How can Chauncey Billups be an MVP candidate if he’s not even deemed worthy to play in the NBA All-Star Game?
That would be so very wrong.
If the stars come out in the Arizona desert next month, and Billups isn’t there to shine? Are there words to describe what a joke it would be?
Travesty. Crazy. Injustice.
“I want to know how you guys are going to get him in the All-Star Game,” Nuggets coach George Karl said Thursday night, reversing roles on reporters and posing the tough dilemma. “That’s what I want to know.”
Hey, hate to break this to you, George. You’re lobbying the wrong people.
As much as Billups deserves a trip to Phoenix for the All-Star Game, the press has absolutely zero power to write the 6-foot-3 point guard an invitation. Fans vote for the starters. Coaches pick the reserves.
But we can certainly understand the concern of Karl, who has been around hoops long enough to sense an outrage waiting to happen.
While Billups is the No. 1 reason the Nuggets have surprised the league and staked an early claim to first place in the Northwest Division, the only way Colorado’s favorite son might get in the All-Star Game is if he slips the velvet rope and crashes the party.
“Some very tough decisions have to be made,” Phoenix coach Terry Porter said.
“But it’s weird that you mention it. Because I was part of an all-star team that had five point guards on it. In 1991 at Charlotte, we had me, Magic Johnson, John Stockton, Kevin Johnson and Tim Hardaway. Not a bad group.”
Sorry, but that can no longer happen.
The rules of NBA commissioner David Stern’s big winter soiree now dictate no more than six guards from each conference can attend his star-studded dance.
And how could Billups get snubbed? Here are seven good reasons (and one lousy one):
• Kobe Bryant, who rules everything in the league not owned by King LeBron James.
• Chris Paul, maybe the most many- splendored point guard since Magic.
• Steve Nash, two-time MVP proving he still has got game as his 35th birthday approaches.
• Tony Parker, the je ne sais quoi in San Antonio’s championship mystique.
• Manu Ginobili, whose perpetual motion keeps the Spurs forever young.
• Brandon Roy, who puts the face on Portland’s undeniable potential.
• Deron Williams, the blood-and-guts embodiment of Utah coach Jerry Sloan’s toughness.
• Tracy McGrady, whose global appeal could result in a starting berth given to him by fans in a huge mistake.
It’s easy to make a case for Billups. Question is: Will enough coaches listen when they pick the Western Conference reserves in a little more than a week?
“Chauncey has had a Nash-type of year,” said Karl, who owes his own renewed enthusiasm, not to mention his team’s elevated basketball IQ, to Billups. “What Chauncey does for us is not necessarily statistics. It’s savvy, it’s leadership, it’s locker room, it’s big shots in the fourth quarter, it’s orchestrating for most of the game.”
The bottom line?
“Nash and Chauncey have to be considered top-five point guards in the league,” Karl said.
While more than 18 points and nearly seven assists per game by Billups don’t exactly pop off the charts, if anybody should appreciate that the most important thing in the game is winning, then the 32-year-old veteran should be a shoo-in.
Billups has infused the Nuggets with a desire to win not seen in Denver for at least 20 years.
We all love Allen Iverson. But you’re telling me A.I. will probably take the court as a starter for the Eastern Conference, and Billups might not even be allowed in the building?
“There’s always a big debate about somebody who deserves to go being left out,” Porter said.
The man stuck in the center of that controversy this year could well be Billups, who has held the Nuggets together during the absence of injured teammate Carmelo Anthony.
“I’ll probably have to make some phone calls,” Karl said.
In the great spirit of American politics, there’s only one course of action, George.
Lobby. Call in favors. Beg.
How can you have an All-Star Game without Billups?
Mark Kiszla: 303-954-1053 or mkiszla@denverpost.com
