Another good article on the leadership qualities of Chauncey Billups, who has led Denver to a 2-0 lead over Dallas in the Western Conference quarterfinals. This is from the Denver Post:Chauncey Billups sauntered to the scorer's table with about eight minutes left in the fourth quarter and shouted instructions — and no doubt encouragement — to the players who were on the court.
It just another small detail in Mr. Big Shot's leadership drive. There is almost never a stone left unturned.
But for Billups so far in this series, the small things have been his biggest contribution. Scoring has eluded the all-star guard, but he has made up for it in assists, steals, and keeping the Nuggets' offense on schedule.
"Chauncey didn't have a good offensive game from the standpoint of scoring points, but you don't understand how good he is running the team; you don't understand how good he is cerebrally making sure things are going the right way," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "Our interaction during the game . . . He's the head coach a lot."
In the locker room, Billups' leadership has been a key to the Nuggets' success. He and Karl collaborate on what they think will work for the Nuggets going into each game. Billups has helped Karl get their game plans executed while still challenging the coach to put the players in the best positions possible.
"He overrides me a lot," Karl said. "But in the same sense, we whisper to each other a great deal during the game, during timeouts."
Said Billups: "George trusts me out there. I think it's important for the point guard and the head coach to have that kind of relationship."
