NBA: Could the 2004 Detroit Pistons beat the Warriors?
NBA's former Piston Richard Hamilton recently (maybe not so recently) stated that his Detroit Pistons could beat the present Warriors team. That sparked a debate on Twitter that lasted a few days and I decided to add my take.
The 2004 Detroit Pistons team had a good point guard, shooters, and played exceptional defense, but there's no way that the Pistons would beat the Warriors in a seven game series. Let's break this down a bit.
The Warriors have too much firepower
The Warriors are one of the best offensive teams this millennium and it's hard to imagine the Detroit Pistons shutting this team down. Aside from Tayshaun Prince, the Pistons had average perimeter defenders. Chauncey Billups was a good defender, but him guarding Steph Curry would be a nightmare, assuming Tayshaun is guarding Kevin Durant. Hamilton defense was average at best. The Pistons would guard the paint well, but aren't really equipped to guard the three.
The Detroit Pistons had trouble scoring
The Pistons went to the NBA Finals twice and went to five consecutive Eastern Conference Finals because they relied heavily on defense. The Pistons would go 4-6 minutes without scoring, which is unimaginable in itself, but to that against the Warriors would be insane. The Warriors would capitalize on that drought.
Pistons Lack of depth
Oh you think the Warriors has no depth? Do you really think Chucky Atkins, Corliss Williamson, and Lindsey Hunter will be able to keep up with Shaun Livingston, Andre Iguodala, and whichever of the big four that would remain on the floor. Livingston himself would have a field day against the back up point guards. The Pistons has one of the worst benches of a championship team.
To me this isn't even a debate! The 04 Pistons team don't belong in this conversation. The 2001 Lakers, 13-14 Spurs and Heat or the 08 Celtics are much better comparisons than the Pistons.
What do you think? Comment your thoughts below and thanks for reading!
