1988–89 Detroit Pistons season: Difference between revisions

1988–89 Detroit Pistons season
1988–89 Detroit Pistons season
NBA champions
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coach	Chuck Daly
General manager	Jack McCloskey
Owner(s)	William Davidson
Arena	The Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record	63–19 (.768)
Place	Division: 1st (Central); Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions; (Defeated Lakers 4–0)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WKBD-TV; (George Blaha, Dick Motta) ; PASS Sports ; (Fred McLeod, Tom Wilson)
Radio	WWJ ; (George Blaha, Dick Motta)
< 1987–88	1989–90 >

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Revision as of 16:45, 11 January 2021

The 1988-89 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 41st season in the NBA and 32nd season in the Detroit metropolitan area. The Pistons moved from the Pontiac Silverdome to the brand-new Palace of Auburn Hills before the start of the season, which culminated in the Pistons' first NBA championship, sweeping the Lakers in four games in the NBA Finals a rematch from last year's NBA Finals and avenging their NBA Finals loss. Following the season, Rick Mahorn was picked up by the Minnesota Timberwolves in the 1989 expansion draft and was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers soon after.

The Pistons and Lakers would face each other again 15 years later in the NBA Finals in 2004, where the Pistons won in five games en route to their third NBA championship despite being underdogs to the heavily-favored Lakers.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
2	30	Fennis Dembo	Forward	United States	Wyoming
2	48	Micheal Williams	Guard	United States	Baylor
3	72	Lee Johnson	Forward	United States	Norfolk State

^[1]

Roster

1988–89 Detroit Pistons roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Height	Weight	DOB
SF	23	Aguirre, Mark	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	232 lb (105 kg)	DePaul
SF	34	Dembo, Fennis	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Wyoming
G	4	Dumars, Joe	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	McNeese State
F/C	53	Edwards, James	7 ft 1 in (2.16 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	Washington
SG	15	Johnson, Vinnie	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Baylor University
C	40	Laimbeer, Bill	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	University of Notre Dame
SG	25	Long, John	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	University of Detroit Mercy
F/C	44	Mahorn, Rick	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	240 lb (109 kg)	Hampton
F	10	Rodman, Dennis	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	SE Oklahoma State
F/C	22	Salley, John	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Georgia Tech
PG	11	Thomas, Isiah (C)	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Indiana
PG	24	Williams, Micheal	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	175 lb (79 kg)	Baylor

Head coach

Chuck Daly

Assistant coach(es)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Regular season

On February 15, 1989, the Pistons traded Adrian Dantley to the Dallas Mavericks for Mark Aguirre. Dantley was unhappy relegating the leadership role on the Pistons to Isiah Thomas, while Aguirre had clashed with his coaches and teammates in Dallas. Aguirre was more amenable to deferring to Thomas, and accepted his role in Chuck Daly's system. His ability to shoot the three, post up, run the floor, and pass was instrumental in the growth of the team.

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Detroit Pistons	63	19	.768	–	37–4	26–15	20–10
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	57	25	.695	6	37–4	20–21	19–11
x-Atlanta Hawks	52	30	.634	11	33–8	19–22	20–10
x-Milwaukee Bucks	49	33	.598	14	31–10	18–23	11–19
x-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	16	30–11	17–24	12–18
Indiana Pacers	28	54	.341	35	20–21	8–33	8–22

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Detroit Pistons	63	19	.768	–
2	y-New York Knicks	52	30	.634	11
3	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	57	25	.695	6
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	52	30	.634	11
5	x-Milwaukee Bucks	49	33	.598	14
6	x-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	16
7	x-Philadelphia 76ers	46	36	.561	17
8	x-Boston Celtics	42	40	.512	21

9	Washington Bullets	40	42	.488	23
10	Indiana Pacers	28	54	.341	35
11	New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	37
12	Charlotte Hornets	20	62	.244	43

