Was the 2004 pistons the only team to win a championship without....

[get these NETS]

You Sir, just not very bright...Bad Boys were an amazing defensive team, better than 2004 Pistons Team.

In Both Instances, Stern had to change rules BTW. He hates good, defensive basketball.

And Ben Wallace was about 6'6-6'7, 6.85 in shoes. Mutombo was a legit 7-footer and had more opportunity to play from the get go. BenWa had to earn and learn a bit before getting going.

bad boys were a dirty team

with 2 good defenders......joe dumars and john salley and a great one...young rodman

they just intimidated players from driving to the hoop by fouling them and hitting them after the whistle blew...whatever opposing team shooting %
against them is based on players settling for jump shots after getting (what today is a flagrant1-2) fouled on the way to the hoop..


CHARLES BARKLEY, who has NEVER been called soft...and who NEVER got intimidated....even said the bad boy pistons were a dirty team.

[Rake2204]

bad boys were a dirty team

with 2 good defenders......joe dumars and john salley and a great one...young rodman

they just intimidated players from driving to the hoop by fouling them and hitting them after the whistle blew...whatever opposing team shooting %
against them is based on players settling for jump shots after getting (what today is a flagrant1-2) fouled on the way to the hoop..


CHARLES BARKLEY, who has NEVER been called soft...and who NEVER got intimidated....even said the bad boy pistons were a dirty team.

I won't deny the Bad Boys were dirty. I think that's been well established. However, I dispute the idea that the source of their defensive effectiveness was derived from "just intimidating players from driving to the hoop by fouling them and hitting them after the whistle blew." I think that's similar to saying Michael Jordan was a great player because he "just jumped and dunked all the time." Such conclusions are easy to draw when looking back on just portions of history (i.e. highlights and lowlights) and sure, the Pistons were dirty and Jordan liked to dunk, but ultimately those were not the only two factors important in the success of each.

The dirtiness of the Pistons has been over blown in the sense of other's beliefs as to how frequently it occurred. It was not as if every trip down the floor was met with a clothesline and an official insisting the opponents "play on". Instead, the majority of Detroit's defensive effectiveness came from playing excellent defense, period. They were very often physical, and I find that term to differ from "dirty". The dirtiness still reared its head, but it was not the same as Detroit's skill and physicality, which both appeared much more often and consisted of playing well within the rules the NBA at the time allowed.

[get these NETS]

I won't deny the Bad Boys were dirty. I think that's been well established. However, I dispute the idea that the source of their defensive effectiveness was derived from "just intimidating players from driving to the hoop by fouling them and hitting them after the whistle blew." I think that's similar to saying Michael Jordan was a great player because he "just jumped and dunked all the time." Such conclusions are easy to draw when looking back on just portions of history (i.e. highlights and lowlights) and sure, the Pistons were dirty and Jordan liked to dunk, but ultimately those were not the only two factors important in the success of each.

The dirtiness of the Pistons has been over blown in the sense of other's beliefs as to how frequently it occurred. It was not as if every trip down the floor was met with a clothesline and an official insisting the opponents "play on". Instead, the majority of Detroit's defensive effectiveness came from playing excellent defense, period. They were very often physical, and I find that term to differ from "dirty". The dirtiness still reared its head, but it was not the same as Detroit's skill and physicality, which both appeared much more often and consisted of playing well within the rules the NBA at the time allowed.

mj was a great player because he had supreme basketball iq, supreme physical tools and supreme killer instinct

he knew where the right shot was, he could get to that spot despite the defense, and he had the balls to make and take the shot


on defense, he knew where the play was going, he could get to the spot at the right time, and could and would make the right defensive play



MJ's (as a bull) career ending 2 threpeat tying sequence illustrates my point

TOOK the ball from karl malone on one end, beat byron russell to the spot and makes series clincher


his iq allowed him to read the play, athleticism allowed him to get to the right spot, his balls allowed him to make the play...

=============================================


bad boy pistons playing the same team that they always beat......got swept..SWEPT... when they could no longer intimidate the bulls


great defensive team would have adjusted and turned off the thug style play and just played GREAT defense


they had no answer when the bulls kept scoring points and not folding like lawn chairs

almost exact same players on both sides if I recall

difference was phil jackson and an offense that the great defensive team couldn't adjust to



bad boy pistons were over rated defensive team

mahorn, rodman, and laimbeer just tried to hurt people...that's all

[Punpun]

I'm freaking amazed people dare to question the 04 Pistons were the top 2 if not the best defensive team ever. They killed every team. In an era where actual defense had to be played. Not in eras where just being though and mean with unpunished elbows to the head etc.

It's pretty clear to me who the best defensive team is. And which player was the wall of that team.

[get these NETS]

Mutombo was a great defensive player..but Wallace was the more versatile defender


Mutombo was basically a very tall man with decent agility ,long arms good defensive instincts and motor


Wallace could literally defend all five positions and I recall in the Finals that year, him being switched out on a lakers perimeter player..and he had the foot speed to draw a charge...against a guard..

quickness, foot speed, lower and upper body strength, defensive iq, body and foot positioning, motor...

Wallace was the ideal defensive player...

interesting footnote.....rodman and wallace were excellent defenders and caused as many bad shots/turnovers or more than guys who led league in blocked shots


blocks are a sexy stat,,but sometimes over rated...kind of like sacks in football

dude might have lot of sacks but be terrible against the run....he will overshadow the more fundamentally sound guy who is good against pass and run