billups

[Adam Litchy <allitchy@cland.net>]

Here's my two cents on Billups.  First, I'm disapointed too.  This guy
was supposed to be THE
guard in the draft.  And not just from the Celtics point of view, Philly
was thinking  hard
about drafting him.  And he comes in, jumps in the air and throws the
ball away, often.

But I offer this.  Of those who criticize him, how many have actually
seen him play?  You can
look at his stats and be highly disappointed.  But, I've seen him play
and while he hasn't
blown me away with his play thus far, there are a few encouraging signs.

1) His dribbling skills, most notably his cross-over.  This guy has
proably the second best
crossover in the game(1st being tim hardaway).  And I'm not talking
about that "Iverson bring
the ball up to your shoulder and carry the ball cross-over".  This guy
has a legit, jock
strap-dropp'n move.  He's shown it repeatedly, and defenders are
embaressed.  The problem is he
is unsure how to finish amoung the trees.  This will come in time, as he
adapts to
playing against more physical, and taller players.

2)  He has legit 3 point range and a smooth looking set shot.  Sure he
takes some ill advised
one's but he's a rook, give him some slack.

3) He's not 5'8 or whatever the rest of our guards are.  He has size and
strength.  This guy is
solid physically.

4) He does look confused in Pitino's system.  But who doesn't?  He has a
double wammy, he must
learn to play against the pros AND learn Pitino's system.   I'd wager
that if you brought in
Jackson, he would'nt  look much better.  I say this because Jackson is
out playing standard
Pro-ball, not Pitino-Ball, and there is a differance.  Plus how much
time is Jackson getting?
I'd wager it's about double what Billups has.  So comparing stats is
irrelvant.

That said Billups has a lot of work to do.  He can't jump (forward
maybe, but not up), he's
unsure what to do, and can't play NBA defense yet (although he is trying
hard).  But he has
made some jaw-dropping moves--just not often enough.  I say give him to
the All-star break and
re-evaluate him then.

Adam Litchy