Pistons Must Channel the Spirit of 2003 To Mount Another 3–1 Comeback Over Magic

The Pistons find themselves down 3-1 to the Magic, mirroring each team’s 2003 scenario. Can Detroit come out on top again?

Jan 16, 2016; Auburn Hills, MI, USA; (Left to Right) Larry Brown and William Wesley and Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton and Mehmet Okur and Chauncy Billups and Rasheed Wallace and Ben Wallace and Lindsey Hunter pose for a photo after the game against the Golden State Warriors at The Palace of Auburn Hills. The Pistons won 113-95. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-Imagn Images | Raj Mehta-Imagn Images

The Detroit Pistons were able to put together a very impressive regular season, defied and exceeded all expectations, and finished as the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.

The Magic have a young team, and traded for a starting shooting guard that could transform their offense; they underperformed and finished up as the No. 8 seed.

If this gives you déjà vu, then you’ve probably been watching Pistons basketball for upwards of 23 years. 

Flashback

Back in 2003, the Pistons exceeded expectations by earning the No. 1 seed while the Magic underperformed and wound up as the No. 8 seed. This led to an iconic Round 1 matchup that fans on both sides should remember.

The Magic took a shocking 3-1 lead over the Pistons in large part due to the heroics of offseason acquisition Tracy McGrady, mirroring the heroics of Desmond Bane in this year’s playoffs.

However, the Pistons did not roll over. They rallied.

In Game 5, the Pistons put together an impressive team performance but garnered significant help from Ben Wallace who recorded an unreal 21 rebounds and anchored the team defensively as well with four steals and three blocks. 

Jalen Duren will need to step up and play the Ben Wallace role in Game 5 for a Pistons team that has struggled on the boards against Orlando thus far.

Games 6 and 7 were obviously both Pistons victories as well, they won these games primarily due to the heroics of Chauncy Billups who put up 40 and 37 points respectively.

If Cade Cunningham can replicate Billups offensive output in the final two games, then the Pistons might just be able to comeback.

Reality

The reality of the situation is the Magic have put on an impressive showing thus far, and 3-1 comebacks are not at all common in the NBA.

However, teams do not earn the No. 1 seed by accident. The Pistons showed us just that in 2003. If the stars can step up big like they did in 2003, the Magic could be in for trouble.

Duren and Cunningham have had such phenomenal chemistry throughout the season however, they lost some of this consistency when Cunningham was sidelined with his lung injury. Hopefully head coach JB. .Bickerstaff is able to pull the right strings to get these two back on the same page.

If any team is capable of replicating the magic, no pun intended, of the 2003 Pistons team, it is the team that tied the 13 game winning streak of the following season’s championship roster.

Should the Pistons recapture that flow they had during this season's win streak, expect this series to be far from over.