amount to the caliber of Steve Nash, Chris Paul, or even Jason Kidd, but he still established himself as one of the best guards in the 2000s. While advanced metrics don't indicate and mean everything, Billups had the second greatest offensive impact out of the bunch. Unfortunately, his defensive impact according to metrics prevented him from edging out players such as Steve Nash, Jason Kidd, and Chris Paul. Nevertheless, he became one of the most beloved players in the league in a span of a few seasons.

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Although Billups rarely displayed flashiness on the basketball court, he was fun to watch. He never specifically struggled at anything, rather he was skilled at nearly every aspect on the floor. The 2005-06 campaign consisted of an abundance of talent and Chauncey Billups was indisputably one of the most entertaining players to watch.

𝙃𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖 𝙎𝙬𝙞𝙨𝙨 𝘼𝙧𝙢𝙮 𝙆𝙣𝙞𝙛𝙚.

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Besides being an extremely efficient shooter, Billups mainly was proficient at two aspects on the floor: initiating contact and scoring in pick and roll situations. As a matter of fact, the majority of Billups' offensive opportunities came from the pick and roll.

Initially, Chauncey Billups intends on passing the rock towards the strong side of the court. He looks to dump the ball over towards the direction of either Tayshaun Prince or Ben Wallace. However, he ultimately decides to drive and shoot from the weak side, thanks to a screen from Antonio McDyess.

Billups excelled as a player on the offensive and defensive end mainly due to the fact that he anticipated his opponent’s decisions. For instance, Billups could create his own shot–especially beyond the arc, yet he decides to pass the ball. Billups capitalizes on another high pick and roll opportunity, delivering the ball towards the direction of McDyess for an easy two.

Alluded earlier, Chauncey Billups was one of the best three-point shooters in the league. Billups shot nearly 5.5 attempts per outing beyond the arc, converting 43.3 percent of them. For a combo-guard, Billups not only stood out at handling the ball, but he shot well off the dribble and could create shots for himself. Immediately, Billups heaves a three-pointer and after McDyess attracts two defenders towards his direction.

In the fourth clip, Chauncey Billups demonstrates his stellar finishing ability. Rasheed Wallace hurls the ball towards the direction of Billups. Even though Billups scored due to the Hornets' inept defense, he still should be lauded for his ability to finish after finding an open seam. More often than not, Billups initiated contact and finished despite contact. Rarely did his opponents leave him this open.

Chauncey Billups was the best on ball defender on the Detroit Pistons. Billups had quick and active hands that disrupted passing lanes. To add onto that, he anticipated his opponent's moves and had perfect timing at deflecting the ball.

As the third quarter winds down, Chauncey presses full court. He deflects the inbound pass and swipes the ball before T.J. Ford recovers possession for the Bucks. As a result, the Detroit Pistons forced a turnover and scored.

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In essence, Chauncey Billups was one of the most entertaining players to watch in the league. Similar to Shawn Marion, he excelled at many facets on both ends of the floor. At the time, Billups was perceived as a consensus top-fifteen player and top three point-guard by many analysts. On both ends of the floor, he was tenacious and fearless.

𝘽𝙞𝙜 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙩 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣'𝙩 𝙗𝙖𝙘𝙠 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙖𝙣𝙮 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙡𝙡𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚.

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Each and every night, Billups left it all on the court. His impact was felt emphatically on the defensive and offensive end. His leadership not only impacted others, but it elevated the team as a whole. While he wasn't always the best player on the court, the strongest, and the fastest, Billups didn't back down from any challenge. In arguably his best season, he played 81/82 games, helping the Pistons' win over sixty games.

Unfortunately, the Detroit Pistons’ championship hopes never came to fruition. The Pistons ended up losing against the Miami Heat in six games in the Eastern Conference Finals. In spite of their disappointing postseason run, Billups was still elite. He belonged in the discussion for the best single seasons for point-guards in the 2000s, along with the debate of the best point-guards in 2006.

Chauncey persevered despite being a journeyman in his earlier days. Gradually, he transformed into one of the best point-guards of the 2000s. He truly lived up to the name