Finals MVP Billups liked Detroit’s chances
Chauncey Billups was right.
Before Detroit started playing the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals, the sturdy point guard was cocky about the Pistons’ chances.
“We’re ready to shock the world,” Billups told The Associated Press on June 5.
Just 10 days later, Billups was chosen as the finals MVP after averaging 21 points and 5.2 assists in the series to lead Detroit over the Lakers for its third championship and first since 1990.
“I wasn’t lying,” he said. “Nobody gave us a chance, but we felt we had a great chance. They had Shaq and Kobe, but we just felt we were a better team.”
Billups had 14 points and six assists as part of the Pistons’ balanced attack in a 100-87 win over Los Angeles in Game 5 Tuesday.
“Yeah, baby!” Billups screamed after raising the MVP trophy over his head.
Billups, who hasn’t been an All-Star during his seven-year career, is the lowest-profile player to be MVP of the finals since Boston’s Cedric Maxwell in 1981.
The only other winner since then that wasn’t a likely Hall of Famer was Joe Dumars in 1989., who led Detroit over the Lakers in the 1989 finals.
Dumars, now the Pistons president of basketball operations, also is the man who gave Billups a place to call home two years ago.
Billups bounced around the league like a basketball after Boston took the former Colorado star third overall in the 1997 draft.
“Chauncey’s career is a lot like mine,” said Pistons coach Larry Brown, who has led 10 teams in 32 seasons. “I think I might have been a couple more places than him, but he’s still been through a lot. A lot of people told him he couldn’t do certain things. Joe believed in him, and this is a shining moment for him.”
After being on four teams in his first three seasons, Billups became a solid player in Minnesota for two seasons. Then he signed a six-year, $35 million contract with the Pistons before the 2002-03 season.
“I just needed someone to believe in me because I knew I could do special things,” Billups said.
Detroit fans celebrate peacefully
Hundreds of people cheered and danced in downtown Detroit on Tuesday night moments after the Detroit Pistons won the NBA title.
“Ain’t no party like Detroit party ‘cause Detroit party don’t stop,” the celebrants chanted.
The crowd was orderly amid a heavy police presence.
“Other than large crowds and backed up traffic, that’s pretty much the norm right now,” Detroit police chief Ella Bully-Cummings said. “People in Detroit know how to have a good time and they know how to do it acting responsibly and we hope it continues tonight.”
In suburban Detroit, rowdy Pistons fans filled downtown Royal Oak, spilling into the streets and blocking traffic at times after the Pistons’ 100-87 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Some set off illegal fireworks and mounted police began working to disperse the crowd.
The last time the Pistons won the NBA championship, in 1990, seven people were killed, six of them hit by cars, and hundreds were injured by gunfire, stabbings and fighting.
Cassell has successful surgery
Sam Cassell had surgery Tuesday to repair torn cartilage in his hip, and his agent said the Minnesota Timberwolves point guard will recover in plenty of time for training camp.
Cassell’s agent, Charles Tucker, said letting the hip heal on its own was an option. But they decided to get it taken care of now.
“Because he’s got so many skills, he’ll still be able to be play strong for five years.”
Texas freshman withdraws from draft
Texas 7-foot freshman LaMarcus Aldridge withdrew from the NBA draft, two days before the deadline.
Aldridge signed with Texas and started classes this month, but kept his name in the potential pool for the June 24 draft.