NBA FINALS: PISTONS v SPURS

June 14, 2005

Chauncey Billups

CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: Well, I mean, we've said it all year long that our best offense is our defense. I thought we came out very aggressive. Ben Wallace set the tone for us. He won the game. I mean, he really did. He was unbelievable tonight. He set the tone for us and he kept it, he kept it going. So our defense, when our defense is aggressive, and we're forcing turnovers and we're taking, you know, taking away people's sweet spots, then our offense is going to be a little better.

CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: There really wasn't no message. We've just been the same way we've always been in the locker room before the game. We all knew how big this game was, and so we've been in a lot of situations before, we've never been down 0-2, but in a situation like that, you've got a lot of professionals, a lot of veterans, a lot of experience and you know how big this game is, you know what it means and you know the kind of, you know, desperation; you've got to play without fear. It really wasn't a message. It was really just a silent, a silent message going around, but we all knew how big this game was.

CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: I mean, he's very close. He's very close. I think the biggest thing is athletically, he's probably, you know, right where he used to be. His strength and everything is right where it used to be. I think the best thing for McDyess is that he doesn't have to play those 40 minutes and have to carry a team like he used to all the time. He can come in and do what he's got to do and take that pressure off of his self. That's why he's so good for this team, because we have guys that are great low-post players and there's not a lot of pressure on him. I mean, if you look at the plays that he's making, the play that he made in San Antonio, it was like vertical, windmill dunk in traffic and tip dunks and stuff that he had today, everybody knows he's an unbelievable shooter. So I'm just glad that he's back at this level and he has a chance to play for a championship and be in The Finals. And it's just, I mean, it makes me very proud of him.

CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: You know, I don't know if it was a home cooked meal or sleeping in his own bed, but his energy level, it was like night and day. It was like night and day. I think those first two games came too quick. I mean, you've got to understand, this guy has come off of playing seven games of battling Shaq, you know what I mean. Who is going to have some energy, you know, at that point, and the flights that we made and such a quick turnaround to get to San Antonio, I think maybe it wore on him a little bit. But getting back home, these fans, his energy level is what set the tone for us. First play of the game, he gets a steal, three-point play, dunk it, four or five blocks in that first quarter, six, seven rebounds, I mean, that's the Ben Wallace that we all know and love. There's nobody like him in this league. I mean, he's the best at what he does.

CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: (Laughing) I don't know, but we'll have to make sure that thing will be out on Thursday, definitely.

CHAUNCEY BILLUPS: I've got to pick my spots really when to be aggressive and when not to. That was a point where I wanted to be aggressive and I wanted to be aggressive during that little spurt. I thought our offense kind of got, you know, a little stagnant. So when our offense does get a little stagnant, I a lot of times kind of take it on my shoulders to get us out of those ruts. You know, Tim switched out and the shot clock was going down and I knocked it down. It was a big shot and one-on-one play in transition, it was a big shot. So it was just, you know, some energy plays. It got some energy in the building and when we get energy in our building, we respond very well most of the time.