Billups reflects upon his start with Boston
When Chauncey Billups heard that he was elected to the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, he thought the person making the phone call was playing a prank. After all, the call came on April 1. The Trail Blazers coach also had his share of doubts considering the rocky start his career got off to in Boston.
The news turned out to be real. Billups is one of 13 members selected for the 2024 class. He will be enshrined in Springfield in August.
“Once I knew that it was official and it was real, it felt amazing,” Billups said. “I guess it was a feeling of validation even though I felt good about my career. Had I not gotten into the Hall, what I did was not going to be undone anyway. But, that’s basketball heaven. That’s what it is right there. That’s where you want to end up.”
The Celtics selected Billups No. 3 overall in the 1997 Draft and traded sent him to Toronto at the trade deadline during his rookie season.
“It was hard early, being here,” Billups said. “I was so excited to be drafted here, you know, the rich tradition and history and all the great players who played here. I was just so excited to be here and at the time Rick [Pitino] was coming here [to coach] and the way they played in college, I thought kind of suited my game, running up and down playing defense, shooting threes.
“I just thought it was going to be perfect. Obviously, it wasn’t. It was nobody’s fault, it wasn’t Rick’s fault, it wasn’t my fault. I just wasn’t really ready at the time to be that guy. It just took time, man.”
The struggles helped make Billups a better player. He ended up playing 17 seasons and was named MVP of the 2004 Finals with the Pistons.
“I come from that oven generation, not that microwave generation that we’re in,” Billups said. “Like, you’ve got to let it go. You’ve got to let it cook for a while. That’s always been a good thing of mine.
“I’ve always felt that I could do anything and everything in due time if given the time. Sometimes in this sport, in any sport, you don’t get the time to mature. There’s different pressures everywhere so you don’t get the opportunity sometimes, but patience has been a big thing for me.
Bigger role for Banton
Dalano Banton’s scoring average jumped from 2.3 points with the Celtics to 16 after he was traded to the Trail Blazers Feb. 8. He is averaging 28.1 minutes per game for Portland, compared with 7.1 when he was in Boston.
Boston’s depth made it tough for Banton to get time on the floor, but the 24-year-old forward has been able to carve out a role in Portland. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he appreciated the job Banton did with the team.
“He did a great job,” Mazzulla said before his team took a 124-107 win at TD Garden. “But, the thing about the NBA is the situation and the opportunity to get in. He played his role and took advantage of the opportunities he got for us here, but he’s getting much more of an opportunity there and he’s taken advantage of that. So, just a credit to his work ethic and I’m happy for him.”
Banton led all scorers Sunday, going for 28 points and nine assists in 37 minutes off the bench.
Tatum out, Brown in
Jayson Tatum (knee) missed Sunday’s contest, while Jaylen Brown (hand) and Jaden
Springer (knee) returned to action. Brown scored a team-high 26 points in 30 minutes. “It’s been a great journey,” Brown said. “Even though the journey is still going, you just take moments out to appreciate all the hard work and effort that goes into even getting to this point. It’s been ups, it’s been downs. Things haven’t gone my way, things have, and here we are. So, I’m incredibly grateful and looking forward to the future.” . . . The Maine Celtics advanced to the G League Finals for the first time with a 99-77 victory over the visiting Long Island Nets. DJ Steward finished with a game-high 27 points, JD Davison added 19 points and 11 assists, and
Neemias Queta dominated inside with 16 points and 19 rebounds.