They are best friends, Chauncey Billups and Antonio McDyess.
When Billups was first trying to find his way in the NBA in the late 1990s, McDyess was a star. It was Billups who asked for help and advice; it was McDyess who gave it.
Here we are in 2005, and the roles almost are reversed. As the Pistons prepared to play Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Heat on Monday night, Billups was in the role of old head and McDyess was the wide-eyed kid.
"I've never really had a game as big as this in my life," McDyess said before the Pistons' shoot-around Monday. "I don't want to put too much pressure on myself. I want to go out and play and have fun.
"But still, this is the biggest game of my life. I grew up watching games like this."
Flash forward about 10 hours and the two hugging and whooping and hollering their heads off in the locker room -- victorious and heading to the NBA Finals.
"For the guys that haven't been through this, like Antonio ... I am just so happy for them," Billups said. "That's the reason he came here, to get a chance to play for a championship."
Then Billups flashed a smile.
"I feel real good now because I was begging him to come here. I told him that we'll get back. I feel so good I didn't let him down -- so far."
Billups, the most valuable player in last year's NBA Finals and a veteran of three Game 7s during his three seasons with the Pistons, understands McDyess' excitement and anxiety.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/pistons/0506/07/D06-206799.htm
When Billups was first trying to find his way in the NBA in the late 1990s, McDyess was a star. It was Billups who asked for help and advice; it was McDyess who gave it.
Here we are in 2005, and the roles almost are reversed. As the Pistons prepared to play Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Heat on Monday night, Billups was in the role of old head and McDyess was the wide-eyed kid.
"I've never really had a game as big as this in my life," McDyess said before the Pistons' shoot-around Monday. "I don't want to put too much pressure on myself. I want to go out and play and have fun.
"But still, this is the biggest game of my life. I grew up watching games like this."
Flash forward about 10 hours and the two hugging and whooping and hollering their heads off in the locker room -- victorious and heading to the NBA Finals.
"For the guys that haven't been through this, like Antonio ... I am just so happy for them," Billups said. "That's the reason he came here, to get a chance to play for a championship."
Then Billups flashed a smile.
"I feel real good now because I was begging him to come here. I told him that we'll get back. I feel so good I didn't let him down -- so far."
Billups, the most valuable player in last year's NBA Finals and a veteran of three Game 7s during his three seasons with the Pistons, understands McDyess' excitement and anxiety.
http://www.detnews.com/2005/pistons/0506/07/D06-206799.htm
