Pistons still hearing tune written before Ron Holland was born

One of the most common narratives around the Detroit Pistons heading into the postseason is that they won’t have enough shooting and scoring to get past the elite teams. 

If that sounds familiar, it’s because it’s a tune we’ve heard before. 

Heading into the 2004 NBA Finals, no one gave the Pistons a chance to beat the heavily favored Lakers juggernaut, and many thought Detroit would be lucky to win a game. It’s funny to watch these old clips of an entire studio of analysts being wrong. 

The Pistons humbled the Lakers in five games, holding them under 100 points in all of them and limiting LA to 75, 68, 80 and 87 points in the wins. Remember, this was a team with prime Kobe and Shaq. 

Elite defense was able to overcome the Lakers’ superior offense, and it didn’t really matter that the Pistons couldn’t score because they didn’t need to. 

It’s a recipe they are hoping to use to make more studio analysts look foolish for writing them off. 

Does defense win championships or not? 

This cliche seems to apply to everyone but the Pistons, who have the league’s 2nd-rated defense to go along with a top 10 offense. The 2004 team had the league’s 19th-rated offense and also had the 2nd-best defense that year.

I am not saying this year’s team is going to put on the kind of defensive clinic the Goin’ to Work team put on, as that is unlikely to happen in a league much more geared towards scoring. 

But the Pistons have been bulldozing teams all season in similar ways, using an elite defense to create offensive opportunities on the fast break and in transition. 

I am also not saying this year’s team is going to win the title, but the fact that they are being largely written off already seems odd after the season they just had, especially after closing the season by winning 15 of 19 games, most of them without their best player. 

It’s not surprising, as it’s a tune we’ve been hearing since before Ron Holland was even born: The Pistons don’t have enough scoring. The Pistons can’t shoot. 

They may be right. The Pistons will have to prove they can do enough offensively (especially in the half court) to hang with the elite teams of the Eastern Conference, all of which have strong offenses. 

I don’t want to get ahead of myself, but going into the playoffs, the 2026 Pistons have a similar vibe around them as that 2004 team in that no one believes in their success because of how they achieve it. 

Pistons fans are hoping for similar results, and that defense and chemistry can be the foundation of another title run. 

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