The Pistons’ Chauncey Billups hits the floor as he battles with the Celtics’ Paul Pierce for a loose ball last night.

The Providence Journal / Kris Craig

BOSTON — In the words of Boston coach Doc Rivers, Detroit All-Star guard Chauncey Billups is a “matchup nightmare,” not only for the Celtics, but for every team in the NBA.

He has the size and strength to post up on almost every other point guard in the NBA, he’s as quick as they come, he knocks down 45 percent of his shots, and he can distribute the ball with the best of them.

“Clearly Billups is a matchup nightmare,” Rivers said of the 6-foot-3, 202-pound point guard who is only one of two Pistons (Joe Dumars) in team history to make 800 3-pointers.

Once upon a time, Billups played for the Celtics.

Boston took Billups with the No. 3 pick of the 1997 NBA Draft after his sophomore season at the University of Colorado, but the Celtics had no idea that he would one day turn into an NBA All-Star.

Otherwise Boston wouldn’t have traded him for Kenny Anderson midway through his rookie season. At the time of the trade, the Celtics were looking for a veteran point guard instead of a young, up-and-comer.

Billups’ career has blossomed since then.

He has been selected as an All-Star three times in his career (2006, 2007, 2008) and he was named as the 2004 Most Valuable Player of the NBA Finals after leading Detroit to a 4-1 upset victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, a series in which he averaged 21 points and 5 assists per game.

Now Billups has returned to the Garden, hoping to break the hearts of the very team that drafted him.

It could very well happen, but not if Boston second-year point guard Rajon Rondo can help it.

Billups has the edge in size and experience when he matches up with Rondo, but Rivers said that his player is quicker and will use that to his advantage throughout the series.

Rivers has a lot of confidence in Rondo, who is averaging 11.1 points, 6.6 assists, and 4.1 rebounds per game in the playoffs, even though some NBA experts have doubted him.

“Rondo has heard all year, not only in the Billups’ matchup, he’s heard all year what he can’t do and what we can’t do with him. And yet we’re here, and we’re here because of Rondo,” Rivers said.

“[Rondo] has a quickness advantage in this series and he is going to use that. Clearly Billups is a matchup nightmare and I told Rondo this, he’s a nightmare for everybody. It isn’t just this team. Every time Chauncey puts on a uniform, he probably has an advantage over the guy he’s guarding in size and strength, but you have to use your [strengths] and that’s what he’s going to do.”

Although the 6-foot-3, 208-pound Billups outplayed Rondo in the first two games of their three regular-season matches, Rondo (6-1, 171) got some confidence in the third game when he scored 16 points and had 5 assists.

Rivers might know a thing or two about how to slow down Billups, who is averaging 18.3 points, 5.9 assists, and 3.4 rebounds per game against Boston in his career.

When Rivers was the head coach of the Orlando Magic in 2000, Billups spent three months there but he never played because he was injured.

“That’s when I became very fond of him,” Rivers said. “He knew when he was traded to us that he was injured, that he wasn’t going to play, and he would probably go sign somewhere else. Yet he didn’t miss a practice, he didn’t miss a meeting. He actually spoke up at times. That team that went 41-41, it was an amazing group of guys. And from that day forward, I had the utmost respect for him because I don’t think a lot of guys would have done that.”

Rivers said that Billups bounced from team to team early in his career because coaches didn’t know if they should play him as a point guard or a shooting guard. He landed with five different teams before settling down with Detroit during the 2000-01 season.

“The coaches before that didn’t know if he was a point or a two [guard], and I think what they found out is he was just a heck of a basketball player and he’s a heck of a point guard,” Rivers said.