2004 ECF: The Best Defensive Playoff Series of the 21st Century | Full Def Highlights

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2004 NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference Finals
Indiana Pacers vs Detroit Pistons
Full Series Defensive Highlights

Baskets included in this video are ones in which the defensive play led directly to the transition/fast-break score.

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The 2004 Eastern Conference Finals featured 2 mid-2000’s heavyweights whose styles of play exemplified the opposite of what today’s NBA advertises. It’s not a coincidence that the series included the current (at time) and previous season’s Defensive Player of the Year Award winners. The 03-04 campaign saw both Rick Carlisle’s league best 61-win Indiana Pacers and Larry Brown’s 54-win Detroit Pistons finish top 3 in defensive rating (points allowed per 100 possessions). Both squads also placed amidst the bottom 10 in pace (estimate number of possessions per 48 minutes). These metrics went hand in hand. Energy expended by prioritizing defense meant conservative slower paced efforts offensively.

For the Pacers and Pistons, wasted offensive possessions were not the resultant of an aggressive, physical, no easy baskets, rebound treasuring approach. Detroit ranked 12th in turnovers per game, close to league average. Indiana placed 21st, quite impressive. The Pistons’ valuing of possessions is best reflected in their three-point attempts. Brown’s team finished the regular season 26th in that department, a tad under 12 per game. They had capable shooters, but were deliberate in not falling into that trap. Manufacturing quality opportunities inside the arc was more their nature. Utilized heavily was Rip’s midrange lethality, Chauncey’s ability to create downhill or size up smaller point guards, and the Wallace Bros’ bucket finishing aptitude down low.

Designed to limit opponents offensively, both clubs were successful during the regular season. When challenged with the task of facing each other, one of the grimiest, most unattractive and deemed by many “hard to watch” playoff matchups in league history ensued. The highest point total in this series was 85. At least 1 of the team’s scored under 70 in 4 of the 6 games. And besides Rip’s 33 point outburst in game 5, not 1 player scored over 24. Statistically speaking, its peak level of defensive excellence came in game 2 when a combined 26 shot attempts were blocked, the most ever by two teams in a playoff game. Doc said it best mid-way through, “The guys are getting to the bucket, they’re making great plays, but the defense right now is better than the offense.” The series concluding game 6 totaled 134 points (69-65), the 2nd lowest combined playoff score since 1954.

For the series, Detroit managed only 75.2 PPG while shooting an abysmal 37.3% from the field. Using basketballreference.com, I determined that both averages are the lowest among all winning teams of a 21st century playoff series (300 total series have been played since the 2000-01 season). Boston’s 83.0 PPG in their 2002 Semi-Final win against Detroit and Toronto’s 39.3% FG in their 2016 first round victory over Indiana rank 2nd in those respective statistical categories. The following list displays the 10 lowest FG% shot by the winning team of any 21st century playoff series:

1 - 37.3% (75.2p) - Pistons, 2004 ECF (6g)
2 - 39.3% (92.3p) - Raptors, 2016 R1 (7g)
3 - 39.5% (88.3p) - Pacers, 2005 R1 (7g)
4 - 39.6% (86.7p) - Pistons, 2004 R2 (7g)
5 - 39.9% (89.0p) - Kings, 2002 R1 (4g)
6 - 40.1% (90.1p) - 76ers, 2001 ECF (7g)
7 - 40.2% (98.0p) - Kings, 2001 R1 (4g)
8 - 40.3% (90.5p) - Spurs, 2003 R1 (6g)
9 - 40.5% (93.6p) - Grizzlies, 2013 R2 (5g)
10 - 40.7% (86.0p) - 76ers, 2012 R1 (6g)

The 03-04 Pistons set and challenged all-time records during the regular season as well. They tied for the 3rd lowest opponent average since 1954, allowing just 84.26 PPG. Complimenting this was their stretch of 36 consecutive games in which they held opponents under 100 points, a record that is currently still unmatched.

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