2003–04 Los Angeles Lakers season

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2003–04 Los Angeles Lakers season
Pacific Division Champions
Western Conference Champions
Head coach Phil Jackson
General manager Mitch Kupchak
Owner(s) Jerry Buss
Arena Staples Center
Results
Record 56–26 (.683)
Place Division: 1st (Pacific)
Conference: 2nd (Western)
Playoff finish NBA Finals
(eliminated 1–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television Fox Sports Net West, KCAL
Radio AM 570 KLAC
< 2002–03 2004–05 >
File:Lakers Grizzlies 200304.jpg
Horace Grant battles for a jump ball versus Memphis Grizzlies Pau Gasol in November 2003.

The 2003–2004 Los Angeles Lakers reached the 2004 NBA Finals, losing in 5 games to the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers in the offseason signed veteran free agents and former All-Stars Karl Malone and Gary Payton, who were recruited by center Shaquille O'Neal.[1][2] Payton struggled with coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense, which limited his ball-handling and post-up opportunities.[3][4]

Before the season, All-Star guard Kobe Bryant was accused of sexual assault in Colorado. Before games, Bryant often flee to Colorado for court appearances.

The Lakers went on an 18-3 run to start the season. However, they ran into struggles when Malone went down with a knee injury in December, soon followed by ailments to Shaq and Kobe. The "Big Four" of O'Neal, Bryant, Malone, and Payton played in only 20 games together.

Despite all of this, the injury- depleted Lakers still managed a 56-26 record and entered the playoffs as the number 2 seed in the Western Conference, thanks to a pair of Kobe Bryant buzzer-beaters in Portland.

They easily blew past the Houston Rockets led by Steve Francis and a young Yao Ming in five games in the first round. The second round pitted the Lakers against the defending NBA champions the San Antonio Spurs, who defeated the Lakers in last year's playoffs. Though the Spurs took the first two games, the Lakers won the next four games, including Derek Fisher's miracle shot with 0.4 seconds left in Game 5 (a 74-73 Lakers victory) and a Game 6 88-76 victory at home to advance to the Western Conference Finals against the Kevin Garnett-led Minnesota Timberwolves. The Lakers managed to get through a tough Minnesota team, defeating them in six games to advance to the NBA Finals where they would meet the Detroit Pistons.

Though the Lakers were heavily favored to win the title, the Pistons proved too much for the Lakers as they easily went on to win the series in five games.

Game 4 of the NBA Finals was Karl Malone's final NBA game as injuries forced him to sit out the fifth and final game of the series. In Game 4, Malone was limited to just two points.

Game 5 was the last time O'Neal and Bryant played together as teammates as O'Neal went to the Miami Heat in the off-season after the beef between the duo.

Phil Jackson resigned after the season. He later wrote a book about the team's season in which he voiced disdain for Kobe Bryant, calling him "uncoachable".

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 24 Brian Cook F  United States Illinois
2 32 Luke Walton F  United States Arizona

Roster

Los Angeles Lakers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From
SG 8 Bryant, Kobe 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Lower Merion HS (PA)
PF 7 Cook, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 234 lb (106 kg) Illinois
PG 2 Fisher, Derek 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Arkansas-Little Rock
SF 17 Fox, Rick 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) North Carolina
SF 3 George, Devean 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Augsburg
PF 54 Grant, Horace 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Clemson
PF 11 Malone, Karl 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Louisiana Tech
PF 14 Medvedenko, Slava 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 253 lb (115 kg) Ukraine
C 34 O'Neal, Shaquille 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 325 lb (147 kg) LSU
PG 20 Payton, Gary 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Oregon State
SG 21 Rush, Kareem 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Missouri
SF 9 Russell, Bryon 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Long Beach State
C 31 Sampson, Jamal 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) California
SF 4 Walton, Luke 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Arizona
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Pacific Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Los Angeles Lakers 56 26 .683 – 34–7 22–19 15–9
x-Sacramento Kings 55 27 .671 1 34–7 21–20 16–8
Portland Trail Blazers 41 41 .500 15 25–16 16–25 13–11
Seattle SuperSonics 37 45 .451 19 21–20 16–25 11–13
Golden State Warriors 37 45 .451 19 27–14 10–31 12–12
Phoenix Suns 29 53 .354 27 18–23 11–30 9–15
Los Angeles Clippers 28 54 .341 28 18–23 10–31 8–16


# Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Minnesota Timberwolves 58 24 .707 –
2 y-Los Angeles Lakers 56 26 .683 2
3 x-San Antonio Spurs 57 25 .695 1
4 x-Sacramento Kings 55 27 .671 3
5 x-Dallas Mavericks 52 30 .634 6
6 x-Memphis Grizzlies 50 32 .610 8
7 x-Houston Rockets 45 37 .549 13
8 x-Denver Nuggets 43 39 .524 15
9 Utah Jazz 42 40 .512 16
10 Portland Trail Blazers 41 41 .500 17
11 Seattle SuperSonics 37 45 .451 21
12 Golden State Warriors 37 45 .451 21
13 Phoenix Suns 29 53 .354 29
14 Los Angeles Clippers 28 54 .341 30


Game log

Playoffs

West First Round

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (7) Houston Rockets: Lakers win series 4–1

Last Playoff Meeting: 1999 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 3-1)

West Conference Semifinals

File:SPURSStadium.jpg
The Lakers playing against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 1 of the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals at the SBC Center.

