2004–05 Detroit Pistons season
| 2004–05 Detroit Pistons season | |
|---|---|
Conference champions | |
Division champions | |
| Head coach | Larry Brown |
| General manager | Joe Dumars |
| Owners | William Davidson |
| Arena | The Palace of Auburn Hills |
| Results | |
| Record | 54–28 (.659) |
| Place | Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 2nd (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Lost in NBA Finals to San Antonio (3–4) |
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |
| Local media | |
| Television | FSN Detroit, WKBD |
| Radio | WDFN |
The 2004–05 Detroit Pistons season was the 64th season of the franchise, the 57th in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and the 48th in the Detroit area. The Pistons began the season as defending NBA Champions. After a lackluster start to the year that saw their entire season marred by a late November brawl with the Indiana Pacers, the Pistons eventually finished first overall in the Central Division, and second overall in the Eastern Conference. They narrowly missed out on repeating as NBA champions, losing to the San Antonio Spurs in the 2005 NBA Finals in seven games.
After the Finals defeat, Larry Brown was fired after spending only two seasons as head coach of the Detroit Pistons. He would later be the head coach of his hometown New York Knicks, but after winning only 23 games in his only season in New York, Brown was fired again. It was later announced in the off-season that Flip Saunders, who was fired as head coach of the Timberwolves mid-season, would be the Pistons head coach for next season.
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 54 | Rickey Paulding | Guard |  United States
|
Missouri |
Roster
Depth chart
| Pos. | Starter | Bench | Reserve | Inactive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Ben Wallace | Elden Campbell | Darko Miličić | |
| PF | Rasheed Wallace | Antonio McDyess | ||
| SF | Tayshaun Prince | Darvin Ham | Ronald Dupree | Carlos Delfino |
| SG | Richard Hamilton | |||
| PG | Chauncey Billups | Lindsey Hunter | Carlos Arroyo | Horace Jenkins |
Regular season
Standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Detroit Pistons | 54 | 28 | .659 | – | 32–9 | 22–19 | 8–8 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 47 | 35 | .573 | 7 | 27–14 | 20–21 | 8–8 |
| x-Indiana Pacers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 10 | 25–16 | 19–22 | 9–7 |
| Cleveland Cavaliers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 12 | 29–12 | 13–28 | 7–9 |
| Milwaukee Bucks | 30 | 52 | .366 | 24 | 23–18 | 7–34 | 8–8 |
Playoffs
East First Round
(2) Detroit Pistons vs. (7) Philadelphia 76ers
April 23
3:00 pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 85, Detroit Pistons 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 28–16, 18–32, 24–32, 15–26 | ||
| Pts: Allen Iverson 30 Rebs: Samuel Dalembert 18 Asts: Allen Iverson 10 |
Pts: Rasheed Wallace 29 Rebs: B. Wallace, R. Wallace 10 each Asts: Richard Hamilton 5 | |
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Bernie Fryer, Greg Willard, Jack Nies |
April 26
7:30 pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 84, Detroit Pistons 99 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–20, 13–22, 21–27, 27–30 | ||
| Pts: Allen Iverson 19 Rebs: Samuel Dalembert 11 Asts: Allen Iverson 10 |
Pts: Richard Hamilton 23 Rebs: Ben Wallace 10 Asts: Chauncey Billups 8 | |
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Mike Callahan, Tony Brothers |
April 29
8:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 104, Philadelphia 76ers 115 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 32–24, 22–27, 24–29, 26–35 | ||
| Pts: Ben Wallace 29 Rebs: Ben Wallace 16 Asts: Richard Hamilton 12 |
Pts: Allen Iverson 37 Rebs: Samuel Dalembert 10 Asts: Allen Iverson 15 | |
Wachovia Center, Philadelphia
Attendance: 16,907 Referees: Greg Willard, Monty Mccutchen, Ron Garretson |
May 1
1:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 97, Philadelphia 76ers 92 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–24, 20–14, 19–23, 23–22, Overtime: 14–9 | ||
| Pts: Chauncey Billups 25 Rebs: Ben Wallace 12 Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 |
Pts: Allen Iverson 36 Rebs: Samuel Dalembert 15 Asts: Allen Iverson 8 | |
May 3
8:00 pm |
| Philadelphia 76ers 78, Detroit Pistons 88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 20–22, 17–17, 17–28 | ||
| Pts: Allen Iverson 34 Rebs: Samuel Dalembert 10 Asts: Allen Iverson 7 |
