Old man tricks

I used to have this killer H-O-R-S-E shot. No, really. I did.

I perfected it in my driveway -- which is the only place I could ever really make it, homecourt advantage being what it is. It involved driving to the right of the lane and then flipping the ball with my right hand, behind my head, so it banked off the backboard and went in.

Used to frustrate my best friend no end when we played one-on-one.

"You only beat me because of those s*** shots," he used to complain.

I'd just smile and let him believe that.

Anyway ... that all came back to me this morning, reading about the first round of the NBA HORSE Challenge. The biggest upset in the first round, and the most delicious, was Chauncey Billups beating NBA wonder rookie Trae Young.

Chauncey Billups is 43 years old.

He hasn't played in the NBA in six years.

But he pulled out the full array of old man tricks to beat the young'un, which was all kinds of wonderful. The one-legged, bank 3-pointer from the top of the key. The corner-out-of-bounds three. All that.

So, Chauncey Billups is my guy now. He's old like me, comparatively. And he knows how to beat people with s*** shots.

Next up for him is the ambidextrous Mike Conley Jr., who easily beat Tamika Catchings in the first round.

Ambidextrous guys are always monsters at H-O-R-S-E. So Chauncey's gonna have to dig deep into his old man guile to beat him.

My suggestion: Haul out the behind-the-head flip banker.

Trust me, Chaunce. It'll drive Conley nuts.