In 2004 the Detroit Pistons shocked the basketball world when they pull the upset against the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA finals. Rip Hamilton was the starting shooting guard on the team, believes that team would beat the 2016-17 Warriors.
“It would be no comparison.” Hamilton said on CBS Sports’ NBA Crossover. “We can guard every position. Every guy from our point guard to our five, can guard any position. We were big. We were long.”
That Pistons team was great on defense as they held Kobe Bryant to 35 percent shooting in the 2004 finals, but to the Warriors defense the game is played way less physical then the early 2000’s. Many former players have taken shots at the Warriors saying that they could be beaten if the league still allowed physical play on defense. Tayshaun Prince spoke on the comparison admitting they would have problems playing the team with todays rules.
“It depends on what the rules are.” Prince said. “Because back when we played, we could play hands-on, physical. As you can see from the Pacers rivalries and all of the rivalries we had back in the day, we were scoring in the high 70s, low 80s. We were physical. So now if you play this style of play, where they’re running and gunning and touch fouls and things like that, all of sudden we would start getting in foul trouble because back when we played, we were very, very aggressive on defense.”
Prince who was a great defender understands how the game has changed, Hamilton might be still stuck in the past but his confidence is still there just like when he played on the basketball court.