Chauncey Billups out for Season with Torn Achilles Tendon

Los Angeles Clippers guard Chauncey Billups is going to miss the rest of the season with a torn left Achilles tendon, according to a report from the Los Angeles Times. He will need at least eight months to recover.

Billups was acquired by the Clippers after he was amnestied by the New York Knicks in December. He had been averaging 15 points per game.

What Does it Mean?

In a nutshell, the Clippers have lost a pretty huge puzzle piece. By extension, their hopes of getting to and winning the NBA Finals have taken a significant hit.

After playing the point throughout his career, Billups made a relatively seamless transition over to shooting guard once he was acquired by the Clippers. With Billups playing next to Chris Paul, the Clippers were basically allowed to have two scoring point guards on the floor at the same time. The combination worked surprisingly well.

That luxury is gone now, meaning the Clippers will have to conjure up a new formula. They have Mo Williams and Randy Foye, but it remains to be seen which of them will get more minutes with Billups gone for the rest of the season.

What Happens Next?

On the bright side, the Clippers still have more than enough talent to compete in the Western Conference. They would be in much deeper trouble if this were CP3 going out for the season.

Nevertheless, the Clippers will have to work hard to settle on a new rotation with Billups out of the picture, and that will essentially mean tinkering with their overall team chemistry.

Don't be surprised if the Clippers struggle with the transition initially, but they'll figure things out. If they don't, there's plenty of time for the team to make a deal before the March 15 trade deadline.

Losing Billups hurts, but it could be worse.