Got a request? Leave a comment here. ask.fm/gearmast3r The best highlights from game 1 of the 2004 NBA Finals between the Detroit Pistons and the Los Angeles Lakers.
This was probably the best defensive team in nba history. They were literally the cause of the ban in hand checking. That defense was so good the league the league thought it was a “turnoff” because pistons games were very low scoring. This paved the way for what we see today, lack of intense defense and a surplus in offense. This team changed the league forever.
Hand checking was abolished in the late 90s. Only your forearm can be used. Defense = offense. Today's aau ball is only offense. This Detroit team was nice and played high pick n rolls for a long time . Those plays and Defense remind me of those 97 and 98 Utah jazz teams.
I have to agree youll never see defense played like this ever again in the history of the nba especially today no more defense, especially against prime kobe n shaq
@@jossiezambrano92 hawks also got chris mills cause didn't that trade include a third team I think boston who got chucky atkins plus lindsey hunter who returned to detroit like right after being bought out and the pistons got mike james...wasn't zeljko rebraca also in that trade and he went to the hawks..so the hawks got more than just sura and a pick
Franklin Clinton So? What's your beef? That was still a great 7-game series. And why bring that up anyway? I'm talking about 2004 here. So many insecure morons on RU-vid.
It's actually quite remarkable how the Pistons really didn't do anything special guarding Shaq. They decided he was going to get his points regardless of how many bodies they put on him, so let him do that and make life hell for everyone else on the court (especially Kobe, who it seems Brown correctly identified as a weak link to the Lakers' cohesiveness).
Laker fan for life, but there is no saltiness about this finals loss. That Pistons team was nasty and just too savvy all around. High IQ, and they played as a team. They each had their own role, and they all could kill you in different ways.
You gotta love the bewilderment of the crowd. Most people wrote the Pistons off before the series even began. Seeing their stars get shut down like this must’ve been a hard sight to see.
They had the size of the 00 pacers the inside and outside defense of the 01 76rs an the controlled game managing stud pg of the 02 nets and the coaching of the 03 spurs ..la hadn't faced a complete team like that in the finals before...they realized the pistons like the spurs were not scarred of them as both teams made the 05 finals and went u games for a reason...
People forget they lost Okur and James and chose to keep the older Hunter and Elden...probably should of kept those 2 cause they were better going forward...Mcdyess for Corliss was an easy upgrade on offense...
I'm a Hornets, Wizards, Pelicans, Jazz fan and i liked the 03-04 pistons and it feels good that they beat a team that had 4 all stars on their team, its actually hilarious
Rest in peace, ball hog, and it showed when he went against a great team. No disrespect to a dead man..just sayin', teams like this exposed him for who he was. Not one of the greatest.
luthervaughn1 stfu mate there were chemistry issues on that team Kobe is the reason why they are in the finals but anyways we got 16 rings and Kobe contributed to 5 of them how many Detroit have??? 🤔😂.
@@FranklinMutibwa Who's "we" got 16 rings? You are an ex-ball player that played on the Lakers all those times? Shows what kind of pussy you are by saying "we". Real men don't count themselves into something they had nothing to do with, pussy.
When U look at Pistons players, er' one of the key starters & bench players could hit a wide open mid range & perimeter shot wit high accuracy, which to me was the bigger difference as well as 1-5 defending any of our Laker's players!
@@qwammienewsome1357 That was a huge factor. 4 of the starters were threats to score from anywhere on the court. They could also all post up so they could take advantage of weak links on defense easier than most.
mike james and lindsey hunter as little threats on offense backup guards don't get enough credit for their defense during the 04 season especially in the playoffs as little men they pressured the ball and really wasted clock making others dribble hard up court and taking seconds away so they had less time to operate or rebound ...billups and sheed don't get enough credit either for the teams defense...ben and prince while deserving of praise didn't play by themselves....
