Chauncey Billups will start at shooting guard in preseason opener

Keith Langlois of Pistons.com:

"Cheeks said Tuesday morning that Chauncey Billups would start alongside Brandon Jennings in the backcourt and that Greg Monroe, who dropped out of Monday’s practice late with a minor hamstring irritation, would be in the starting lineup with Andre Drummond and Josh Smith up front."

It doesn’t really matter who starts in the preseason, and I’d guess Chauncey Billups is starting for two reasons:

1. It’s a show of respect to the veteran.

2. Maurice Cheeks does not want to tip his hand in the Rodney Stuckey–Kentavious Caldwell-Pope competition. I predict Stuckey will start the next game with Caldwell-Pope to follow, and Cheeks says he’s just rotating them in order of seniority as he experiments with his options.