Los Angeles Clippers: Can They Count On Chauncey Billups?
By John Hugar
Can the Los Angeles Clippers count on the oft-injured Chauncey Billups come playoff time? (Photo: NBA.com)
Chauncey Billups is the type of player whose name precedes him. Throughout his career, he’s been one of the most reliable players in the game. From the title he won the Detroit Pistons in 2004 to the time helped the Denver Nuggets reach the Western Conference Finals, the teams Billups have played for tend to have success. Now, he’s on a loaded Los Angeles Clippers team and he hopes to be a significant contributor in their upcoming playoff run.
There’s just one problem: Billups has barely been healthy this season. It’s one thing for Billups to be past his prime; he’s smart enough and wise enough that he can still be a viable player even if some of his skills have diminished. But if he can’t even get on the court, that’s a serious problem, one that could hurt the Clippers chances in the playoffs.
Billups was out at the beginning of the season and he’s only appeared intermittently in the time since. He’s played in 20 games this year and he started all of them, but his numbers are way below his career averages, as he has just 8.3 points and 2.2 assists per game. The low assist number can be chalked up to him switching to the shooting guard position while playing with Chris Paul, but the decrease in points suggests that Billups’ time as a team leader may be numbered. For the rest of his career, he will likely be a role player.
This is something Clippers probably have no problem with since Paul and Blake Griffin are firmly established as the leaders of this team. What could be an issue, however, is whether or not he even sees the court in the playoffs. He missed a game on Wednesday, April 10, against the Minnesota Timberwolves due to a strained right groin. It doesn’t appear to be a long-term injury, but he’s been he’s had so many injury problems this year, it’s hard to know how long any injury of his could last.
The Clippers are certainly better off if they have a healthy Billups in the lineup. Paul is arguably the best point guard in the game and Jamal Crawford is an excellent sixth man, but after that the guard situation gets a bit tricky for the Clippers. Willie Green has started 58 games at the 2-guard spot for Los Angeles this year, but while he’s a decent shooter and a reliable contributor, he averages just 16.6 minutes per game, meaning it would be tough for the Clippers to rely on him for lengthy stretches in the postseason. Additionally, the lacks the experience and instincts of Billups. If you needed someone to hit a clutch 3 late in a playoff game, you’d almost certainly pick Chauncey Billups over Willie Green.
Unfortunately for the Clippers, Billups simply has too many question marks for them to depend on him in the playoffs. He’s missed a bunch of games already this year and he’s fragile enough that one little thing going wrong could cause him to miss a lot more. If Billups ends up playing a big role in the Clippers playoff run, they should probably consider it a bonus. Between his diminishing skills and his extremely fragile ankles, Billups will likely be an afterthought for the Clippers going forward.