2001–02 Detroit Pistons season

2001–02 Detroit Pistons season
Division champions
Head coachRick Carlisle
PresidentJoe Dumars
General managerJoe Dumars
OwnerBill Davidson
ArenaThe Palace of Auburn Hills
Results
Record50–32 (.610)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Central)
Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishConference semifinals
(lost to Celtics 1–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference

The 2001–02 Detroit Pistons season was the 61st season for the Detroit Pistons, their 54th season in the National Basketball Association, and their 45th season in Detroit, Michigan.[1] After missing the playoffs the previous season, the Pistons received the ninth overall pick in the 2001 NBA draft, and selected small forward Rodney White from the University of Charlotte.[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team acquired Clifford Robinson from the Phoenix Suns,[5][6][7] acquired three-point specialist Jon Barry from the Sacramento Kings,[8][9][10] signed free agent Damon Jones, and hired Rick Carlisle as their new head coach.[11][12][13]

The Pistons won 14 of their first 20 games of the regular season, but then suffered a 7-game losing streak in December as part of a 5–14 stretch to fall to a 19–20 record. Unlike previous seasons during the 1990s, the Pistons would rebound from the tough stretch to win 15 of their next 18 games. After a 26–21 record at the All-Star break,[14] the Pistons won 24 of their final 35 games of the season, winning the Central Division title with a 50–32 record, the franchise's first Division title since the 1989–90 season,[15] thanks to a 123–89 home victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on the final day of the regular season.[16][17][18] The Pistons earned the second seed in the Eastern Conference, and returned to the NBA playoffs after a one-year absence. Carlisle was named the NBA Coach of the Year, after leading his team to an 18-game improvement over the previous season.[19][20][21]

Jerry Stackhouse averaged 21.4 points and 5.3 assists per game, while Robinson averaged 14.6 points and 4.8 rebounds per game, contributed 115 three-point field goals, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Corliss Williamson provided the team with 13.6 points and 4.1 rebounds per game off the bench, and was named the NBA Sixth Man of the Year.[22][23][24] In addition, Chucky Atkins contributed 12.1 points and 3.3 assists per game, and led the Pistons with 138 three-point field goals, while Ben Wallace averaged 7.6 points, 13.0 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 3.5 blocks per game, and was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year,[25][26][27] and was also named to the All-NBA Third Team, and to the NBA All-Defensive First Team. Off the bench, Barry contributed 9.0 points per game and 121 three-point field goals, while rookie center Željko Rebrača provided with 6.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, Jones contributed 5.1 points per game, and starting small forward Michael Curry averaged 4.0 points per game.[28]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the First Union Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Rebrača was selected for the NBA Rookie Challenge Game, as a member of the Rookies team;[29][30] despite a stellar season, Stackhouse was not selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game.[31] Wallace finished in tenth place in Most Valuable Player voting, and also finished in second place in Most Improved Player voting, behind Jermaine O'Neal of the Indiana Pacers.[32][33]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 2002 NBA playoffs, the Pistons faced off against the 7th–seeded Toronto Raptors, a team that featured All-Star center Antonio Davis, second-year forward Morris Peterson, and Alvin Williams; the Raptors were without All-Star guard Vince Carter, who was out due to a season-ending left knee injury.[34][35][36] The Pistons won the first two games over the Raptors at home at The Palace of Auburn Hills, but then lost the next two games on the road, which included a Game 4 loss to the Raptors at the Air Canada Centre, 89–83. With the series tied at 2–2, the Pistons won Game 5 over the Raptors at The Palace of Auburn Hills, 85–82 to win in a hard-fought five-game series, and advance to the second round of the NBA playoffs for the first time since the 1990–91 season.[37][38][39]

In the Eastern Conference Semi-finals, the team faced off against the 3rd–seeded Boston Celtics, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Paul Pierce, All-Star forward Antoine Walker, and Kenny Anderson. The Pistons won Game 1 over the Celtics at The Palace of Auburn Hills, 96–84.[40][41] However, the team lost Game 2 at home, 85–77, and then lost the next two games to the Celtics on the road, including a Game 4 loss at the FleetCenter, 90–79 as the Celtics took a 3–1 series lead. The Pistons lost Game 5 to the Celtics at The Palace of Auburn Hills, 90–81, thus losing the series in five games.[42][43][44]

The Pistons finished eleventh in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 760,807 at The Palace of Auburn Hills during the regular season.[28][45] Following the season, Stackhouse was traded to the Washington Wizards after four in a half seasons with the Pistons,[46][47][48] while White was traded to the Denver Nuggets,[49] and Dana Barros was released to free agency.

