Detroit Pistons History Online Information and NBA Betting Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

NBA Detroit Pistons History betting odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

NBA Detroit Pistons History History 1990s The Pistons successfully defended their title in 1990. After winning 59 games and a third straight division title, the Pistons cruised through the first two rounds of the playoffs before playing a tough Eastern Conference Finals series against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. Facing each other for the third straight season, the Pistons and Bulls split the first six games before the Pistons finished the series with a decisive 93–74 victory in Game 7. Advancing to their third consecutive NBA Finals, the Pistons faced the Portland Trail Blazers.

After splitting the first two games at the Palace, the Pistons went to Portland, where they had not won a game since 1974, to play Games 3, 4 and 5. The Pistons summarily won all three games in Portland, becoming the first NBA team to sweep the middle three games on the road. The decisive game came down to the final second. Trailing 90–83 with two minutes remaining, the Pistons rallied to tie the game, then took a 92–90 lead when Vinnie Johnson sank an 18 foot jumper with 00.7 seconds left in the game; this shot earned Johnson a new nickname in Detroit, "007", to go with his original moniker, "the Microwave." Isiah Thomas was named NBA Finals MVP.

The Pistons' championship run came to an end in the 1991 Eastern Conference Finals, when the team was defeated by the eventual NBA champion Chicago Bulls, 4 games to 0, which is best remembered for the Pistons walking off the court before the game actually ended. After this, the franchise went through a lengthy transitional period, as key players either retired (Laimbeer in 1993 and Thomas in 1994) or were traded (Edwards, Johnson, Salley, and Rodman among others). The team quickly declined, bottoming out in the 1993-94 season when they finished 20–62.

The team's fortunes improved after that season, but the rebuilding process soon sputtered. As a result of the poor finish in the 1994 season, the Pistons were able to draft Grant Hill, a promising small forward. However, this period also saw the team make numerous questionable personnel decisions, such as the 1994 trade of Dennis Rodman to the San Antonio Spurs for Sean Elliott, the loss of free agent Allan Houston to the New York Knicks after the 46-win 1996 season; the signing of free agent wash-outs Christian Laettner, Loy Vaught, Cedric Ceballos, and the late Bison Dele; and head coaching changes from Ron Rothstein to Don Chaney to Doug Collins to Alvin Gentry to George Irvine in an eight-year span. Of those coaches, only Collins had any sort of success with the Pistons, winning 54 games in the 1996-97 season. The franchise even changed its team colors in 1996 from its traditional red, white, and blue to teal, burgundy, gold and black in what proved to be a highly unpopular move with fans. This period has become known, derisively, as the "teal era."

2000–2007: Return to championship contention

After being swept by the Miami Heat in the 2000 playoffs, Joe Dumars (who had retired following the 1999 season) was hired as the team's president of basketball operations. He quickly faced what appeared to be a setback for the franchise, as Grant Hill elected to leave the team for the Orlando Magic. However, Dumars managed to work a sign and trade with Orlando that brought the Pistons Ben Wallace and Chucky Atkins in exchange for Hill. Both quickly entered the Pistons' starting lineup, and Wallace would develop into an All-Star in the coming years. Conversely, Hill would play only 47 games in the following four seasons due to a recurring ankle injury.

The Pistons suffered through another tough season in 2000-01, going 32–50. After the season, Dumars fired head coach George Irvine and hired Rick Carlisle, a widely respected assistant coach who had been a tough substitute contributor for the Celtics during the mid-1980s. In the fall of 2001, the franchise also returned to its red, white and blue uniforms.

Carlisle helped lead the Pistons to their first 50-win season since 1997, and their first playoff series victory since 1991. In the summer of 2002, Dumars revamped the Pistons' roster by signing free agent Chauncey Billups, acquiring Richard Hamilton from the Washington Wizards, and by drafting Tayshaun Prince from Kentucky. The Pistons posted consecutive 50-win seasons and advanced to the 2003 Eastern Conference Finals, for the first time since 1991. There, however, they were swept in four games by the New Jersey Nets.

Despite the team's improvement, Carlisle was fired in the 2003 offseason. There were believed to be three reasons for the firing: first, that Carlisle had appeared reluctant to play some of the team's younger players, such as Prince and Mehmet Okur, during the regular season, which had upset Dumars; second, that some of the players (notably Wallace) had not gotten along with Carlisle; and finally, that Hall of Famer Larry Brown had become available. Brown accepted the job that summer.

The Pistons' transformation into a championship team was completed with the February 2004 acquisition of Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons finished the season 54-28, recording their best record since 1997. In the 2004 playoffs, after defeating the Milwaukee Bucks in five games, they defeated the defending Eastern Conference champion New Jersey Nets in seven games after coming back from a 3–2 deficit. Detroit then defeated the Indiana Pacers, coached by Rick Carlisle, in six tough games to advance to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1990. Many analysts gave the Pistons little chance to win against their opponents, the Los Angeles Lakers, who had won three out of the previous four NBA championships, and who fielded a star-studded lineup that included Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Gary Payton and Karl Malone. However, the Pistons won the series in dominating fashion, defeating Los Angeles in five games. The Pistons posted double-digit wins in three of their four victories, and held the Lakers to a franchise-low 68 points in Game 3. Chauncey Billups was named NBA Finals MVP.