Basketball is about team effort names dont win champs thats what happend here lakers had to many names but nobody delivers,it supposed to be an easy champ for the lakers
Yes, none of the ESPN Analysts thought the Pistons would win. One thought the Pistons were going to get swept. As a Piston fan, I didn’t care that the Lakers didn’t get swept, I was just glad we won the championship that year.
Max Durk you were probably born yesterday. NBA now a days suck! Everyone wants to be a super team everyone wants to shoot 100yards. Real basketball is moving the ball around breaking the defenders defense and looking for open shots.
Nobody gave this Detroit team a chance back in 04 but I knew that the Pistons was going to at least keep it competitive. I didn’t know they would beat the Lakers 4-1.
I think people need to go back and look at the 04 pistons season....the pistons first off lost 1 home game by double digits the whole season, they lost 1 game by more than 12 and only 4 by double digits all year...next off they had 4 guys who were 3-5 time all stars 3 of whom were top lottery talents in sheed rip billups, rip who led his team to the national title as a back to back 1st team all american and back to back big east player of the year and was the final four most outstanding player, and corliss who also was a multiple time player of his conference all american most outstanding final four player and was a former college player of the year and 6th man of the year not to long ago before the title hunter was a former big time scorer okur eventually became an all star talent and prince was an all defensive team member 4 years in a row.. ..they went on a 13 game winning streak without rasheed and were 17-5 when he played for them and ended the year 20-4 but really 21-3 if you give them the W instead of a fourth L during the last game of the season where rasheed and billups rested 2 of their 3 main scorers and they lost by 9 on the road since their seeding didnt matter...thats a 72 win pace team right there...and one of those 3 legit all road losses was by 1...3 of their 5 losses were by 1 point with sheed so they possibly a 20-2 team when he played before the playoffs and after the first round a 24-3 team...thats how much better he made them...they easily could of been 69-13 if they made a few extra fts or 3's as 15 of their losses came between 1-5 points and obviously they didnt have sheed and his first 2 games they didnt have a healthy bench so he got cheated from having a instant impact winning streak when he arrived...and larry brown was a great coach...they went 33-12 with seed and easily could of been 36-9...they were greater than people expected but we should of seen it coming is my point...gp and fish looked washed that playoffs...billups abused them
coach larry brown got revenge for the 01 finals....ironic that a fellow tar hell helped him win the title in sheed...hunter got revenge after winning with la in 02 and campbell left la in the late 90's before shaq and kobe won together so he got revenge as did ham who wasn't drafted in kobes draft ...ben wallace was their only all star that season as an undrafted player thats crazy and this was before okur rip or billups became all stars and sheed too really wasn't one at that time...
Bring me back to the old day, When i was in my 7th grade, i mean i was a diehard laker fan , its hard to believer this Piston team can beat lakers who got Kobe, Shaq , Karl and Gary. But they did it, Larry Brown is GOAT, he built this team.Respect
It's the only NBA team I could ever watch consistently. I loved watching Chauncey think and command. The vibe was more strategic and interesting to me.
I'm a Lakers fan, and this was a very humbling experience. We really had no depth, Kobe started forcing the issue too much, and the Pistons were so much more in sync as a team.
No depth? You had Prime Shaq and Kobe then added 2 time mvp just 5 years prior in Karl Malone who was still playing like an all star in 2002 and solid in 2003 plus Gary Payton who was an all star in 2003 a prime Devean George and Derek fisher still plus guys who stepped up like Luke Walton Kareem Rush Rick or even Slava M....you guys had enough depth...back then nobody had an 11 man squad that deep...the Pistons 11th man was out of prime Darvin Ham for God sake and their bench was awful at scoring outside of Corliss...