For the season, the Pistons changed the colors of their primary logo of a flaming horse head above the team's name with a basketball underneath, replacing the color teal with the team's traditional color scheme of red, white and blue;[50] the team also changed their uniforms.[51][52] The team's primary logo and new uniforms would both remain in use until 2005.

Draft picks

Main article: 2001 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 9 Rodney White SF/PF  United States North Carolina-Charlotte
2 37 Mehmet Okur C/PF  Turkey

Roster

2001–02 Detroit Pistons roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
C 9 Victor Alexander 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 265 lb (120 kg) 1969–08–31 Iowa State
G 7 Chucky Atkins 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1974–08–14 South Florida
G 1 Dana Barros 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 163 lb (74 kg) 1967–04–13 Boston College
G 20 Jon Barry 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1969–07–25 Georgia Tech
F 35 Brian Cardinal 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1977–05–02 Purdue
G/F 12 Michael Curry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1968–08–22 Georgia Southern
G 14 Damon Jones 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1976–08–25 Houston
C 31 Mikki Moore 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1975–11–04 Nebraska
C 39 Željko Rebrača 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 257 lb (117 kg) 1972–04–09 Serbia
F 30 Clifford Robinson 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1966–12–16 Connecticut
G/F 42 Jerry Stackhouse 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1974–11–05 North Carolina
C 44 Ratko Varda 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 247 lb (112 kg) 1979–05–06 Serbia
F/C 3 Ben Wallace 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1974–09–10 Virginia Union
F 5 Rodney White 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 238 lb (108 kg) 1980–06–28 Charlotte
F 34 Corliss Williamson 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1973–12–04 Arkansas
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster
Updated: October 29, 2001

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Detroit Pistons 50 32 .610 – 26–15 24–17 20–8
x-Charlotte Hornets 44 38 .537 6 21–20 23–18 17–11
x-Toronto Raptors 42 40 .512 8 24–17 18–23 17–11
x-Indiana Pacers 42 40 .512 8 25–16 17–24 13–15
e-Milwaukee Bucks 41 41 .500 9 25–16 16–25 17–11
e-Atlanta Hawks 33 49 .402 17 23–18 10–31 11–17
e-Cleveland Cavaliers 29 53 .354 21 20–21 9–32 12–16
e-Chicago Bulls 21 61 .256 29 14–27 7–34 5–23
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-New Jersey Nets 52 30 .634 –
2 y-Detroit Pistons 50 32 .610 2
3 x-Boston Celtics 49 33 .598 3
4 x-Charlotte Hornets 44 38 .537 8
5 x-Orlando Magic 44 38 .537 8
6 x-Philadelphia 76ers 43 39 .524 9
7 x-Toronto Raptors 42 40 .512 10
8 x-Indiana Pacers 42 40 .512 10
9 e-Milwaukee Bucks 41 41 .500 11
10 e-Washington Wizards 37 45 .451 15
11 e-Miami Heat 36 46 .439 16
12 e-Atlanta Hawks 33 49 .402 19
13 e-New York Knicks 30 52 .366 22
14 e-Cleveland Cavaliers 29 53 .354 23
15 e-Chicago Bulls 21 61 .256 31
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Game log

Playoffs

2002 playoff game log
First Round: 3–2 (home: 3–0; road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 21 Toronto W 85–63 Jerry Stackhouse (20) Ben Wallace (20) Jerry Stackhouse (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076 		1–0
2 April 24 Toronto W 96–91 Jerry Stackhouse (31) Ben Wallace (15) three players tied (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076 		2–0
3 April 27 @ Toronto L 84–94 Chucky Atkins (21) Ben Wallace (11) Jerry Stackhouse (4) Air Canada Centre
20,138 		2–1
4 April 29 @ Toronto L 83–89 Chucky Atkins (20) Ben Wallace (12) Clifford Robinson (6) Air Canada Centre
20,112 		2–2
5 May 2 Toronto W 85–82 Corliss Williamson (23) Ben Wallace (17) Jerry Stackhouse (7) The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076 		3–2
Conference semifinals: 1–4 (home: 1–2; road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 May 5 Boston W 96–84 Clifford Robinson (30) Ben Wallace (12) Atkins, Stackhouse (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills
20,252 		1–0
2 May 8 Boston L 77–85 Jerry Stackhouse (25) Ben Wallace (16) Chucky Atkins (4) The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076 		1–1
3 May 10 @ Boston L 64–66 Jerry Stackhouse (19) Ben Wallace (21) Clifford Robinson (5) FleetCenter
18,624 		1–2
4 May 12 @ Boston L 79–90 Clifford Robinson (24) Ben Wallace (21) Damon Jones (9) FleetCenter
18,624 		1–3
5 May 14 Boston L 81–90 Chucky Atkins (22) Ben Wallace (16) Robinson, Stackhouse (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills
22,076 		1–4
2002 schedule

