1987–88 Detroit Pistons season

1987–88 Detroit Pistons season
Eastern Conference Champions
Head coach Chuck Daly
General manager Jack McCloskey
Owner(s) William Davidson
Arena Pontiac Silverdome
Joe Louis Arena
Results
Record 54–28 (.659)
Place Division: 1st (Central)
Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish NBA Finals
(Eliminated 3–4)

Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com

Local media
Television PASS Sports, WKBD
Radio WWJ–AM
A ticket for Game 1 of the 1988 NBA Finals at The Forum.

The 1987-88 season saw the Pistons advance to NBA Finals, only to lose to a Los Angeles Lakers squad that featured Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and James Worthy.

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
2 24 Fred Banks  United States Nevada-Las Vegas
3 65 Eric White PF  United States Pepperdine
4 88 Dave Popson PF/C  United States North Carolina
5 111 Gerry Wright  United States Iowa
6 134 Antoine Joubert  United States Michigan
7 157 Mark Gottfried G  United States Alabama

Roster

Depth chart

Pos. Starter Bench Reserve Inactive
C Bill Laimbeer James Edwards Chuck Nevitt William Bedford
Darryl Dawkins
PF Rick Mahorn John Salley
SF Adrian Dantley Dennis Rodman
SG Joe Dumars Vinnie Johnson Ralph Lewis
Walker Russell
PG Isiah Thomas

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Detroit Pistons 54 28 .659 – 34–7 20–21 20–10
x-Chicago Bulls 50 32 .610 4 30–11 20–21 16–13
x-Atlanta Hawks 50 32 .610 4 30-11 20-21 16–13
x-Milwaukee Bucks 42 40 .512 12 30–11 12–29 13–17
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 42 40 .512 12 31–10 11–30 11–19
Indiana Pacers 38 44 .463 16 25–16 13–28 13–17
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Boston Celtics 57 25 .695 –
2 y-Detroit Pistons 54 28 .659 3
3 x-Chicago Bulls 50 32 .610 7
4 x-Atlanta Hawks 50 32 .610 7
5 x-Milwaukee Bucks 42 40 .512 15
6 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 42 40 .512 15
7 x-Washington Bullets 38 44 .463 19
8 x-New York Knicks 38 44 .463 19
9 Indiana Pacers 38 44 .463 19
10 Philadelphia 76ers 36 46 .439 21
11 New Jersey Nets 19 63 .232 38

Game log

1987–88 game log
Total: 54–28 (Home: 34–7; Road: 20–21)
1987–88 season schedule

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Average

Player GP REB AST STL BLK PTS AVG
Adrian Dantley 69 227 171 39 10 1380 20.0
Dennis Rodman 82 715 110 75 45 953 11.6

Playoffs

East First Round

(2) Detroit Pistons vs. (7) Washington Bullets: Pistons win series 3–2

Last Playoff Meeting: 1987 Eastern Conference First Round (Detroit won 3–0)

East Conference Semifinals

(2) Detroit Pistons vs. (3) Chicago Bulls: Pistons win series 4–1

Last Playoff Meeting: 1974 Western Conference Semifinals (Chicago won 4–3)

East Conference Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Detroit Pistons: Pistons win series 4–2

Last Playoff Meeting: 1987 Eastern Conference Finals (Boston won 4–3)

NBA finals

Game 1

The Pistons had just dispatched the Celtics in six games, while the Lakers were coming off back-to-back seven-game wins over the Utah Jazz and Dallas Mavericks. The Lakers were tired, and it showed. Adrian Dantley scored 34 points, hitting 14 of 16 shots from the field. The Pistons took control of the game with six seconds left in the first half when Bill Laimbeer hit a 3-point shot to put the Pistons up 54–40. Isiah Thomas then stole an inbound pass at halfcourt and let fly with another three-pointer which hit nothing but net at the halftime buzzer. The Pistons had a 57–40 halftime lead and never looked back, stealing Game 1 with a 105–93 win.

Game 2

Facing the possibility of going down 2–0 with three games to play in Detroit, the veteran Lakers found resolve with a 108–96 win. James Worthy led the Lakers with 26 points, Byron Scott had 24, and Magic Johnson 23 despite battling the flu.

Game 3

With Magic still battling the flu, the Lakers got a key win in Detroit, 99–86, to go up 2–1 in games. The Lakers took control of the game in the third period, outscoring the Pistons 31-14. Despite his illness, Magic had 18 points, 14 assists, and six rebounds.

Game 4

With pride in front of their home fans, the Pistons tied the series at 2–2 with a 111–86 blowout win. The Pistons decided to attack the basket and make Magic Johnson defend. Johnson wound up on the bench early in the second half with foul trouble.

With Magic out of the game, the Pistons built a substantial lead. During timeouts, Bill Laimbeer was almost frantic. He kept saying, "No letup! We don't let up!" They didn't, and blew out the defending NBA champions by 25 points.