I thought this was a joke at first , and that the Lakers were merely losing for ratings, only to come back in the end ,and win it all. Knocked me off my feet, one of the top 5 greatest upsets in NBA history
Wasn’t really an upset if u ask me lakers had Shaq and Kobe with sum washed up stars and a mediocre bench and a whole lot of chemistry issues and they barely made it there pistons was a defensive juggernaut and moved as a team if lakers keep all there solid role players they had around them they win but if my goat Kobe ego and Shaq ego gets in the way they lose but if Shaq and Kobe have the basketball chemistry they had from 1999-2003 I feel they win
My favorite series of all time. I was so happy when we won. The Pistons are my favorite team and I couldn't stand the Lakers. I'm from Detroit and this is my greatest basketball moment.
Im a Hornets, Wizards, Jazz and Pelicans fan and i take my hat off to the 2004 pistons, it feels super good that the lakers lost, i kind of almost can't stand the lakers too
lol It's a bit ironic that the Lakers team today was *originally* a Detroit team, renamed "Lakers" when the team was brought to Milwaukee. They used to play out of my old high school, I was blown away.
This Pistons team is so underrated. They held down a team with scoring GODS like Shaq, Kobe, and Malone to 75 points! True team defense can slow down any offense with proper strategy and the right set of players. Scoring-heavy teams are not invincible, and this series proved that.
Robert Phillips kobe's a two way player so it's normal for him to miss more as long as he's shooting over 40%. Kobe was all defensive 1st that season and was helping them on d but shaq was strugling on easy offensive chances occasionally
This is awesome. As a basketball fan I hope I live to see another series where the underdog takes out a super star team. Shaq really did great in the finals!
I can tell you young and dumb. Y don't you Google the ages of Payton and Malone. And good luck on seeing something similar to this. Nba/Nfl are dominated by young players so you probably won't .
Sean Fulgham wasnt aware that lebron, kobe, and jordan were the most dominant when they were only young. Fact is this laker team really underachieved when detroit were the major underdogs.
+thrashingjustin Dominated by young players TODAY!!! And ok, yaw got 1 ring in. Haven't even won the East one time since. Yaw gon win it all this year right???
@Jon Davis Sheed fudged that play so bad. The call was don't double anybody and he goes to double Ginobli who They was already closing out on and the rest is history. That shot still bugs me from time to time. lol
true...3 things 1. gp and fish got owned by billups….they could not guard him didnt make jump shots or get around him and both looked washed 2. kobe was forcing it vs prince rip and hunter 3 very good defenders 3. shaq could of gotten sheed or ben in foul trouble ...would of changed the whole series...do people honestly believe okur elden or corliss had any chance at guarding shaq for more than a few plays especially if they had to be on the court longer than a few minutes a half like they got to be aka give their all before a rest?..with ben or sheed in foul trouble this series would of flipped cause that means whoever of the 2 wasn't in foul trouble couldn't stay near shaq on post ups in fear of also getting in foul trouble so that means less time on him and trust me when I say if sheed or ben weren't on shaq they would be getting him the ball every time and he would be getting fts dunks or easy kick out 3's or player cuts to the rim layups after hes doubled and easy finishes for his teammates....
Ben Wallace may not have shut down Shaq,but he made him fight for almost every basket in this finals unlike the pacers, sixers and nets in previous years.
Having ben sheed elden okur corliss really helped....they had 5 bigs they could throw at him...the way the 03 spurs had duncan rose robinson and willis...
The NBA in the early 00s was the west always had the more talented teams. N the east always had the better defensive teams the nets, the pistons, the Pacers, were really great defensive teams.
Actually Shaq played very well offensively. The Pistons shut everyone else down and Shaq eventually wore down throughout the series. Ben Wallace played great defense on Shaq and made him work for his points, but Shaq's size made him unstoppable down low.
ben james ham were undrafted prince okur elden were late first round or 2nd round picks...of course they were a defensive team..they didnt have superstars...
That piston team was the best ever!!! No one was more of a star then another and they all stayed humble and played their part in being the greatest!!! This is when basketball was special to me!! BEST TEAM EVER!!