Player statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Season

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Victor Alexander 15 0 6.5 .353 .000 .500 1.9 .4 .0 .1 2.7
Chucky Atkins 79 62 28.9 .466 .411 .692 2.0 3.3 .9 .1 12.1
Dana Barros 29 20 20.1 .385 .338 .778 2.0 2.7 .5 .1 6.7
Jon Barry 82 6 24.2 .489 .469 .931 2.9 3.3 1.1 .2 9.0
Brian Cardinal 8 0 5.4 .462 .429 1.000 .8 .3 .1 .0 2.1
Michael Curry 82 75 23.3 .453 .269 .791 2.0 1.5 .6 .1 4.0
Damon Jones 67 0 16.2 .401 .371 .729 1.5 2.1 .3 .0 5.1
Mikki Moore 30 0 7.2 .475 .500 .769 1.8 .4 .2 .3 2.6
Zeljko Rebraca 74 4 15.9 .505 .000 .771 3.9 .5 .4 1.0 6.9
Clifford Robinson 80 80 35.7 .425 .378 .694 4.8 2.5 1.1 1.2 14.6
Jerry Stackhouse 76 76 35.3 .397 .287 .858 4.1 5.3 1.0 .5 21.4
Ratko Varda 1 0 6.0 .667 .000 1.000 1.0 .0 .0 .0 5.0
Ben Wallace 80 80 36.5 .531 .000 .423 13.0 1.4 1.7 3.5 7.6
Rodney White 16 0 8.1 .350 .222 .857 1.1 .8 .6 .1 3.5
Corliss Williamson 78 7 21.8 .510 .200 .805 4.1 1.2 .6 .3 13.6

Playoffs

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Victor Alexander 1 0 3.0 .000 1.0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Chucky Atkins 10 10 29.4 .364 .359 .765 2.4 3.4 .6 .1 11.3
Dana Barros 4 0 1.5 .333 .000 .0 .3 .0 .0 .5
Jon Barry 10 0 17.7 .475 .447 .625 2.0 2.1 .5 .1 8.0
Michael Curry 10 10 22.1 .564 .385 .727 1.4 1.2 .4 .0 5.7
Damon Jones 10 0 18.1 .381 .296 .750 2.1 2.5 .5 .0 4.3
Željko Rebrača 5 0 13.8 .455 .786 2.0 .0 .2 .2 4.2
Clifford Robinson 10 10 40.9 .363 .340 .800 3.0 2.9 1.8 1.9 13.2
Jerry Stackhouse 10 10 36.1 .321 .340 .825 4.3 4.3 .6 .6 17.6
Ben Wallace 10 10 40.8 .475 .436 16.1 1.2 1.9 2.6 7.3
Rodney White 1 0 2.0 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Corliss Williamson 10 0 26.9 .464 .000 .763 5.3 1.0 .9 .2 13.3

Player statistics citation:[28]

Awards and records

Transactions

References

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  47. ^ "Stackhouse Goes to Wizards". Los Angeles Times. Staff and Wire Reports. September 12, 2002. Retrieved November 30, 2022.
  48. ^ Wyche, Steve (September 12, 2002). "Wizards Get Stackhouse from Detroit". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
  49. ^ "Pistons Send Rodney White to Denver". United Press International. October 1, 2002. Retrieved October 24, 2022.
  50. ^ "Detroit Pistons Logo". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  51. ^ "Detroit Pistons Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved November 24, 2021.
  52. ^ "Detroit Pistons Uniform". Chris Creamer's Sports Logos Page - SportsLogos.Net. Retrieved November 24, 2021.

See also

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