Chauncey Billups says the Lakers should have swept the Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals: "Our style against theirs was superior"

The Detroit Pistons entered the 2004 NBA Finals as heavy underdogs to the Los Angeles Lakers . According to Las Vegas oddsmakers, the Lakers had an 87.5% implied probability of winning the championship.

However, in what was one of the biggest upsets in NBA Finals history, the Pistons defeated the Lakers 4-1 to win the 2004 NBA championship. Looking back, 2004 Finals MVP Chauncey Billups admitted that the Lakers should have swept the Pistons.

“If you look at the names on the back of the jerseys," said Billiups on ESPN's Hoop Streams. "Yeah, they should have swept us. They really should have."

The Lakers had a star-studded lineup

What Billups meant was the Lakers had a star-studded lineup that was supposed to run over the Pistons. L.A.'s stars included Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Horace Grant, Bryon Russell, Brian Cook, Rick Fox, Derek Fisher, and Devean George. But while the Lakers were a powerhouse on paper, they were actually an old team and did not have the chemistry of a champion squad.

Although the Pistons were not as star-studded as the Lakers, they had better chemistry, more youth, and hungrier players. They were also a powerhouse defensive team with a defensive rating of 95.4 points per 100 possessions allowed and ranked in the Top 10 in all defensive categories except opponents' offensive rebounds, steals, and blocks.

“But as you know, and you get that deep in the season, most of the time, the most connected team will come out on top, and I just felt like, you know, styles make fights, and our style against theirs was superior even in the regular season when we played them," added Billups.

GP didn't see it coming

Lakers point guard Payton, who played against Michael Jordan's Bulls in the 1996 NBA Final, said that he didn't expect the Pistons to dominate the Lakers. According to GP, the Pistons weren't a team in the mold of Michael Jordan's Bulls, nor did they have a star like MJ. But they played well and had the Lakers' number.

"Detroit was a team where we weren't expecting the way they played, and they played out of their mind,'" said Payton. "Ben Wallace changed the game, Chauncey was having a great shooting series, Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince were playing well; everybody was playing well, and Rasheed Wallace was with 'em."

The Pistons' defense held the Lakers, who averaged 98.2 PPG during the regular season, to only 81.8 PPG in the series and forced them to shoot just 41.6% from the floor. Billups waxed hot with shooting splits of .509/.471/.929 for 21.0 PPG. And the Pistons pulled off one of the most stunning upsets in the history of the NBA Finals.

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