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AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- He's the only player remaining on the East side of the playoff bracket capable of putting on an offensive show, sinking multiple 3-pointers in a row and slicing up the defense with an And1-like handle for the drive or dish.

And Chauncey Billups -- after taking his finger off the trigger in Rasheed Wallace's satisfaction-guaranteed win in Game 2 -- promises to be the scoring point guard he's been known to be.

	Billups

"I wanted [Rasheed] to do well so bad, I just kept force-feeding him and force-feeding him ... that took me out of the flow," Billups said. "It's just one of those things -- game to game, it's going to be different.

"But I'll definitely be aggressive for sure."

The Eastern Conference finals sure could use a large dose of Billups' dynamic offensive talent. He scored 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting in Game 1, but Detroit lost. In Game 2, he made sure the ball never came out of the post, attempting just seven shots and scoring only six points, but the Pistons won.

Billups was so insistent on getting the ball into the hands of Wallace that he didn't even look at the basket while unguarded behind the 3-point line a couple of times.

"He passed up shots that he had and I think he was kind of confused about when to shoot and when not to shoot," Pistons coach Larry Brown said. "This was the third big game we've won with him not shooting the ball but he's done all the other things. He had (five) rebounds and five steals (along with six assists) and he defended like crazy.

	“	He's doing a great job with it. He's trying to get everybody involved but when his shot is there he's going to shoot. ”
		— Rip Hamilton on Chauncey Billups' unselfishness in Game 2

"My point to him and Rip (Hamilton) is that there are a lot of ways to help your team win games. I think those two kids over the year -- which hasn't been easy -- are starting to figure that out."

But Hamilton is still getting to do the fun stuff, trading basket for basket with Reggie Miller in their personal duel of past and present Move Without The Ball kings. Hamilton is appreciative of his backcourt mate's "sacrifice."

"He's doing a great job with it," Hamilton said of Billups. "He's trying to get everybody involved but when his shot is there he's going to shoot."

It's Billups' shot selection that gets him in trouble with Brown. His airballed 3 at the end of Game 1 had Brown lamenting again about the Pistons' late-game tendency to fling up 3-pointers.

"I think the best thing for our team is to get a chance to get fouled," Brown said. "I don't think you have a chance to get fouled on an outside shot."

Billups is the only player in the series not named Reggie who's gone for 40 points in his playoff career. Half that would be an accomplishment with way the defenses have buzzed the rim with its shot-blocking.

But even with Ben Wallace's "no-fly zone" in effect, there's hope for fireworks on the other end of the court if Billups escapes his holding pattern on the perimeter.

"We talked about it," Brown said. "If they're open and their feet are set and if we go inside and come out, I never have a problem with that."

That's good news for Billups. And even better news for those watching.

Joe Lago is the NBA editor at ESPN.com.