Chauncey Billups: Current Mavericks Similar to ’04 Pistons


According to the 2004 NBA Finals MVP, the defending champion Dallas Mavericks remind him a lot of his old Detroit Pistons team. From the Free Press: “Team beats talent. That’s how many dubbed Dallas’ triumph over star-studded Miami and how many saw Detroit’s 2004 triumph over the Lakers, who featured Hall of Fame-bound Shaquille O’Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone and Gary Payton. ‘Yeah, I do,’ Billups, a Knicks point guard, told hoopshype.com recently when asked whether he saw a resemblance between this season’s Mavericks and the underdog Pistons in the 2004 finals against the Lakers. ‘I definitely do. … It’s not about names, how many people on your team can make the All-Star game. It’s not about that at all. It’s about putting the right pieces together. You got to have a cohesive unit.'”