Recap
After their tough loss in the NBA Finals the Pistons would find themselves in a new home as they left the cavernous Silverdome for a beautiful new Place in the Detroit suburb of Auburn Hills. In their new home the Pistons seemed to get tougher and nastier as they posted a franchise best record of 63-19 for their second straight Central Division title. A potential trap lay ahead of them in the playoffs as they faced the Boston Celtics in the first round. However, the Pistons would not lose their focus, as they easily knocked of the banged up Celtics in 3 straight games. Moving on to the second round the Piston continued to roll as they swept the Milwaukee Bucks in 4 straight to reach the Eastern Conference Finals. In the Eastern Finals for the 3rd straight year the Pistons were now the team that had been through al the battles who were facing an upstart Chicago Bulls team led by Michael Jordan, who had taken 2 of the first 3 games against the Pistons. Needing to win Game 4 on the road the Pistons rose to the occasion evening the series with an 86-80 win in a hard fought defensive battle. The Pistons would go on to win the series sin 6 games to set a rematch with Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals. In the Finals the Pistons would get off to a fast start taking the first 2 games at home. As the series shifted to Los Angeles the Pistons physical play would begin to take effect on the Lakers as the Lakers endured several key injuries including to Magic Johnson. The Pistons would take full advantage of the hobbled Lakers by completing the 4-game series sweep with 2 wins at the Forum to win their first NBA championship in franchise history, as Joe Dumars won the NBA Finals MVP.