Record vs. opponents

1988-89 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	3–1	4–1	4–2	4–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	6–0	4–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Boston	1–3	—	6–0	1–3	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	5–1	3–3	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–4
Charlotte	1–4	0–6	—	1–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–4	2–4	3–3	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–5
Chicago	2–4	3–1	4–1	—	0–6	2–0	1–1	0–6	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	6–0	2–2	3–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–1
Cleveland	2–4	4–1	4–0	6–0	—	2–0	2–0	3–3	1–1	1–1	5–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–3	4–0	2–2	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2
Dallas	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	—	3–3	0–2	1–3	1–5	1–1	3–1	0–4	6–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	5–1	2–2	4–2	1–1
Denver	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–3	—	1–1	3–1	4–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	5–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	3–3	2–2	3–3	1–1
Detroit	5–1	3–1	4–0	6–0	3–3	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	4–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–4	4–0	0–4	5–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–0
Golden State	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	—	1–3	1–1	5–1	2–3	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–4	2–4	2–3	3–1	2–4	2–2	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–4	1–1	3–1	—	2–0	2–2	1–3	4–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	6–0	2–2	2–4	0–2
Indiana	1–5	3–2	2–2	2–4	1–5	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–5	2–2	1–1	—	1–5	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–5	1–5	2–3	3–1	1–4	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	3–2	3–1	2–0	5–1	—	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	5–0	5–1	3–1	4–2	1–3	1–1
Miami	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–6	1–5	0–2	0–4	2–4	1–1	3–1	0–4	—	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–4	0–4	1–5	0–2
Milwaukee	0–6	2–2	4–0	0–6	3–3	2–0	2–0	4–2	2–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	—	4–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1
New Jersey	1–4	1–5	4–2	2–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4	—	2–4	1–5	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–5
New York	2–2	3–3	4–2	2–3	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–2	—	2–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–1
Philadelphia	2–2	3–3	3–3	3–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	0–5	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–3	5–1	4–2	—	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–2
Phoenix	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	4–2	3–1	1–1	5–1	3–3	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	—	2–3	5–1	3–1	4–1	2–2	2–0
Portland	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–2	1–3	0–2	5–1	0–5	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–2	—	3–3	4–0	2–4	0–4	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	3–2	2–2	1–1	3–2	1–5	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–5	3–3	—	2–2	1–5	1–3	0–2
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	3–3	0–2	1–3	0–6	0–2	1–3	1–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	—	0–4	1–5	1–1
Seattle	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	4–2	2–2	1–1	4–1	2–4	4–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	4–2	5–1	4–0	—	3–1	1–1
Utah	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–4	3–3	0–2	2–2	4–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	5–1	1–3	—	2–0
Washington	1–3	4–2	5–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–5	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–4	5–1	1–5	2–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	—

Game log

1988–89 game log
Total: 63–19 (Home: 37–4; Road: 26–15)

November: 11–3 (home: 4–1; road: 7–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record

December : 9–4 (home: 6–1; road: 3–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record

January : 8–6 (home: 7–2; road: 1–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record

February : 8–3 (home: 4–0; road: 4–3)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record

March : 16–1 (home: 9–0; road: 7–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record

April : 11–2 (home: 7–0; road: 4–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record

1988–89 schedule

Playoffs

After finishing with the best record in the NBA, the Pistons swept through the first two rounds of the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference finals, they faced the Chicago Bulls, whom they had defeated in the conference semifinals a year earlier. Although the Bulls were able to win two of the first three games, the Pistons' use of their "Jordan Rules" defense wore out Michael Jordan, setting up Detroit's second consecutive NBA Finals appearance against the Los Angeles Lakers.

Eastern Conference First Round

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Boston Celtics: Pistons win series 3-0

Game 1 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (April 28): Detroit 101, Boston 91
Game 2 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (April 30): Detroit 102, Boston 95
Game 3 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 2): Detroit 100, Boston 85

Last Playoff Meeting: 1988 Eastern Conference Finals (Detroit won 4-2)

Eastern Conference Semifinals

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (5) Milwaukee Bucks: Pistons win series 4-0

Game 1 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (May 10): Detroit 85, Milwaukee 80
Game 2 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (May 12): Detroit 112, Milwaukee 92
Game 3 @ Bradley Center, Milwaukee (May 14): Detroit 110, Milwaukee 90
Game 4 @ Bradley Center, Milwaukee (May 15): Detroit 96, Milwaukee 94