Despite losing key members of their bench during the offseason (including Okur, Mike James and Corliss Williamson), the Pistons were considered a strong contender to win a second consecutive title in 2005. They won 54 games during the regular season, their fifth consecutive season of 50 or more wins. During the 2005 playoffs, they easily defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 4–1 and then rallied from a 2–1 deficit to finish off the Indiana Pacers, 4–2. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons faced the Miami Heat. Once again Detroit fell behind, but won Eastern Conference Championship in seven games against the Miami Heat. In the NBA Finals the Pistons faced the San Antonio Spurs. In the first NBA Finals Game 7 since 1994, the Pistons lost a hard-fought game to the Spurs, who clinched their third NBA championship.

The Pistons' 2004-05 season was marked by a major controversy, as well as distracting issues involving Larry Brown. In the season's first month, a Pacers-Pistons brawl erupted, one of the largest fan-player incidents in the history of American sports. It resulted in heavy fines and suspensions for several players, and a great deal of NBA and media scrutiny. Meanwhile, Brown was forced to leave the team on two occasions due to health concerns, and also became involved in a series of rumors linking him to other job openings. Concerned about Brown's health, and angered over his alleged pursuit of other jobs during the season, the Pistons bought out his contract soon after the 2005 NBA Finals. Brown was promptly named head coach of the New York Knicks, and the Pistons hired Flip Saunders, formerly of the Minnesota Timberwolves.

During the 2005-06 season, the Pistons recorded the NBA's best overall record. Their 37–5 start exceeded the best start for any Detroit sports franchise in history and tied for the second-best 42-game start in NBA history. Four of the five Piston starters, Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, Rasheed Wallace, and Ben Wallace, were named to the All-Star team, and Flip Saunders served as the Eastern Conference All-Star team coach. The Pistons finished the regular season with a record of 64–18, setting new franchise records for both overall and road victories (27). In addition, the team set an NBA record by starting the same lineup in 73 consecutive games from the start of the season.

The top-seeded Pistons defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 4–1 in the first round of the 2006 NBA Playoffs, but struggled in the second round against the Cleveland Cavaliers, falling behind 3–2 before winning in seven games. Things did not improve against second-seeded Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference Finals. Miami defeated the Pistons in six games en route to the 2006 NBA championship.

During the 2006 offseason, the Pistons offered Ben Wallace a four-year, $48 million contract which would have made him the highest-paid Piston ever. However, Wallace agreed to a 4-year, $60 million contract with the Chicago Bulls.

To replace Ben Wallace, the Pistons signed Nazr Mohammed as a center. He struggled to fill the team's void at center, however, and the team began looking for additional help. On January 17, the Pistons signed Chris Webber, who had become a free agent. The Pistons quickly began playing better basketball and, according to Newsday, started "to get their swagger back." The Pistons were only 21–15 before Webber was acquired; with him, the team went 32–14. On April 11, the Pistons clinched the best record in the Eastern Conference, which guaranteed them home-court advantage for first three rounds of the playoffs.

The Pistons opened the 2007 NBA Playoffs with a 4–0 victory over the Orlando Magic, their first playoff series sweep since 1990. The team advanced to face the Chicago Bulls, marking the first time that the Central Division rivals had met in the postseason since 1991. After winning the first two games by 26 and 21 points, the Pistons overcame a 19-point deficit to win Game 3, 81–74. Chicago avoided elimination by winning Games 4 and 5, but the Pistons closed out the series, 95–85, in Game 6. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive time (equaling their streak from 1987–1991) - one short of the NBA record set by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 1980s. In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Pistons won games 1 and 2, but lost 4 in a row to the Cavaliers.

Following the season, the Pistons traded Carlos Delfino to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for 2009 and 2011 second-round draft picks. In the 2007 NBA Draft the Pistons selected Rodney Stuckey as the 15th overall pick and Arron Afflalo as the 27th overall pick. They also re-signed Chauncey Billups to a long-term contract, as well as re-signing top prospect Amir Johnson and key reserve Antonio McDyess.

Season-by-season records

Season	W	L	%	Playoffs	Results
1990-91	50	32	.610	Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals	Detroit 3, Atlanta 2 Detroit 4, Boston 2 Chicago 4, Detroit 0
1991-92	48	34	.585	Lost First Round	New York 3, Detroit 2
1992-93	40	42	.488
1993-94	20	62	.244
1994-95	28	54	.341
1995-96	46	36	.561	Lost First Round	Orlando 3, Detroit 0
1996-97	54	28	.659	Lost First Round	Atlanta 3, Detroit 2
1997-98	37	45	.451
1998-99	29	21	.580	Lost First Round	Atlanta 3, Detroit 2
1999-2000	42	40	.512	Lost First Round	Miami 3, Detroit 0
2000-01	32	50	.390
2001-02	50	32	.610	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Detroit 3, Toronto 2 Boston 4, Detroit 1
2002-03	50	32	.610	Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals	Detroit 4, Orlando 3 Detroit 4, Philadelphia 2 New Jersey 4, Detroit 0
2003-04	54	28	.659	Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Won Conference Finals Won NBA Finals	Detroit 4, Milwaukee 1 Detroit 4, New Jersey 3 Detroit 4, Indiana 2 Detroit 4, LA Lakers 1
2004-05	54	28	.659	Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Won Conference Finals Lost NBA Finals	Detroit 4, Philadelphia 1 Detroit 4, Indiana 2 Detroit 4, Miami 3 San Antonio 4, Detroit 3
2005-06	64	18	.780	Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals	Detroit 4, Milwaukee 1 Detroit 4, Cleveland 3 Miami 4, Detroit 2
2006-07	53	29	.646	Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals	Detroit 4, Orlando 0 Detroit 4, Chicago 2 Cleveland 4, Detroit 2
Totals	2303	2345	.495
Playoffs	180	164	.523	3 Championships

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