Ding Dong Billups is Gone

All the munchkins from Orlando Magic-land can come out of hiding. Dorothy might have crushed the Pistons.

After five straight appearances into the Eastern Conference Finals, Joe Dumars shook up the Detroit roster in a big way. Dumars traded Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb to Denver for Allen Iverson.

Iverson is no friend of the Magic either, but he has not killed Orlando like Billups has. Billups has been a thorn in the team's side since the 2005 Playoffs when he helped Detroit erase a 3-1 deficit. Every time since then it seems that Billups is the primary offensive option against the smaller Jameer Nelson.

Now he is gone. In steps Iverson.

Iverson nominally makes the team better. But I think it is a significant downgrade for the Pistons. Iverson is not the distributor and playmaker Billups is. In fact he needs the ball more.

I think it hurts Richard Hamilton a lot. He needs a good distributor to set up his cuts and runs at the basket. It also turns Tayshaun Prince into a spot-up shooter.

The move makes the Pistons' control of the division very tenuous. I do not think Cleveland is that great, but they can certainly challenge Detroit for the division title this season.

For the Magic, it means there might be less fear of seeing the Pistons in the playoffs. They will still be a bruising team, but the offense will be much easier to predict and maybe control. If Orlando can get out of its current funk, the team should be better than Detroit this season.