Slave Of Christ he still went 3 times in a row without him in 08 against the celtics 09 against the magic and 10 against the celtics bro and he only won 2/3
Pistons with the Gentleman’s Sweep... dominated the Lakers literally embarrassed them. Shaq was a beast tho. I always rooted for Big Ben to block Shaq so bad nd he did 😎
I know Game 1 doesn't always reflect how the series will go, but the Pistons had such an easy time with the Lakers in this one that it really did have a different feel to it. Instead of an underdog asserting themselves it seemed like maybe Detroit should have been the favorite. And as it turned out the Lakers were lucky to even win a game in this series.
For those in Kobe vs. Jordan debate I present to you Kobe's finest foul-up. No excuse to shore up like he did in this series here. Small but notable mental separation.
The 2004 Detroit Pistons were the GREATEST TEAM of ALL TIME. To beat a Lakers team of Shaq, Kobe, Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Derek Fisher, etc.. who were coached by Phil Jackson... come on people !!! You have to give Larry Brown mad respect for the coaching and lack of turnovers in this series. Detroit "manhandled" these L.A. Lakers. The Clippers don't need to feel bad about what happened last night. They'll be back.
Dan Han Shaq was also responsible for this loss. In a defensive series like this, every bucket becomes important. While Ben Wallace’s mid range jumper wasn’t spectacular, he made enough of them this series because Shaq didn’t contest them. Shaq was a powerhouse on offense, but he was absolutely lazy on defense this entire series.
Robert Phillips He was about 340 lbs at this point. That’s overweight for an NBA player. And even though Shaq was able to use his size to bully defenders down low, his defense became absolute trash. Shaq was a better overall player before he gained all that weight on the LA team, he was quicker on offense and better at defense.
Shaq was overweight for *most of his career.* He didn't need speed anyways. As long as he was near the basket, his size is the only thing that mattered.
larry brown got revenge for 01 with philly...peja got revenge for 2002 in 2011 with the mavs sweeping la and the spurs got revenge for 01 02 by winning in 03 and ending the lakers aura of invincibility
Much respect and RIP to Kobe, but he was really awful this series. Rip ran circles around him and Tayshaun put the clamps on him. Absolutely loved and had tremendous respect for this pistons squad
Detroit's underrated bench played well early in this game -- one never thinks about guys like Elden Campbell and Corlliss Williamson but they were solid here too.
It's crazy when I was watching this live, Lakers as talented as they were with Kobe and Shaq, they had to work really hard for those points. Like every field goal was like a god damn achievement against the Pistons defense.
This Detroit team was very good. The team ran pick n rolls all throughout that series. Billups even mentioned it, and they remind me of those back to back 97 n 98 finals Utah teams and the 98 pacers. If u don't believe me... look up the series vs. the bulls. Same medicine. Detroit shocked the world.
One of the great teams in history. They only managed one title.. but we’re a true powerhouse to anybody who grew up in the 2000s and knew what it felt like watching those guys. You had the sense that they couldn’t lose... or that they could beat anyone. Before this series they were no names.. went on to be a power house in the nba for the next 3-5 years. Really good team.
After this finals everything changed Scores were low, Ratings were dropping and the league encouraged a less contact game after this finals The next year all the teams averaged like 8+ points per game, the star players averaged also something like 4+ point per game and more free throws also majority Increased field goal percentage
Man everyone knows most NBA superstars win championships at the age of 27-34, that's when their most mature, and smarter and just at the top of their over all team effort games, it's kind of scary to know what would of happened if Kobe and Shaq stayed together their whole NBA career, I mean they won 3 NBA championships and Kobe was just a kid, I would of loves to see them together their whole career, no one would of been able to stop them, except for maybe the spurs here and their, but no team in the east guaranteed!
One of the under rated best finals ever..Strait Dominated that Laker team that year hands down.. And Doc Rivers kept talking shit til the Pistons won The championship series.. 😂 Real facts thanks for uploading and reminding people..
