THE
DETROIT PISTONS SINCE 2K:
The Return to Championship Contender
After being swept by the Miami Heat in the 2000 playoffs TheDetroit Pistons suffered through a dismal 2000-20001 season, finishing 18 games under .500 with a 32-50 record.
Piston team president Joe Dumars fired head coach George Irvine and hired Rick Carlisle as the new head coach.
This was the beginning of the Pistons return to a championship caliber team.
In 2001-2002,
Carlisle
helped lead the Pistons to their first 50-win season since 1997, and their first playoff series victory since 1991.
The 2002-2003 season marked the debut of the Pistons new and improved lineup.
Dumars revamped the Pistons roster by signing free agent Chauncey Billups, acquiring Rick Hamilton from the Wizards, and by drafting
Tayshaun Prince from Kentucky. The Pistons finished with their second consecutive 50-win season. They advanced to the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals, for the first time since 1991, but were swept in four games by the New Jersey Nets.
Despite their strides made under Carlisles leadership,
Carlisle was fired during the 2003 offseason.
Dumars was unhappy with Carlisles reluctance to play some of the younger players, and some of the players did not get along will with
Carlisle.
Hall of Famer Larry Brown had become available and was offered, and accepted the Head Coaching job.
The Pistons completed their transformation into a championship team in Feb. 2004 with the acquisition of Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons finished the season 54-28 record, their best since 1997. In the 2004 Playoffs, they defeated the Milwaukee Bucks in 5 games. Down 3-2 to the defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets, the Pistons came back and won the Conference Semis in game 7.
Detroit then defeated the Indiana Pacers, lead by ex head coach Rick Carlisle, in 6 games to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1990.
Detroit found themselves facing the Los Angeles Lakers, NBA champions 3 out of the last 4 years, and fielding a star-studded lineup that included Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Karl Malone. The Pistons dominated, defeating The Lakers in 5 games, three of their wins by double digits. In game 3 they held the Lakers to a franchise-low 68 points. Chauncey Billups was named NBA Finals MVP.
In 2005 health concerns and rumors that Larry Brown was kicking around coaching offers from a number of teams resulting in the Pistons buying out Browns contract and hiring Flip Saunders, formerly with Minnesota,
as their new head coach.
During the offseason the Pistons lost key bench players Mehmet Okur, Mike James and Corliss Williamson, but were still considered contenders. They won 54 games, their fourth consecutive year of 50 or more wins. During the 2005 Playoffs, they easily defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 4-1 and then rallied from a 2-1 deficit to finish off the Indiana Pacers, 4-2. In the Eastern Conference Finals against the Miami Heat,
Detroit once again fell behind, but rallied to win in it in 7 games. In the NBA Finals the Pistons faced the San Antonio Spurs. In the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 1994, the Pistons lost a hard-fought game to the Spurs, who clinched their third NBA championship.
The Pistons started the 2005-06 season with a 37-5 and finished the season with the leagues best record overall. Four of the five Piston starters, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace, were named to the All-Star team, and Flip Saunders served as the Eastern Conference All-Star team coach. The Pistons finished the regular season with a record of 64-18, setting new franchise records for both overall and road victories (27). In addition, the team set an NBA record by starting the same lineup in 73 consecutive games from the start of the season.
The Pistons defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 4-1 in the 1st round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs, but struggled in the 2nd round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, falling behind 3-2 before winning in seven games. In the Eastern Conference Finals the Miami Heat defeated the Pistons in 6 games en route to the 2006 NBA Championship.
During the 2006 offseason, Ben Wallace rejected a four-year, $48 million offer
from the Pistons and agreed to a 4-year, $60 million contract with the Chicago Bulls.
The Pistons signed Nazr Mohammed to replace Wallace at center. Nazr was struggling at center, and in January the Pistons signed Chris Webber, who had become a free agent. The Pistons clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, and home-court advantage for first 3 rounds of the playoffs.
The Pistons swept the Orlando Magic in round one. Facing the Chicago Bulls in the 2nd round, their first postseason matchup since 1991, the Pistons won the series in 6 games and advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive time (equaling their streak from 1987-1991) - one short of the Lakers NBA record. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons won games 1 and 2, but lost 4 in a row to the Cavaliers.
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