Billups: I would've pushed LeBron out of bounds for spinning ball in front of me
LeBron James owned the Toronto Raptors in a number of ways in Game 2, but nothing was more disrespectful than when he spun the ball twice before drilling a 3-pointer in Serge Ibaka's grill.
Trolling, LeBron-style pic.twitter.com/IhgdyuaHBk
— The Ringer (@ringer) May 3, 2017
Chauncey Billups said James wouldn't have gotten away with that display of pompous showboating against him.
"If LeBron James would've (spun) that ball two times in front of me and shot that shot yesterday ... I love Bron, but that would've been a flagrant-1," the former NBA star said Thursday on ESPN. "I would've slammed that right out of bounds. Come on, man. It's crazy, man."
Portland Trail Blazers shooting guard C.J. McCollum defended Toronto, citing the scouting report on James, which suggests he's more dangerous driving to the hoop - where he can finish or kick out to his teammates upon drawing in defenders - than shooting on the perimeter.
Billups agreed with that in theory, but his ego would've led to him defending that differently, and a tad bit more physically.
"Yeah but after that first spin, I would've pressed up and then he wouldn't have been able to do the second, but I would've pushed him out of bounds. Take it out of bounds, let's go. Check up. We ain't having that," said the 40-year-old, who admitted he yelled at the TV when he saw James get away with the bumptious stunt unscathed.
The Raptors were only down 10 in the second quarter at that point Wednesday, so it's understandable that Ibaka didn't commit a hard foul to give the Cavs two free throws and the ball. Toronto went on to lose 125-103, with King James scoring a game-high 39 points and going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Billups is no stranger to dominant performances by the Cavaliers superstar.
James put up one of the greatest individual performances in NBA history against Billups' Detroit Pistons in Game 5 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Finals. James scored the final 25 points for Cleveland, and beat Billups to the rim to score the game-winner in a double-overtime victory at The Palace. He finished with 48 points and not a single flagrant foul committed against him.
Come on, man.