Jason Kidd vs. Chauncey Billups: A matchup for the aged

Published April 30, 2009 at 4:14 p.m.

The Mavericks-Nuggets series might feature the NBA's two strongest point guards. And its two savviest point guards. And its two most experienced point guards.

You couldn't ask for a more intriguing matchup than 36-year-old Jason Kidd vs. 32-year-old Chauncey Billups, two old dudes who have butted heads a bunch of times over the years.

Kidd won the first five meetings between the two, when Billups looked like a bust. But Billups has won 19 of his last 27 regular-season encounters with Kidd (head-to-head stats), including all three this season. (A sore back sidelined Kidd when the Nuggets came to the AAC in late March.)

With Kidd suited up, the Mavs were 18-4 in games decided by five or fewer points. Two of those losses came to the Nuggets and Billups, who unlike Kidd was able to immediately seize control and change the personality of his team after a blockbuster trade.

The series will be a rubber of match sorts for the greybeard point guards. They've met twice in the playoffs, splitting the series.

Kidd's Nets swept Billups' Pistons in the 2003 Eastern Conference finals, when Kidd averaged 23.8 points, 10.0 rebounds and 6.3 assists while harassing Billups into 27.5-percent shooting.

Billups' Pistons got revenge the next season, beating Kidd's Nets in a seven-game conference semifinals en route to the NBA title. Billups outscored Kidd 22-0 in a Game 7 rout.

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