Final Boss Form

Later, working on a story for a magazine, I asked Dumars why he had decided those were the two guards [Billups and Hamilton] who would make the most sense for his team.

Dumars’ answer was very clear, and represented a real philosophy: Those were two guards who could help the team without needing possession of the ball.

Hamilton could run around a thousand screens and force the defense to chase, hedge, and help all over the place. Such movement has the potential to get easy buckets for any and all Pistons, from the guy setting the pick to the guy spotting up behind the 3-point line.

Billups, meanwhile, is a good enough shooter to keep a defender near. The team could run its offense with Billups at the top of of the circle. Now and again the ball would be kicked out to him, and he had the skill and mentality to drain the shot if it was open, or swing the ball to the opposite side if he wasn’t.

It worked.