1988 NBA Finals against Lakers ranks as the greatest playoff series involving the Detroit Pistons since NBA-ABA merger

In an incredible feature that’s sure to suck you in, ESPN’s John Hollinger ranked the 50 greatest playoff series since the NBA-ABA merger. The Pistons appeared on the list six times:

"10.  1988 NBA FINALS: PISTONS VS. LAKERS Los Angeles Lakers Detroit Pistons4 3GAME 1GAME 2GAME 3GAME 4GAME 5GAME 6GAME 7DET 105 LAL  93DET 96 LAL 108LAL 99 DET 86LAL  86 DET 111LAL  94 DET 104DET 102 LAL  103DET 105 LAL  108Hollinger’s series rating: 17.7Not only did this go seven games, but the last two were as good as you’ll ever see. The Pistons set the tone in Game 1 by surprising the favored Lakers, 105-93. But from there it took a little while for the drama to ramp up; each of the first five games ended with a double-digit margin.However, the last two made up for it. While hopping up and down the court on a sprained ankle, Isiah Thomas scored 25 points in the third quarter of Game 6 and nearly led Detroit to victory. The Pistons were up by three with a minute left, but L.A. hung on to win 103-102 after Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s late free throws, a rushed Detroit miss, and a wild scene as Dennis Rodman and Byron Scott nearly came to blows just before the buzzer.The seventh game was just as tight. After leading by as many as 15, the Lakers hung on to a three-point win (after rushing the court before the buzzer while the Pistons tried to get off a final shot), thanks in large part to 36 points, 16 boards and 10 assists from James Worthy — the only triple-double of the Finals MVP’s career.Photo credit: MPS/US Presswire"

"14.  1988 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PISTONS VS. CELTICS Detroit Pistons Boston Celtics4 2GAME 1GAME 2GAME 3GAME 4GAME 5GAME 6DET 104 BOS 96DET 115 BOS 119 (2OT)BOS 94 DET 98BOS 79 DET 78DET 102 BOS 96 (OT)BOS 90 DET 95Hollinger’s series rating: 23.9The Bad Boys finally got over the hump in this series and knocked off their Eastern Conference rivals, with the help of an unlikely rally from 16 points down in Game 5 in Boston to win in overtime, 102-96 — the second game to require an extra session. Prior to that point it looked like Boston would hold on again, as the Celtics held Detroit to 10 points in the fourth quarter of Game 4 to steal a hard-fought 79-78 win in the Silverdome.No game was decided by more than eight points, and things weren’t settled until Detroit’s Vinnie Johnson ignited a rally for a 95-90 Detroit win in Game 6. Celtics star Larry Bird, hampered in equal part by painful bone spurs and Detroit’s harassing defense, averaged only 10.0 points on 35.1 percent shooting for the series.Photo credit: AP Photo/Peter Southwick"

"16.  2007 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: CAVS VS. PISTONS Cleveland Cavaliers Detroit Pistons4 2GAME 1GAME 2GAME 3GAME 4GAME 5GAME 6CLE 76 DET 79CLE 76 DET 79DET 82 CLE 88 DET 87 CLE 91CLE 109 DET 107 (2OT)DET 82 CLE 98Hollinger’s series rating: 16.1This series is notable for one of the great individual performances in playoff history. LeBron James scored 25 straight points at the end of regulation and in the two overtimes to lead underdog Cleveland to a stunning Game 5 win in Detroit. The Pistons then melted down in Game 6 as the Cavs completed their rally from a 2-0 deficit.This was a tight series throughout, with the first two games won by the Pistons by identical 79-76 scores and the first five decided by six points or fewer. And before his heroics, James was criticized for a decision to pass to Donyell Marshall rather than shoot it himself at the end of Game 1.But that was all forgotten after his heroics in Game 5. James rallied Cleveland from a seven-point deficit with 3:15 to play and hit the game-winning lay-up with two seconds left in the second overtime to finish with 48 points.Photo credit: Ned Dishman/NBAE/Getty Images"

