Chauncey Billups was selected for Team USA because of the 13 seasons he has spent in the NBA. He’s a veteran, a strong lockerroom presence and someone that has proved that he can make shots in big games throughout his many post-season runs with the Detroit Pistons. But did his reputation, which is impressive, give him a starting spot on this team that he didn’t deserve. Is the fact that he is the team’s elder-statesmen the only reason he is starting the game at shooting guard?
Billups has been compared to Jason Kidd numerous times this summer because Kidd was the same situation that Chauncey is now back in 2008. He was the veteran voice on a team full of egos and was able to operate smoothly for a fourth of the game while Chris Paul and Deron Williams took care of the rest. But that’s about the end of their similarities. In the lockerroom, they have the same responsibilities, but on the court, Kidd had very different tasks. With Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade on the team, Kidd was the starting point guard. He was playing his natural position and he didn’t have to play for long stretches because he had the Paul/Williams dynamic behind him. Billups, on the other hand, is this team’s starting shooting guard, which is not his natural position, and Kobe and Wade aren’t there to back him up.
So essentially, Billups is playing out of position and starting simply because of his age. Or at least that’s how it seems considering Chauncey’s performance from the field so far in this tournament. When you see that someone has shot four-of-19 from three-point land while going just 14-of-35 overall, you’d have to ask yourself why this person was starting. Yes, anybody can have a bad five game stretch but Billups didn’t exactly set the world on fire when he shot 39% from three with Denver last season. He’s been forcing shots throughout the tournament, trying too hard to make the big shots, and his back-up has been doing a much better job on both ends of the floor.
Eric Gordon did have a bad game against Slovenia when he seven three’s and made just two, but overall, he’s been pretty darn good. He’s averaging 10 points a game while shooting 58% from the floor and 46% from three. Gordon seemingly hasn’t missed an open look from downtown and he’s been able to come in and contribute right away off the bench. Defensively, Eric has been stout as well. He’s a big, strong body, and he’s been able to rip a steal per game so far. He’s even found himself up against a post on a couple of occasions on defensive rotations and he didn’t give up an inch.
The question becomes whether or not you place the better player in the starting line-up or continue to go with the veteran, hoping he finds his stroke while Gordon continues to come off the bench. Some people don’t think it matters how you start. Its a common thought that if Billups starts out poorly that Team USA can always insert a different player in down the stretch. There is some logic behind that but when you consider that Team USA’s biggest problems has been the stretch run, putting Gordon in as the starter becomes a more logical option. For instance, Team USA only had a six point lead at half time against Tunisia yesterday, whom they were favored to beat by 45 points. They ended up winning by 35, but if they were to get off to that kind of start against Spain or Argentina or Serbia, they may be going home earlier than anybody had planned.
Gordon alongside Rose gives Team USA a lot of versatility offensively. Gordon immediately becomes more of a shooting threat than Billups has been while Rose can continue relentlessly attacking the rim. With Kevin Durant alongside those two providing the most complete scoring package any one player in the league has, Andre Iguodala defending like mad on the wing and getting out in transition, and Lamar Odom effectively contributing on the boards, Team USA would be prepared to battle right out of the gates and in crunch time if necessary.
Billups’ role as a bench member would be uncertain. If he wasn’t producing as a starter, I’d assume limited minutes would be a prescription to cure the problem from a team standpoint. No matter what, though, it seems as if he’s going to play shooting guard. With all of the point guards on this team, there’s no space to play Chauncey there and since he had previously shown the ability to make a catch and shoot three, he was deemed able to play the two. I think that having Chauncey on this squad, despite what he brings from a mentor perspective, will end up being a mistake. I doubt he will be removed from the starting line-up which means he will be placed in an uncomfortable position in a few big games but he should be.
This could all change if Billups were to have an outbreak or at least a surge to get back to average but Team USA doesn’t have time to wait for that to happen. They are out of group play now and are entering into the round of 16, where one less means you are going home. They may have an easy opponent in Angola to start it off but after that, they will have to face some tough opponents and they simply cannot afford to get out to slow starts. They already had a tough game against Brazil because of sluggish play in the first twenty minutes and they barely escaped that game with a W.
Chauncey is a good player, but his fit with Team USA is questionable at the least. Its a novel idea having a veteran around such a young group in their first international competition but the fit on the court doesn’t work. Billups is a point guard playing the shooting guard spot even though he’s had some issues with his shot. Gordon would fix those issues. He’s been shooting the ball extremely well all summer during practice sessions and games and defensively he has the strength, quickness and endurance to be effective for long stretches.
I’m not expecting Coach K to insert Gordon into the starting line-up at any point during this tournament. Though it seems like the best decision as far as the starters go, Billups’ role would be even harder to define on the bench. Team USA can survive with a few poor shooters on the floor simply because of their athletic ability, which allows them to assert their will offensively and defensively. But as their opponents become tougher, it will be harder to put up with a one-of-five performance from three and even harder to comeback from an early 19-18 deficit.
Lets hope Chauncey gets on a roll soon, because if he doesn’t, Coach K and his staff will regret not inserting Gordon into the line-up before this tournament even began.
