Rank the players in 2004 Pistons squad

[CodeBreaker]

Everyone knows that there was no superstar in that squad that won the 2004 NBA Championship,
and each was deserving for the Finals MVP imo. Those 5 should have gotten the Finals MVP that series.

But can we rank the players, especially the starting five of the team?
Who was the best player? Who made the least impact?

I will post my rankings later on.

[Canadafan]

1.Ben
2.Billups
3.Sheed
4.Rip
5.Tay
6+7 Pitbulls
8.Corliss
9.Memo
10.Elden

I miss those days.
Wish we wouldn't have lost Memo and traded Corliss too damnnnnn

[Pharaoh]

Ben
Sheed
Chauncey
LB
Rip
Tayshaun

Daylight

Corliss
Hunter/James
Memo/Elden

[The Penguin]

1.Ben
2.Billups
3.Sheed
4.Rip
5.Tay
6+7 Pitbulls
8.Corliss
9.Memo
10.Elden

I miss those days.
Wish we wouldn't have lost Memo and traded Corliss too damnnnnn

Mike James was an underrated loss and contributor too. There's so many "what ifs" with that team, obviously there's Darko, but James had some big years after we let him walk and we needed to trade a 1st for garbage Carlos Arroyo to replace him. Okur would have been very hard to keep (actually impossible I believe, I think he was similar to Gilbert Arenas with the Warriors, we couldn't sign him to anywhere near what Utah could), but guys like James and Corliss could have really helped in some tight series if Davidson was willing to go into the tax.

[Snakebites]

1) Chauncey
2) Ben
3) Rasheed
4) Rip
5) Tayshaun
6) Corliss
7) James
8) Memo (would be higher if LB had actually been willing to play him in the playoffs)
9) Hunter
10) Elden (seldom)

Yeah, I know its blasphemous not putting Ben first, but this is genuinely how I feel about those teams. I love Ben but might have considered Rasheed over him if he'd played the entire season with us.

[mattao313]

1.Ben

2. Chauncey

3. Rip
4. Rasheed


5. Prince

6. Corliss

7. Hunter
8. James
9. Okur

[Cowology]

I'm not sure it's fair to evaluate them in this manor since the team worked because of how well the players complimented and played off each other. Princes defense was effective because he had Ben/Sheed behind him. Ben could suck on offense because Sheed was so versatile, Rip so consistent and Billups so clutch. Our starters could rest because of our depth. If you held a gun to my head I'd probably say Sheed was the best player, but also inconsistent.

1) Ben/Sheed/Billups
2) Rip

3) Tay

[DetroitSho]

I don't see how Tayshaun gets ranked in the top 5-6 on anyone's list. He was at best 7th best in my opinion.

[CodeBreaker]

1. Ben (Heart and soul of the team)
2. Chauncey (Floor leader)
3. Rip (Primary scorer)
4. Rasheed (THE missing piece)
5. Prince (glue guy)
----- all guys above had huge significant role for the team.
6. Williamson
7. Hunter
8. James
9. Okur
10. Campbell

[haulerch]

1. Tremaine Fowlkes

[Uncle Mxy]

I don't see how Tayshaun gets ranked in the top 5-6 on anyone's list. He was at best 7th best in my opinion.

Locks down Kobe, after The Block on Reggie Miller? 7th? Really?

[ChuckVanBrown]

I think the variance in rankings demonstrates how deep and balanced that squad was. In my book, you can make a reasonable case with many rankings. Below is mine:

1. Ben (defensive anchor, set the tone)
2 Billups (#1 and 2 could be switched)
3. Sheed
4. Rip (#3and 4 could also be switched)
5. Prince

6. Corliss
7. Hunter
8. James
9. Memo

That's a rock solid 9-man rotation. The 2005 squad suffered by losing a lot of those reserve players.

[hoophabit]

Well, I'm going out there on this one! 1. is Sheed all day long. Billups and Ben were great, but it was when Sheed came aboard that the Pistons ascended. A versatile stretch big who made it all work. Billups is a solid leader and clutch scorer who is fairly in the discussion.

[CodeBreaker]

Well, I'm going out there on this one! 1. is Sheed all day long. Billups and Ben were great, but it was when Sheed came aboard that the Pistons ascended. A versatile stretch big who made it all work. Billups is a solid leader and clutch scorer who is fairly in the discussion.

I think Rip was more clutch than Chauncey. It's just me

[DetroitSho]

I don't see how Tayshaun gets ranked in the top 5-6 on anyone's list. He was at best 7th best in my opinion.

Locks down Kobe, after The Block on Reggie Miller? 7th? Really?

Yep really. Truth of the matter is I can go up and down the list of guys and pull moments they've all had to make my case, that doesn't make that person a better player. Tayshaun wasn't elite at any individual thing on the basketball court. The other 4 guys in the starting lineup each had one thing that you could argue that they were the best in the NBA, or at least top 3, at.

Then you had Corliss who was great in the post and had proven himself as the best player in the league off the bench. So that's 5 in front of Tayshaun off top. Then you start to question whether Tayshaun was even as good guarding the wing scorers as Lindsey was guarding the perimeter. Tayshaun was extremely smart in using his big guys as deterrents for anyone who thought about driving the lane which allowed him to use his length to his advantage to get in his guy's face. But what Lindsey was doing was mostly individual. He made guys' lives a living hell just bringing the ball up and properly getting into their sets. You don't need a devastating rim protecting combo behind you for that.

I'm not just about to automatically put him in the top 5 just because he was a starter. I feel like on any given night if you needed more from any of those particular guys they could give you more. Ben would go out and grab 25 rebounds if he felt the team needed it. Rasheed would live in the low post more if LB needed him to do it that night. Hell even Memo could have given more if called upon. But if you went to Tayshaun and said Rip is out tonight, we need you to help pick up the scoring slack, instead of scoring 12 he'd score 14. Dude just was what he was.