Pts: Billups, Hamilton 23 each Rebs: Ben Wallace 13 Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 | |
| Detroit wins the series, 4–1 | ||
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Eddie F. Rush, Scott Foster, Sean Corbin |
Last Playoffs meeting: 2003 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Detroit won 4–2)
East Conference Semifinals
(2) Detroit Pistons vs. (6) Indiana Pacers
May 9
8:00 pm |
| Indiana Pacers 81, Detroit Pistons 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 18–29, 19–20, 24–24 | ||
| Pts: Jermaine O'Neal 22 Rebs: Jeff Foster 13 Asts: Johnson, Miller 3 each |
Pts: Richard Hamilton 28 Rebs: Ben Wallace 15 Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 | |
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Bernie Fryer, Jess Kersey, Jim Clark |
May 11
8:00 pm |
| Indiana Pacers 92, Detroit Pistons 83 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 18–33, 22–17, 28–19, 24–14 | ||
| Pts: Jermaine O'Neal 22 Rebs: Jeff Foster 20 Asts: Jamaal Tinsley 12 |
Pts: Tayshaun Prince 24 Rebs: Ben Wallace 16 Asts: Chauncey Billups 10 | |
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Mike Callahan, Ron Garretson, Sean Corbin |
May 13
6:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 74, Indiana Pacers 79 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 11–17, 17–25, 17–16, 29–21 | ||
| Pts: Chauncey Billups 23 Rebs: Ben Wallace 14 Asts: Tayshaun Prince 6 |
Pts: Reggie Miller 17 Rebs: Jeff Foster 12 Asts: Jamaal Tinsley 6 | |
May 15
2:30 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 89, Indiana Pacers 76 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–13, 26–21, 25–22, 17–20 | ||
| Pts: Chauncey Billups 29 Rebs: Rasheed Wallace 12 Asts: Richard Hamilton 7 |
Pts: Stephen Jackson 23 Rebs: Jermaine O'Neal 13 Asts: Anthony Johnson 6 | |
May 17
7:00 pm |
| Indiana Pacers 67, Detroit Pistons 86 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 14–19, 11–27, 21–17 | ||
| Pts: Jermaine O'Neal 14 Rebs: Dale Davis 9 Asts: Jamaal Tinsley 5 |
Pts: Ben Wallace 19 Rebs: Tayshaun Prince 12 Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 | |
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Eddie F. Rush, Jack Nies, Joe Crawford |
May 19
7:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 88, Indiana Pacers 76 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–21, 20–25, 23–17, 26–16 | ||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 28 Rebs: B. Wallace, R. Wallace 11 each Asts: Chauncey Billups 8 |
Pts: Reggie Miller 27 Rebs: Jermaine O'Neal 11 Asts: Jamaal Tinsley 10 | |
| Detroit wins the series, 4–2 | ||
Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Attendance: 18,345 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Bill Spooner, Ken Mauer |
Last Playoffs meeting: 2004 Eastern Conference Finals (Detroit won 4–2)
East Conference Finals
(1) Miami Heat vs. (2) Detroit Pistons
May 23
8:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 90, Miami Heat 81 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 24–25, 20–18, 30–24, 16–14 | ||
| Pts: Rasheed Wallace 20 Rebs: Ben Wallace 13 Asts: Carlos Arroyo 7 |
Pts: Eddie Jones 22 Rebs: Eddie Jones 8 Asts: Damon Jones 5 | |
May 25
8:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 86, Miami Heat 92 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–24, 13–23, 27–15, 23–30 | ||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 21 Rebs: Ben Wallace 14 Asts: Chauncey Billups 6 |
Pts: Dwyane Wade 40 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 10 Asts: Dwyane Wade 6 | |
American Airlines Arena, Miami
Attendance: 20,228 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Eddie F. Rush, Tom Washington |
May 29
8:00 pm |
| Miami Heat 113, Detroit Pistons 104 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 22–24, 31–27, 26–24, 34–29 | ||
| Pts: Dwyane Wade 36 Rebs: D. Jones, Wade 7 each Asts: D. Jones, O'Neal 5 each |
Pts: Richard Hamilton 33 Rebs: Rasheed Wallace 8 Asts: Richard Hamilton 5 | |
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Dan Crawford, Greg Willard, Joe Forte |
May 31
8:00 pm |
| Miami Heat 96, Detroit Pistons 106 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–25, 25–35, 23–19, 27–27 | ||
| Pts: Dwyane Wade 28 Rebs: Eddie Jones 10 Asts: Dwyane Wade 6 |
Pts: Richard Hamilton 28 Rebs: Ben Wallace 15 Asts: Richard Hamilton 8 | |
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Derrick Stafford, Jack Nies, Joe Crawford |
