What if? The 03-04 Detroit Pistons Met the 14-15 Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals
Pistons’ legends say their team would destroy the title-winning Warriors.
COULD THE 03-04 DETROIT PISTONS HAVE BEATEN THE 14-15 GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS?
Both Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups think they could have.
On an episode of the Sheed and Tyler podcast, Billups said the Pistons would’ve “boned” the Warriors.
“I think we would have a tough time with the KD team… Whenever KD was there, it would have been a tough one with them. But them other teams? We would've boned them.”
The Pistons had Billups, Wallace, Ben Wallace, Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince as their starters.
The Warriors had Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green, Harrison Barnes and Andrew Bogut as their starters. They also had Andre Iguodala coming off the bench.
The Warriors, as a whole, were elite scorers whereas the Pistons, as a whole, were elite defenders.
So, this would have been a battle of offence and defence.
Additionally, the Warriors played modern basketball while the Pistons played old-school ball.
But the funny things is that both teams share similar offensive philosophies, where they both encouraged ball movement and off-ball movement. Both teams utilized cutters and screeners, and both loved to share the ball.
So, who would win?
I think the Warriors are taking the series.
The Pistons will give the Warriors trouble and shock them in the first two games with their defence, like what the Minnesota Timberwolves did to the Denver Nuggets in 2024.
Prince and Billups will take turns putting the pressure on Curry. Prince will also take turns with Hamilton defending Thompson.
The Wallaces will protect the paint.
And this physical defence will work for the first two games. But the Warriors, like what the Nuggets did, will figure it out.
So, the Warriors will win in 6 games via a Steph Curry buzzer beater. Prince -who would be the primary defender on Curry- will fight through a Bogut screen and contest the shot, but Curry, being Curry, will sink it for the victory.
But this is just a what-if that’s completely made up in my imagination.
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