From the Denver Post:
“Nobody knows we’re winning,” Pistons guard Chauncey Billups said. “All people know is that Pau Gasol went to Los Angeles, Shaq (O’Neal) went to Phoenix and Jason Kidd is supposed to be on his way to Dallas.”
In an unprecedented month in basketball, in which three all-star-caliber players joined Finals contenders, all the Pistons did was win 10 straight games. Entering this all-star break, no team had a longer current win streak, something you likely didn’t know (though you know all about Devean George’s contract stipulations).
But Billups, a Denver native, said he likes being the “hunter.” He doesn’t mind being under the radar in February, as long as he’s still lacing his sneakers in June.
“Guys are making big-name trades, but to win a championship, you’ve got to be a cohesive unit,” he said. “You can’t have all all-stars. Some guys have to sacrifice some things and you have to be a little lucky, as well. Teams are making some great moves, but you still need time.”
He is happy with his team’s makeup, even if it is the same makeup that fumbled high expectations the past two seasons.
“Because Cleveland locked us down (in the 2007 playoffs) and we lose the year before to Miami, those things make you hungry,” said Billups, who played high school ball at George Washington and college ball at Colorado. “I was telling someone the other day, I don’t know what I’d give to relive the night we won the championship.”
Prime-time Pistons? Nah, just winners [Denver Post]
Keeping that chip squarely on the shoulder…
OT, but did anyone catch that the Knicks might be trading Zach Randolph for Lina Kleiza and J.R. Smith? Are you kidding me? J.R. Smith in a Knick uniform would create some sort of rift in the cosmos. Wow. That this is even being discussed leaves me without words.
Kevin,
That would be the definitive nail in the coffin on J.R.’s once promising career. Here’s a kid who came out of high school just as talented as Josh Smith (though playing an entirely different game), was picked directly after Josh Smith (2004 - 17th and 18th picks respectively) and while Josh is flourishing in Atlanta, J.R. is struggling to amass consistent playing time and average double figures. If you sent this guy to the Knicks that’d be absurd, if only for the fact that him getting fouled was basically the impetus for the Carmelo-Nate Robinson fight, let alone the fact that he’s an arrogant, stupid, chump.
OT (since there isn’t an All-Star post): What was up with those jerseys? Surely those will go down in history as the worst decision ever (even worse than this: http://www.nicekicks.com/images/jordan11nbapic3.jpg). Most of the time it looked like there were 8 guys wearing white jerseys on the court at the same time.
Garrett,
That jersey Jordan is wearing in that photo is horrendous. I think I had blocked it from my memory. I liked the look of the jerseys last night, but completely agree that they made it very confusing at to who was playing for what team. Bad idea, but I think they’d be cool to sport off the court.
G: Those jerseys definitely made it hard to keep track of things on TV, but apparently in person (and HD, perhaps) the front of the West was silver and the back of the East was white (or the other way around). But I agree with LB — I actually dug the aesthetics of the jersey, just not watching them in action.
I couldn’t follow that game because of those jerseys. I was wishing they’d bust out something akin to the Fox-trax or the phantom yellow line in football and put an aura around one of the teams so I could tell them apart. Instead, I cheered for a bunch of steals that were actually passes and found myself wondering which way the East was going.
kevin s., that is insane. getting randolph would pretty much mean that denver is giving up on nene. and i’d LOVE to see Randolph and Martin fight for minutes at the 4 spot. and by “fight” i mean “with knives”.
also, denver has to be out of their mind giving up kleiza. i know he’ll always have to find space behind carmelo, but hell– that man is one hell of a sleeper. to use your favorite parlance, kevin, he has tremendous upside.
has the hole world gone crazy? am i the only one that gives a sh** about the rules?
He has tremendous upside potential.
I don’t really understand this trade for Denver. Those two are their best shooters, and Randolph is an unbelievable stat padder (gotta get me my 20/10). I’d love to see some on court fights between Carmelo, Iverson, and Randolph for the ball, though.
As for New York… God. JR Smith and Jamal Crawford? Ha! All they’d need is Stromile Swift and Kwame Brown and the Knicks would have the lowest basketball IQ in history.
I think Denver has given up on Nene. He just seems to be one of those big men who can’t get healthy. As for Randolph, the window for the Nuggets is pretty narrow. Adding Randolph would be a good fit for them this season and the next, and might free up more of a midrange game for Melo.