June 2
8:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 76, Miami Heat 88 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 13–25, 21–20, 16–15 | ||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 21 Rebs: Antonio McDyess 9 Asts: Richard Hamilton 5 |
Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 20 Rebs: Udonis Haslem 13 Asts: Damon Jones 6 | |
June 4
8:00 pm |
| Miami Heat 66, Detroit Pistons 91 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–17, 16–27, 13–24, 21–23 | ||
| Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 24 Rebs: Shaquille O'Neal 13 Asts: Damon Jones 6 |
Pts: Richard Hamilton 24 Rebs: Prince, R. Wallace 9 each Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 | |
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Bernie Fryer, Dan Crawford |
June 6
8:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 88, Miami Heat 82 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 24–17, 19–26, 24–16 | ||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 22 Rebs: Ben Wallace 9 Asts: Chauncey Billups 8 |
Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 27 Rebs: Udonis Haslem 10 Asts: Dwyane Wade 4 | |
| Detroit wins the series, 4–3 | ||
Last Playoffs meeting: 2000 Eastern Conference First Round (Miami won 3–0)
NBA finals
(W2) San Antonio Spurs vs. (E2) Detroit Pistons
- All times are in Eastern Daylight Time (UTC−4)
June 9
8:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 69, San Antonio Spurs 84 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 20–17, 17–18, 14–20, 18–29 | ||
| Pts: Chauncey Billups 25 Rebs: Ben Wallace 8 Asts: Chauncey Billups 6 |
Pts: Manu Ginóbili 26 Rebs: Tim Duncan 17 Asts: Horry, Parker 3 each | |
June 12
8:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 76, San Antonio Spurs 97 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 19–30, 23–28, 21–21, 13–18 | ||
| Pts: Chauncey Billups 25 Rebs: Ben Wallace 8 Asts: Chauncey Billups 6 |
Pts: Manu Ginóbili 26 Rebs: Tim Duncan 17 Asts: Horry, Parker 3 each | |
June 14
9:00 pm |
| San Antonio Spurs 79, Detroit Pistons 96 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 27–21, 15–20, 23–29, 14–26 | ||
| Pts: Tony Parker 21 Rebs: Tim Duncan 10 Asts: Duncan, Parker 4 each |
Pts: Richard Hamilton 24 Rebs: Ben Wallace 11 Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 | |
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Bob Delaney, Joe Crawford |
June 16
9:00 pm |
| San Antonio Spurs 71, Detroit Pistons 102 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 17–23, 19–28, 21–23, 14–28 | ||
| Pts: Tim Duncan 16 Rebs: Tim Duncan 16 Asts: Bowen, Parker 4 each |
Pts: Billups, Hunter 17 each Rebs: Ben Wallace 13 Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 | |
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Dick Bavetta, Eddie F. Rush, Joe DeRosa |
June 19
9:00 pm |
| San Antonio Spurs 96, Detroit Pistons 95 (OT) | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 21–23, 21–19, 22–21, 25–26, Overtime: 7–6 | ||
| Pts: Tim Duncan 26 Rebs: Tim Duncan 19 Asts: Manu Ginóbili 9 |
Pts: Chauncey Billups 34 Rebs: Ben Wallace 12 Asts: Chauncey Billups 7 | |
The Palace of Auburn Hills, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Attendance: 22,076 Referees: Mike Callahan, Ron Garretson, Steve Javie |
June 21
8:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 95, San Antonio Spurs 86 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 23–23, 23–24, 25–20, 24–19 | ||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 23 Rebs: Ben Wallace 9 Asts: Chauncey Billups 6 |
Pts: Duncan, Ginóbili 21 each Rebs: Tim Duncan 15 Asts: Tony Parker 5 | |
June 23
8:00 pm |
| Detroit Pistons 74, San Antonio Spurs 81 | ||
| Scoring by quarter: 16–18, 23–20, 18–19, 17–24 | ||
| Pts: Richard Hamilton 15 Rebs: Ben Wallace 11 Asts: Chauncey Billups 8 |
Pts: Tim Duncan 25 Rebs: Tim Duncan 11 Asts: Manu Ginóbili 4 | |
| San Antonio wins the NBA Finals, 4–3 | ||
Last Playoffs Meeting: This is the first meeting between the Spurs and Pistons.
Player statistics
Miller:26. 6
Playoffs
Awards and records
- Ben Wallace, NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award
- Ben Wallace, All-NBA Third Team
- Ben Wallace, NBA All-Defensive First Team
- Chauncey Billups, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
- Tayshaun Prince, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
Transactions
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