"37.  2005 NBA FINALS: PISTONS VS. SPURS San Antonio Spurs Detroit Pistons4 3GAME 1GAME 2GAME 3GAME 4GAME 5GAME 6GAME 7DET 69 SAS 84DET 76 SAS 97SAS 79 DET 96SAS  71 DET 102SAS 96 DET 95 (OT)DET 95 SAS 86DET 74 SAS 81Hollinger’s series rating: 13.2This series loses style points because it did as much to turn off viewers as it did to invigorate them, but it featured the two top defensive teams of the era and the last three games were thrillers. Game 5 was the crucial one, decided on a Robert Horry 3-pointer in overtime, and then the Spurs rallied in the second half of Game 7 after it appeared Detroit might pull of the unprecedented feat of winning Games 6 and 7 on the road.The problem with this series was that it was more for the purist than the fan. The Spurs and Pistons defended like gangbusters and shared the ball offensively, but the clash produced a series of defensive-minded games with few individual highlights. The other thing that hurts this series is the first four games — none of them were close.Photo credit: Noah Graham/NBAE/Getty Images"

"41.  2006 EASTERN CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS: CAVS VS. PISTONS Detroit Pistons Cleveland Cavaliers4 3GAME 1GAME 2GAME 3GAME 4GAME 5GAME 6GAME 7CLE  86 DET 113CLE 91 DET 97DET 77 CLE 86DET 72 CLE 74CLE 86 DET 84DET 84 CLE 82CLE 61 DET 79Hollinger’s series rating: 11.0In their first postseason appearance in eight years, the Cavs gave the 64-win Pistons all they could handle, winning the middle three games in stunning fashion. However, experience would eventually win out, as Detroit rallied to win Games 6 and 7 in the first of back-to-back playoff classics between the Central Division rivals.Of particular note were Game 4, 5, and 6, each of which were decided by just two points. The second of the three, an 86-84 stunner by Cleveland on a game-winner by Drew Gooden that gave the Cavs a 3-2 series lead, left Detroit forward Antonio McDyess so stunned that he went straight home … in his uniform. But the Pistons eked out an 84-82 win in Cleveland when the Cavs couldn’t grab a defensive board in the final minute, then easily won Game 7.Photo credit: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images"

"43.  2004 EASTERN CONFERENCE FINALS: PISTONS VS. PACERS Detroit Pistons Indiana Pacers4 2GAME 1GAME 2GAME 3GAME 4GAME 5GAME 6DET 74 IND 78DET 72 IND 67IND 78 DET 85IND 83 DET 68DET 83 IND 65IND 65 DET 69Hollinger’s series rating: 10.0Type "Pacers Pistons 2004" into a search engine and you’ll get a hundred pages about a brawl before you ever read about the playoffs. But six months prior to their unfortunate fight these two squared off in a classic defensive playoff matchup.This series is a bit of a rarity, because its turning point and defining play — Tayshaun Prince’s out-of-nowhere rejection of Reggie Miller’s go-ahead layup attempt — came early, in Game 2. It was a symbolic moment for one of the most dominant defensive teams in history, and that, along with an amazing 18 more rejections that day, helped Detroit to a 72-67 win.The Pistons would hold the Pacers to under 70 twice more, helping them win the lowest-scoring series in playoff history. But while it lacked in points, it didn’t lack in drama. Four of the six games were decided by five points or fewer, including Miller’s go-ahead 3 with 31 seconds left in Game 1 and a 69-65 brickfest in the clincher that turned when Ron Artest flagrantly fouled Richard Hamilton off the ball late in the fourth quarter.Photo credit: Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images"

I definitely thought Hollinger underrated the 2004 conference finals against the Pacers. That series was a war with both teams playing incredibly sound and tough defense.

Although I wouldn’t make a case that any of these series should’ve replaced another series on Hollinger’s list, I also thought the Pistons’ 1984 first-round loss to the Knicks, 1987 conference-finals loss to the Celtics and 2004 second-round win over the Nets could have received consideration.