Ben Taylor of “Thinking Basketball” breaks down how the vaunted defense of the Detroit Pistons slowed down Shaq, Kobe & the Lakers in Game 3 of the 2004 NBA Finals.
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27 Comments
Would love more discussion of the schematic differences in defenses before/after the 2002 rule changes. At 10:09, Hamilton does something that would be illegal just a few years earlier by guarding empty space below the free-throw line (i.e., not guarding a man but floating defensively in anticipation of Kobe’s drive). Seems like the Pistons were the first team to figure these concepts out (formalized later by Thibs and the Celtics). I’ve seen footage of 80s/90s teams getting away with illegal defense, but it seems like surprisingly few teams quickly pivoted to it after it became legalized. The freedom of movement rules were as much a reaction to zone legalization and the relative inelasticity of shooting talent as anything else. The years between zone legalization and the “pace-and-space era” are really interesting because of these attempts by the league to fine-tune the game. It’s a topic that could easily fill a 30+ minute video.
What a great close up of an iconic team. This is a great video to send to your friends that say "defense is just about effort". There's so much skill, anticipation, IQ, and scouting that's involved. Achieving a great defense is probably the most complicated and nuanced aspect of team building, and that Detroit team is the benchmark for what a great defense looks like. In the words of Larry Brown, the '04 Pistons are a testament to "playing the right way".
Best D ever. Let's see if SA can eventually put a team together around Wemby to knock these '04 Pistons off their throne
Fantastic breakdown.
Great job Pistons. Physically, psychologically.
I don't think I've ever seen the broadcast footage of this Finals in HD before. Looks amazing
If this Pistons team drafted Melo, they would've won more than 1 chip. And for sure Melo's career trajectory would've been different coz Larry Brown wouldn't have tolerated him slacking off on defense or being a blackhole on offense. Brown was infamously a stickler for "playing the right way" as AI found out the hard way.
"most dominant of all time" goes away real fast when you actually have more than one defender on your entire team. 🤷♀
I'm glad you called out the hunting of Shaqs weak defence. You often read he was the only one to show up in this series for the Lakers but only on the offensive side of the court.
Crazy how the lakers were favorites. Even me as a 14 year old i knew the lakers were outmatched. To me, this isnt the greatest upset
Today's NBA Teams are no match vs the 2004 Pistons
Around the 15:19 mark, the Wallaces, maybe the best defensive big man duo ever… double team BRIAN SCALABRINE in the post. Theyd efinitely respect the Red Mamba. XD
Watching this perfectly illustrates why it's stupid to compare teams/players from different eras. The game is CLEARLY played/officiated and approached completely different just 20 years ago let alone 30 or 40.
Is that when they started to say defense wins championships
2017 warriors will drop 150 pts per game in a series on that pistons team
NBA is clever – they got this man on board because the product is now low IQ, watered down an trash
Way too many ad breaks
One big feature of this team was rip Hamilton. He could run a 4 minute mile and chasing him around the court would wear his man out.
Lets be honest, if Payton took those shots Kobe would've punched him in the face. Kobe was so selfish he ran Shaq out of LA because Shaq was better than him.
Great defese but damn, those are some ugly basketball. No spacing, no shooters
What a joy to watch real basketball. Tactics, pressure, skill, mind games…not an overhyped “shoot-around”.
A diehard Spurs fan, don’t hate this generation of Lakers, not a fan of the Pistons per se…but, this is still my NBA finals I’ve seen in forty years!
And a pleasure to watch this breakdown…thank you “Thinking Basketball”!!!
This is a video to show to people that says Kobe is the Goat.
2017 warriors is smoking this defense.
I love this video, but I don't want to like a video with Karl Malone in it
damn karl malones last chance at a ring =[
Honestly, if they just picked up the ball, stiff armed the defender, swung elbows, and then cry to the ref like LeGOAT, everyone would be scoring.
I wonder why more people dont do that? It's almost like it's illegal or something 😂
need more of these