Left open by the trapping Lakers defense, Dantley led the team with 27 points. Vinnie Johnson came off the bench to add 16 while James Edwards had 14 points and five rebounds off the bench.

Game 5

The Pistons' 104-94 victory was a perfect farewell to the Pontiac Silverdome. "I told Joe Dumars with a minute left in the game to look around and enjoy this because you'll never see anything like it again," Laimbeer said. "Forty-one thousand people waving towels and standing. It was awesome."

The Lakers opened Game 5 with a fury of physical intimidation, scoring the game's first 12 points. But that approach soon backfired, as the Laker big men got into foul trouble.

Dantley played a major role in the turnaround, scoring 25 points, 19 of them in the first half, to rally the Pistons to a 59-50 halftime lead. Vinnie Johnson added 12 of his 16 points in the first half to keep Detroit moving.

Joe Dumars added 19 points on 9-of-13 shooting to send the Pistons back to Los Angeles, one win away from their first NBA title.

Game 6

This game turned out to be a classic confrontation between a team hungry for their first title (Detroit) and a veteran team with on a mission with their backs to the wall (the Lakers).

The Lakers led 56–48 in the third quarter when Isiah Thomas suddenly began a classic performance. He scored the game's next 14 points, hitting two free throws, a driving layup, four jump shots, and a running bank shot.

On the Pistons' next possession, Thomas stepped on Michael Cooper's foot, rolled his ankle, and had to be helped from the floor. Despite a severe sprain, Thomas returned to the game 35 seconds later and continued his dizzying onslaught. By the end of the third quarter, Thomas had scored 25 points, an NBA Finals record for one quarter, on 11-of-13 shooting. Even better, the Pistons had an 81–79 lead.

The Pistons' momentum carried into the final period as they led 102–99 with a minute left. Byron Scott cut the lead to one with a 14-footer in the lane with 52 seconds remaining. The Lakers then turned up the defense on the Pistons' next possession, forcing Thomas into a desperation 18-footer. Forty-one-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar then got the ball on the Lakers' trip down the floor and posted up Bill Laimbeer for his signature skyhook. As Kareem shot, Laimbeer was whistled for a foul, even though replays showed he barely touched Kareem. Jabbar then coolly sank the two free thows to put the Lakers up 103–102. The lead held up as Thomas, bad ankle and all, missed another shot at the buzzer.

Thomas would end up with 43 points and eight assists, a heroic performance, but it was for naught as the series moved to Game 7.

Game 7

One of the best NBA Finals in recent memory closed out with another classic.

Thomas' ankle was still sore, as evidenced by his limping badly in warmups. He did manage to play the first half, scoring 10 points and leading the Pistons to a 52–47 halftime lead. But, the delay between halves caused the ankle to stiffen, and Thomas could not continue. With Isiah on the bench, the Lakers turned the halftime deficit into a 90–75 lead late in the 4th quarter.

Chuck Daly then went to a faster lineup with Dennis Rodman, John Salley, Joe Dumars, and Vinnie Johnson that created matchup problems for the Lakers and enabled the Pistons to score at a torrid pace. With 3:52 left, Salley canned two free throws to cut the Laker lead to 98-92, sending the Forum fans into a panic.

With 1:17 left, Dumars hit a jump shot to cut the lead to 102–100. Magic Johnson then hit a free throw after a Rodman foul to put the Lakers up by three. On the Pistons' next trip down the floor, Rodman took an ill-advised jumper with 39 seconds left. Byron Scott rebounded and was fouled. His two free throws pushed the lead to 105–100.

After Dumars made a layup, James Worthy hit a free throw and Bill Laimbeer canned a three-pointer, pushing the score to 106–105 with six seconds showing. A. C. Green completed the scoring with a layup off a length-of-the court pass from Magic, making it 108–105, and although the Pistons got the ball to Thomas at midcourt with a second remaining, he fell without getting off a shot.

Worthy racked up a monster triple-double: 36 points, 16 rebounds and 10 assists. For that and his earlier efforts in the series, he was named the Finals MVP.

1988 playoff game log
Eastern Conference First Round: 3–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 0–2)
Game Date
Time		 Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 28, 1988 Washington
2 April 30, 1988 Washington
3 May 2, 1988 @ Washington
4 May 4, 1988 @ Washington
5 May 8, 1988 Washington
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4–1 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–0)
Game Date
Time		 Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 May 10, 1988 Chicago
2 May 12, 1988 Chicago
3 May 14, 1988 @ Chicago
4 May 15, 1988 @ Chicago
5 May 18, 1988 Chicago
Eastern Conference Finals: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1)
Game Date
Time		 Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 May 25, 1988 @ Boston
2 May 26, 2988 @ Boston
3 May 28, 1988 Boston
4 May 30, 1988 Boston
5 June 1, 1988 @ Boston
6 June 3, 1988 Boston
1987–88 season schedule

External links

References

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