PistonPowered
Fansided

Detroit Pistons: Would the 2004 Pistons beat this year’s Brooklyn Nets?

By Aaron Kellerstrass

Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
Chauncey Billups of the Detroit Pistons (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Detroit Piston coach Larry Brown celebrates with players after the Pistons defeated the Lakers 100-87 to win the 2004 NBA championship final, in Auburn Hills, MI, 15 June 2004. The Pistons won the best-of-seven NBA championship series 5-1 and Billups was the series MVP. AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images)
AUBURN HILLS, UNITED STATES: Detroit Piston coach Larry Brown celebrates with players after the Pistons defeated the Lakers 100-87 to win the 2004 NBA championship final, in Auburn Hills, MI, 15 June 2004. The Pistons won the best-of-seven NBA championship series 5-1 and Billups was the series MVP. AFP PHOTO / Robyn BECK (Photo credit should read ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images) /

Detroit Pistons: 2004 Pistons vs. 2021 Nets

Just like against the Lakers, the 2004 Pistons would be underdogs against the 2021 Nets, mostly because of their star power, but when you look at the matchups, the Pistons were uniquely suited to stop these Nets.

PG- Kyrie Irving

SG-James Harden

SF- Joe Harris

PF- Kevin Durant

C-Blake Griffin

The Pistons would put Chauncey Billups on Kyrie Irving, a matchup I love for the Pistons, as Chauncey was a big, smart defender who could make things tough for Irving while scorching him on the other end.

Richard Hamilton gets the duty on Harden, though there is some argument for switching these two, but Hamilton’s length would be more effective at disrupting Harden’s shot. This is probably the least favorable matchup for the Pistons.

Related Story. Top 10 rookies in Pistons' franchise history: Does Bey make the cut?. light

Tayshaun Prince would render Joe Harris irrelevant. Sorry, Joe but you aren’t scoring on the Prince.

The most interesting matchup is Rasheed Wallace vs. Kevin Durant. There aren’t many players in history who match up well with KD, but Sheed might be one of them. He had the length to at least bother Durant, would be able to punish him in the post on the other end and would get into his head with myriad antics and smart plays. I could see Sheed frustrating Durant, and while I don’t think he could stop him, I do think he could slow him down or at least make him work.

Ben Wallace would be on Blake Griffin, a matchup I would pay money to see, as Wallace would destroy him on the boards and stuff him if he tried to come inside the 3-point line.

The Pistons also had a deep bench with defenders like Corliss Williamson and Lindsey Hunter, guys who would make life miserable for the Nets, who are top-heavy and don’t really have a bench.

The 2004 Detroit Pistons surprised everyone by dominating the Lakers with defense and I think they’d do the same to these Nets. Playoff basketball slows down, gets more physical and these Pistons thrived in that environment.

In the battle of the superteam vs. the TEAM, I think the team wins this one with chemistry, defense and smarts, the same way they did in 2004.

Next. Mock Draft 4.0: What if the worst happens and the Pistons fall to 6th?. dark

Home/Pistons News