Last Playoff Meeting: 1976 Western Conference First Round (Detroit won 2-1)

Eastern Conference Finals

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (6) Chicago Bulls: Pistons win series 4-2

Game 1 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (May 21): Chicago 94, Detroit 88
Game 2 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (May 23): Detroit 100, Chicago 91
Game 3 @ Chicago Stadium, Chicago (May 27): Chicago 99, Detroit 97
Game 4 @ Chicago Stadium, Chicago (May 29): Detroit 86, Chicago 80
Game 5 @ The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills (May 31): Detroit 94, Chicago 85
Game 6 @ Chicago Stadium, Chicago (June 2): Detroit 103, Chicago 94

Last Playoff Meeting: 1988 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Detroit won 4-2)

Player stats

Legend
GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field-goal percentage	3P%	3-point field-goal percentage	FT%	Free-throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game

Regular season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Mark Aguirre	36	32	29.7	.483	.293	.738	4.2	2.5	.44	.19	15.5
Adrian Dantley	42	42	31.9	.521	.000	.839	3.9	2.2	.55	.14	18.4
Darryl Dawkins	14	0	3.4	.474	.000	.500	.5	.1	.00	.07	1.9
Fennis Dembo	31	0	2.4	.333	.000	.800	.7	.2	.03	.00	1.2
Joe Dumars	69	67	34.9	.505	.483	.850	2.5	5.7	.91	.07	17.2
James Edwards	76	1	16.5	.500	.000	.686	3.0	.6	.14	.41	7.3
Steve Harris	3	0	2.3	.250	.000	1.000	.7	.0	.33	.00	1.3
Vinnie Johnson	82	21	25.3	.464	.295	.734	3.1	3.0	.90	.21	13.8
Bill Laimbeer	81	81	32.6	.499	.349	.840	9.6	2.2	.63	1.23	13.7
John Long	24	1	6.3	.475	.000	.846	.5	.6	.00	.08	2.0
Rick Mahorn	72	61	24.9	.517	.000	.748	6.9	.8	.56	.92	7.2
Pace Mannion	5	0	2.8	1.000	.000	.000	.6	.0	.20	.00	.8
Dennis Rodman	82	8	26.9	.595	.231	.626	9.4	1.2	.67	.93	9.0
Jim Rowinski	6	0	1.3	.000	.000	1.000	.3	.0	.00	.00	.7
John Salley	67	21	21.8	.498	.000	.692	5.0	1.1	.60	1.07	7.0
Isiah Thomas	80	76	36.6	.464	.273	.818	3.4	8.3	1.66	.25	18.2
Micheal Williams	49	0	7.3	.364	.222	.660	.6	1.4	.27	.06	2.6

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Mark Aguirre	17	17	27.2	.489	.276	.737	4.4	1.6	.47	.18	12.6
Fennis Dembo	2	0	2.0	1.000	.000	.000	.0	.0	.00	.00	1.0
Joe Dumars	17	17	36.5	.455	.083	.861	2.6	5.6	.71	.06	17.6
James Edwards	17	0	18.6	.471	.000	.784	2.1	.7	.06	.47	7.1
Vinnie Johnson	17	0	21.9	.455	.417	.758	2.6	2.5	.24	.18	14.1
Bill Laimbeer	17	17	29.2	.465	.357	.806	8.2	1.8	.35	.47	10.1
John Long	4	0	2.0	1.000	.000	1.000	.0	.0	.00	.00	1.2
Rick Mahorn	17	17	21.2	.580	.000	.654	5.1	.4	.53	.76	5.7
Dennis Rodman	17	0	24.1	.529	.000	.686	10.0	.9	.35	.71	5.8
John Salley	17	0	23.1	.586	.000	.667	4.6	.5	.53	1.47	8.9
Isiah Thomas	17	17	37.2	.412	.267	.740	4.3	8.3	1.59	.24	18.2
Micheal Williams	4	0	1.5	.000	.000	1.000	.5	.5	.25	.00	.5

NBA Finals

The Pistons' overpowering play allowed them to sweep the Lakers, who struggled to fill the defensive void left by Byron Scott's injury prior to the start of the Finals. Joe Dumars was named Finals MVP. In addition, Magic Johnson pulled a hamstring early in the second game, and unable to play the rest of the series. The Lakers' depleted backcourt allowed the Pistons to easily win the 1988-89 NBA Championship.

