#8 – Detroit Pistons
2004 NBA Champions
Number 8 Seed: Eastern Conference
The 2004 Pistons shocked the world in the NBA Finals. The Pistons were a solid 34-22, but on February 29, 2004, they traded for All-Star PF Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons finished the season 20-6, and won a total of 54 games to finish with the number two seed. In the postseason, the Pistons handled the Bucks in 5 games, then went on to play the New Jersey Nets in the second round, who were fresh off two NBA Finals appearances. In the series, the Pistons took a 2-0 series lead, only to lose three straight games, including game 5 at home. The Pistons shook it off, and won the next two games to win the series and advance to the East Finals to play Indiana. Once there, the Pistons beat the Pacers in six games to advance to their first NBA Finals in 14 years. The Pistons faced the Lakers, who had just acquired All-Stars Gary Payton & Karl Malone in the previous off-season, and entered the Finals as heavy underdogs (+400). The Pistons, lead by Finals MVP Chauncey Billups, beat-down the Lakers in five games to win the NBA Championship.
2004 Playoff Stats
Playoff Record: 16 wins, 7 losses
Points Per Game: 87.1 | Opponents PPG: 80.7 | Difference: +6.4
Offensive Rating: 99.3 | Defensive Rating: 92.0 | Difference: +7.3
Full 2004 Pistons Stats available here
The Real MVP’s
Ben Wallace: 10.3 ppg, 14.3 rpg, 1.9 spg, 2.4 bpg
Richard Hamilton: 21.6 ppg, 4.2 apg, 1.2 apg, 45% FG
NBA 2K17 Roster & Ratings
Bold indicates starter
PG – Chauncey Billups (90)
C – Ben Wallace (89)
SG – Richard Hamilton (88)
PF – Rasheed Wallace (86)
SF – Tayshaun Prince (84)
C – Mehmet Okur (77)
PG – Lindsey Hunter (76)
PG – Mike James (76)
SF – Corliss Williamson (73)
SF – Darvin Ham (73)
C – Elden Campbell (72)
C – Zeljko Rebraca (70)
C – Darko Milicic (69)
2K Tournament Results
Play-In Round (Best-of-5)
(7) 1965 Boston Celtics vs (8) 2004 Detroit Pistons
Results coming 8/31/17
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