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (3) San Antonio Spurs: Lakers win series 4–2

Last Playoff Meeting: 2003 Western Conference Semifinals (San Antonio won 4-2)

West Conference Finals

(1) Minnesota Timberwolves vs. (2) Los Angeles Lakers: Lakers win series 4–2

Last Playoff Meeting: 2003 Western Conference First Round (Los Angeles won 4-2)

NBA Finals

Series Summary

Team/Game 1 2 (OT) 3 4 5 Wins
Los Angeles (West) 75 99 68 80 87 1
Detroit (East) 87 91 88 88 100 4
  • (OT) denotes a game that required overtime.

The Finals were played using a 2-3-2 site format, where the first two and last two games are held at the team with home court advantage. This is only used in the Finals, all other playoff games are held in a 2-2-1-1-1 format (the team with home court advantage starts).[5]

Aspects

The Lakers had a lineup of stars such as Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Kobe Bryant, and Shaquille O'Neal - their offensive capability was expected to overpower Detroit's defensive-based gameplan.

Payton and Malone also added to the publicity of the Finals. Perennial All-Stars who had both previously reached the Finals, Payton had led the Seattle SuperSonics there in 1996, while Malone had led the Utah Jazz there in 1997 and 1998.[6] However, Michael Jordan and the Bulls denied them championship rings a total of three times. By the time of Jordan's retirement in 2003, the two veterans were aged and failed to lead their teams deep into the playoffs.[6][7] Thus, this Finals series was seen as the last chance for two of the greatest players in NBA history to finally become NBA champions (Later on, Malone retired while Payton became a champion as a key bench player for the Miami Heat).

Game One

Sunday, June 6, 2004, 14:30 at the Staples Center.

Considered to be a stunning upset by most of the NBA world, the Detroit Pistons managed to defeat the Lakers with imposing defense.[8] Defensively clamping down on everyone but Bryant and O'Neal, the Pistons managed to hold everyone else to a total of 16 points.

The Pistons trailed the Lakers 41–40 at halftime, but a 10–4 surge capped by Billups's 3-pointer gave the Pistons the lead. O'Neal's foul trouble furthered the scoring gap, with the Pistons leading by 13 points early in the fourth quarter.

Box Score

Team 1st Qt. 2nd Qt. 3rd Qt. 4th Qt. Total
Detroit 22 18 24 23 87
Los Angeles 19 22 17 17 75

Game Two

Tuesday, June 8, 2004, 15:04 at the Staples Center.

The second game was close throughout the first half, but in the third quarter Detroit would score 30 points, cutting the deficit 68–66. However, at the end of the fourth quarter, Kobe Bryant's 3-point shot at 2.1 seconds to go would tie the game at 89–89. The Lakers and Pistons would then go to overtime, with the Lakers outscoring the Pistons 10–2.

Box Score

Team 1st Qt. 2nd Qt. 3rd Qt. 4th Qt. OT Total
Detroit 16 20 30 23 2 91
Los Angeles 18 26 24 21 10 99

Game Three

Thursday, June 10, 2004, 14:31 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Pistons beat Los Angeles by 20 in their first NBA Finals appearance together at The Palace of Auburn Hills since 1989[9] to take a 2–1 lead in the series. The 68 points scored by the Lakers set a franchise record for the fewest number of points scored in a playoff game.

Box Score

Team 1st Qt. 2nd Qt. 3rd Qt. 4th Qt. Total
Los Angeles 16 16 19 17 68
Detroit 24 15 24 25 88

Game Four

Sunday, June 13, 2004, 14:49 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Again, the Pistons defeated the Lakers, although this time by eight, to take a 3–1 series advantage.

Box Score

Team 1st Qt. 2nd Qt. 3rd Qt. 4th Qt. Total
Los Angeles 22 17 17 24 80
Detroit 21 20 15 32 88

Game Five

Tuesday, June 15, 2004, 14:32 at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

In Game 5, the Pistons won their first championship since 1990, and Larry Brown finally won his title. The Pistons defense had overcome the high-scoring Laker offense, winning the game by 13, winning the series 4-1, and also ending a long Laker dynasty that lasted for many years. The game saw the end of Phil Jackson's first run as the coach (he returned for the 2005-06 season), and saw O'Neal, Payton, and Malone's last games in Laker uniforms (O'Neal and Payton were both acquired by the soon-to-be NBA Champions Miami Heat and Malone retired).

Box Score

Team 1st Qt. 2nd Qt. 3rd Qt. 4th Qt. Total
Los Angeles 24 21 14 28 87
Detroit 25 30 27 18 100

Player stats

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

Playoffs

Award winners

Transactions

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See also

References

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External links

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