Head coach Larry Brown Owner(s) William Davidson | General manager Joe Dumars Record 54–28 (.659) | |
Arena The Palace of Auburn Hills Place Division: 2nd (Central)
Conference: 3rd (Eastern) | ||
The 2003–04 Detroit Pistons season was the 63rd season of the franchise, the 56th in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the 47th in the Detroit area. After their first trip to the Conference Finals since 1991, the Pistons hired Larry Brown as head coach. Under Brown, the Pistons were once again a tough defensive team as they got off to a solid 32–16 start. However, they struggled in February losing six consecutive games. At midseason, the team acquired All-Star forward Rasheed Wallace from the Atlanta Hawks after playing just one game for them. With the addition of Wallace, the Pistons went on to finished second in the Central Division with a 54–28 record.
Contents
- East First Round
- East Conference Semifinals
- East Conference Finals
- Series summary
- Aspects
- Game One
- Game Two
- Game Three
- Game Four
- Game Five
- Season
- Award winners
- References
In the first round of the playoffs, the Pistons defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in five games despite losing Game 2 at home. In the semifinals, they faced the New Jersey Nets. The Pistons would win the first two games at home, but the Nets jumped out to a 3–2 series lead, which included a triple overtime win in Game 5. However, the Pistons managed to win the next two games to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals, where they defeated the top-seeded Indiana Pacers in six games to advanced to the NBA Finals. In the Finals, the Pistons defeated the heavily favored Los Angeles Lakers in four games to one, winning their third overall championship and first since 1990. Chauncey Billups was named Finals MVP. Following the season, Corliss Williamson was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.
With the exceptions of Rasheed Wallace, Tremaine Fowlkes, Mike James, Mehmet Okur, and Corliss Williamson, the team's season roster is featured in the video games NBA 2K16 and NBA 2K17.
East First Round
(3) Detroit Pistons vs. (6) Milwaukee Bucks: Pistons win series 4–1
Last Playoff Meeting: 1989 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Detroit won 4-0)
East Conference Semifinals
(2) New Jersey Nets vs. (3) Detroit Pistons: Pistons win series 4–3
Last Playoff Meeting: 2003 Eastern Conference Finals (New Jersey won 4-0)
East Conference Finals
(1) Indiana Pacers vs. (3) Detroit Pistons: Pistons win series 4–2
Last Playoff Meeting: 1990 Eastern Conference First Round (Detroit won 3-0)
Series summary
The Finals were played using a 2-3-2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. This was only used in the Finals, all other playoff series are held in a 2-2-1-1-1 format (the team with home court advantage starts).
Aspects
The Lakers had a lineup of stars such as Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal – their offensive capability was expected to overpower Detroit's defensive-based gameplan.
Payton and Malone also added to the publicity of the Finals. Perennial All-Stars who had both previously reached the Finals, Payton had led the Seattle SuperSonics there in 1996, while Malone had led the Utah Jazz there in 1997 and 1998. However, Michael Jordan and the Bulls denied their championship rings a total of three times. By the time of Jordan's retirement in 2003, the two veterans were aged and failed to lead their teams deep into the playoffs. Thus, this Finals series was seen as the last chance for two of the greatest players in NBA history to finally become NBA champions (Later on, Malone retired while Payton became a champion as a key bench player for the Miami Heat).
Game One
Sunday, June 6, 2004, 14:30 at the Staples Center.
Considered to be a stunning upset by most of the NBA world, the Detroit Pistons managed to defeat the Lakers with imposing defense. Defensively clamping down on everyone but Bryant and O'Neal, the Pistons managed to hold everyone else to a total of 16 points.
The Pistons trailed the Lakers 41–40 at halftime, but a 10–4 surge capped by Billups's 3-pointer gave the Pistons the lead. O'Neal's foul trouble furthered the scoring gap, with the Pistons leading by 13 points early in the fourth quarter.
Game Two
Tuesday, June 8, 2004, 15:04 at the Staples Center.
The second game was close throughout the first half, but in the third quarter Detroit would score 30 points, cutting the deficit 68–66. However, at the end of the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant's 3-point shot at 2.1 seconds to go would tie the game at 89–89. The Lakers and Pistons would then go to overtime, with the Lakers outscoring the Pistons 10–2.
Game Three
Thursday, June 10, 2004, 14:31 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
The Pistons beat Los Angeles by 20 in their first NBA Finals appearance together at The Palace of Auburn Hills since 1989 to take a 2–1 lead in the series. The 68 points scored by the Lakers set a (post-shot clock) franchise record for the fewest number of points scored in a playoff game. (Even Jay Leno was upset, saying in his Tonight Show monologue: "68 points? 68 is a great score...if you're playing golf!")
Game Four
Sunday, June 13, 2004, 14:49 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
Again, the Pistons defeated the Lakers, although this time by eight, to take a 3–1 series advantage.
Game Five
Tuesday, June 15, 2004, 14:32 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.
In Game 5, the Pistons won their first championship since 1990, and Larry Brown finally won a title as an NBA head coach. The Pistons defense had overcome the high-scoring Laker offense, winning the game by 13, winning the series 4-1, and also ending a long Laker dynasty that lasted for many years. The game saw the end of Phil Jackson's first run as the coach (he returned for the 2005-06 season), and saw O'Neal, Payton, and Malone's last games in Laker uniforms (O'Neal and Payton were both acquired by the soon-to-be NBA Champions Miami Heat and Malone retired).
Season
* Statistics include only games with the Pistons