Game	Home Team	Road Team	series
Game 1	Detroit 109	L.A. Lakers 97	1–0
Game 2	Detroit 108	L.A. Lakers 105	2–0
Game 3:	L.A. Lakers 110	Detroit 114	3–0
Game 4:	L.A. Lakers 97	Detroit 105	4–0

Pistons win series 4-0

Award winners

External links

References

^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2009-05-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[1] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-03-17. Retrieved 2009-05-05.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[1]

@@ Line 13: / Line 13: @@
 | arena = [[The Palace of Auburn Hills]]
 | gm = [[Jack McCloskey]]
-| owners = [[Bill Davidson (businessman)|William Davidson]]
+| owner = [[Bill Davidson (businessman)|William Davidson]]
 | television = [[WKBD-TV]]<br><small>(George Blaha, Dick Motta)</small> <br> [[Pro-Am Sports System|PASS Sports]] <br><small>(Fred McLeod, Tom Wilson)</small>
 | radio = [[WWJ (AM)|WWJ]] <br><small>([[George Blaha]], Dick Motta)</small>

v t e Detroit Pistons 1988–89 NBA champions
4 Dumars (Finals MVP) 10 Rodman 11 Thomas 15 Johnson 22 Salley 23 Aguirre 24 Williams 25 Long 34 Dembo 40 Laimbeer 44 Mahorn 53 Edwards
Head coach Daly
Assistant coaches Malone Suhr
Regular season Playoffs

v t e NBA champions
1940s	1947: Philadelphia Warriors 1948: Baltimore Bullets 1949: Minneapolis Lakers
1950s	1950: Minneapolis Lakers 1951: Rochester Royals 1952: Minneapolis Lakers 1953: Minneapolis Lakers 1954: Minneapolis Lakers 1955: Syracuse Nationals 1956: Philadelphia Warriors 1957: Boston Celtics 1958: St. Louis Hawks 1959: Boston Celtics
1960s	1960: Boston Celtics 1961: Boston Celtics 1962: Boston Celtics 1963: Boston Celtics 1964: Boston Celtics 1965: Boston Celtics 1966: Boston Celtics 1967: Philadelphia 76ers 1968: Boston Celtics 1969: Boston Celtics
1970s	1970: New York Knicks 1971: Milwaukee Bucks 1972: Los Angeles Lakers 1973: New York Knicks 1974: Boston Celtics 1975: Golden State Warriors 1976: Boston Celtics 1977: Portland Trail Blazers 1978: Washington Bullets 1979: Seattle SuperSonics
1980s	1980: Los Angeles Lakers 1981: Boston Celtics 1982: Los Angeles Lakers 1983: Philadelphia 76ers 1984: Boston Celtics 1985: Los Angeles Lakers 1986: Boston Celtics 1987: Los Angeles Lakers 1988: Los Angeles Lakers 1989: Detroit Pistons
1990s	1990: Detroit Pistons 1991: Chicago Bulls 1992: Chicago Bulls 1993: Chicago Bulls 1994: Houston Rockets 1995: Houston Rockets 1996: Chicago Bulls 1997: Chicago Bulls 1998: Chicago Bulls 1999: San Antonio Spurs
2000s	2000: Los Angeles Lakers 2001: Los Angeles Lakers 2002: Los Angeles Lakers 2003: San Antonio Spurs 2004: Detroit Pistons 2005: San Antonio Spurs 2006: Miami Heat 2007: San Antonio Spurs 2008: Boston Celtics 2009: Los Angeles Lakers
2010s	2010: Los Angeles Lakers 2011: Dallas Mavericks 2012: Miami Heat 2013: Miami Heat 2014: San Antonio Spurs 2015: Golden State Warriors 2016: Cleveland Cavaliers 2017: Golden State Warriors 2018: Golden State Warriors 2019: Toronto Raptors
2020s	2020: Los Angeles Lakers 2021: Milwaukee Bucks 2022: Golden State Warriors 2023: Denver Nuggets 2024: Boston Celtics