The “Goin’ to Work” era Detroit Pistons are once again a topic of conversation in NBA discourse, this time revolving around NBA All-Star weekend.
Following Team Giannis’ 184-175 win over Team Lebron is this year’s game, many complained of the game’s lackadaisical defense and overall poor effort.
This point was most notably echoed by Mike Malone, coach of the Denver Nuggets and acting coach fn Team Lebron.
Malone said, “It’s an honor to be here, it’s an honor to be a part of a great weekend, great players, but that is the worst basketball game ever played.”
Wow. That is quite harsh coming from one of the best coaches in the league. But is he wrong?
We could go on and on about why the game has moved this way. There have been some longform arguments the last couple days blaming ring culture in the media, the AAU mentality, and even disparaging the players themselves.
I’m not saying the players are completely innocent in this, but it’s much more complicated than simply blaming the “modern NBA”.
I do think a change back to East vs. West could bring back some of the pride associated with the game. A possible USA vs. International could also give the guys something bigger than themselves to play for, but that is beside the point.
We are here today to remember the last time defense was played in the All-Star game.
The Detroit Pistons shut down the Western Conference
Let’s travel back in time to 2006, when the Detroit Pistons singlehandedly shut down the Western Conference All-Stars.
The stage was set in Houston and for only the 5th time in history, a team had four All-Stars selected from the same team (It has happened four more times since then).
Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, and Rasheed Wallace also brought along their head coach, Flip Saunders.
In his first year with the Detroit Pistons, Saunders had helped the team bounce back from their Finals loss with the best record in the whole league. The Pistons would finish the season with a 64-18 record, the best in franchise history. They also boasted top five marks in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
Another interesting nugget is the whole Detroit Pistons starting five played at least 80 games in 2006. Guess we didn’t care about load management?
Going into the 2006 All-Star game, many wondered if Saunders would put his four Pistons players on the court at the same time. He did briefly in the first half, alongside Shaquille O’Neal, but he had bigger plans for the second half.
The West led the East at halftime 70-53. After a couple buckets by Tracy McGrady early in the second half, they extended their lead to 21 points. Lebron James and Dwyane Wade kept things close for the East and eventually Saunders reinserted the four Pistons, along with Chris Bosh.
This grainy YouTube clip will probably do this moment the most justice, but I will try to add some context.
Almost immediately the Detroit Pistons are down in their stance, playing help-side, and providing some strategic doubles.
Ben Wallace blocks Pau Gasol twice in one play forcing a 24-second violation. A shot clock violation in the All-Star game!?
At the start of the 4th quarter, Billups scores an and-1 to tie the game and then the Pistons, now joined by Paul Pierce, proceed to force the West into two more desperate shots at the send of the clock.
Ben Wallace swipes the ball and leads the fast break, Richard Hamilton forces a turnover along the baseline, and Chauncey Billups adds another lay-up.
You can see the visible frustration on the West’s faces. Are these guys really doing this right now?
The West lineup that the Pistons had in clamps was Tony Parker, Ray Allen, Shawn Marion, Kevin Garnett, and Dirk Nowitzki.
By my count that is four Hall-of-Famers and one that is right below the line in Shawn Marion. Don’t ever tell me the “Goin’ to Work” Pistons would have trouble in the modern NBA.
The East would go on to win the game, holding the West to only 50 points in the second half. Teams in the league now struggle to hold the Hornets under 50 points in a half.
With a final score of 122-120, there has not been a lower scoring All-Star game since. Anymore, teams are closer to 200 than they are 100.
Lebron James, 21-years old at the time, was voted All-Star MVP – but the Detroit Pistons overall effort has been the lasting legacy of the 2006 game.
I didn’t write this piece to have some complicated thesis about the state of the league. I loved the NBA then and I love the NBA now.
I just think the 2006 All-Star game, and this Pistons’ clip specifically, is an interesting time capsule of the league at the time. The “Goin’ to Work” Pistons played with real pride and togetherness, something that at times can be lost in the game today.
This team remains an anomaly, and will likely never be duplicated, no matter how many times Pistons fans try to urge the front office.
Let’s just appreciate them for what they were. We can forever say the Pistons locked up an All-Star team.