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1973–74 Buffalo Braves season

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1973–74 Buffalo Braves season
Head coachJack Ramsay
Owner(s)Paul Snyder
ArenaBuffalo Memorial Auditorium
Results
Record42–40 (.512)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Atlantic)
Conference: 4th (Eastern)
Playoff finishLost 1st Round
RadioWBEN (Van Miller)
< 1972–73 1974–75 >

The 1973–74 Buffalo Braves season was the fourth season for the expansion Buffalo Braves franchise in the National Basketball Association and its Atlantic Division. It was the team's second season under head coach Jack Ramsay.[1] The team's official home arena was Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

Bob McAdoo, who finished second in the NBA MVP Award voting, led the league in scoring; Ernie DiGregorio, who won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award, led the league in assists and free throw percentage, and every starter on the team was among the league's top ten in at least one statistical category.

The team finished third in the Atlantic Division and fourth in the Eastern Conference. After three consecutive 60-loss seasons, the team made the NBA playoffs for the first time and became the youngest team to have done so in terms of average player age. They lost in the first round of the playoffs to the eventual champions, the Boston Celtics.

Transactions

Prior to this season the Braves had lost 60 games or more each year and failed to make the NBA Playoffs.[2] Over the course of the season, the team made a series of player transactions that were part of the resume that earned Buffalo Braves General Manager Eddie Donovan the NBA Executive of the Year Award and put the team into the playoffs for the first time..[3]

Prior to the 1973–74 NBA season, Gar Heard and Kevin Kunnert were traded from the Chicago Bulls to the Buffalo Braves for John Hummer, a 1974 NBA Draft 2nd round pick and a 1975 NBA Draft 2nd round pick.[4] Prior to the start of the season the Braves also traded Elmore Smith to the Los Angeles Lakers for Jim McMillian.[5] Other trades during the season included the February 1, 1974 trade of Kunnert and Dave Wohl for Matt Goukas and 1973 NBA All-Star Jack Marin.[6]

The Braves drafted four players in the 1973 NBA Draft who played for the 1973–74 team: DiGregorio, Ken Charles, Mike Macaluso, and Jim Garvin.[7] In addition, the team made two free agent signings. On September 11, 1973, the team signed Paul Ruffner.[8] On November 24, 1973, the Braves waived Garvin.[9] On November 27, 1973, the team signed Lee Winfield.[10]

On September 17, 1973, the team waived Dick Garrett and Bill Hewitt.[11][12] The other members of the 1972–73 team who were not traded or waived and did not play on the 1973–74 team were Howard Komives, Fred Hilton and Harold Fox.[13][14][15]

Regular season

The Braves played most of their home games in the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.

In his NBA debut, Ernie DiGregorio had 14 assists.[16] The Elmore Smith trade, which was controversial at first, helped clear the way for McAdoo to play center full time. McAdoo had an outstanding second season and led the league in scoring with 30.6 ppg.[5] The Braves fell to a 16–23 record at the end of 1973, but began the New Year with a season high seven-game winning streak. The team reached five games over .500 several time but lost the last three games of a five-game western road trip to conclude the season at 42–40.[17] On February 27, the Braves earned their first victory over the Boston Celtics after 22 defeats.[18] The Braves made the playoffs by finishing in 3rd place in the Atlantic Division.[5] This was the first of three consecuitive scoring titles for McAdoo.[19] McAdoo also posted 15.1 rebounds per game and 3.3 blocked shots per game, which were each third in the league.[19] It was the last time in NBA history that one player averaged both 30 points and 15 rebounds in an NBA season.[20][21] McAdoo, who finished second in the NBA Most Valuable Player Award balloting, represented the team in the January 15, 1974 NBA All-Star Game.[19]

1974 NBA Rookie of the Year DiGregorio, earned the first of two NBA free throw percentage championships (90.2%) and led the NBA in assists (8.2).[22] That season DiGregorio set the NBA single-game rookie assists record (25), which still stands as unbroken (tied by Nate McMillan).[23] Jim McMillan would finish fifth in the NBA in minutes played (3322) and tenth in free throw percentage (85.8%).[24] He also finished second on the Braves in scoring (18.6).[25] Heard went on to rank in the top ten in rebounds (11.7, 10th) and blocked shots (2.8, 6th) that season.[4] Randy Smith, who was third on the team in scoring with a 15.5 average,[25] finished third in the league in steals (2.5/game).[26]

The Braves totaled 427,270 in attendance in their 41 home games, ranking them 4th of 17 teams.[17] The Braves played several home games at the historic Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto, in order to expand their fan base into Canada. In addition to McAdoo, the Braves were led by Ernie DiGregorio, who became the second straight Brave (following McAdoo) to capture NBA Rookie of the Year honors by leading the league in assists with 8.2 per game.[5]

Playoffs and postseason

In the 1974 NBA Playoffs the Braves were matched up against the Boston Celtics. Through 4 games, the series was even at 2 games. However the Celtics would pull away with 2 more wins to take the series in 6 games.[5] With rookie DiGregorio and 2nd year McAdoo leading the way, the team became the youngest NBA playoff team (24.42, using data going back to 1952) based on average age weighted by minutes played. The 1977–78 Milwaukee Bucks (23.82) would surpass this record.[27] The Celtics went on to win the NBA championship in the 1974 NBA Finals.[5]

In the playoffs, Heard bettered his regular season 15.3 points and 11.7 rebounds averages with 16.8 points and 14.7 rebounds.[4] Likewise, McAdoo contributed 31.7 points and 13.7 rebounds.[19] McMillian contributed 14.5 points and 8.8 rebounds.[24]

Following the season the team lost Bob Kauffman to the New Orleans Jazz in the May 20, 1974 NBA Expansion Draft.[28]

Offseason

NBA Draft

1973 NBA Draft[7]

Round Pick Player College
1 3 Ernie DiGregorio Providence College
3 3 (38th overall) Ken Charles Fordham University
6 2 (88th overall) Mike Macaluso Canisius College
17 2 (204th overall) Jim Garvin Boston University

Season standings

Atlantic Division
Team W L PCT. GB
Boston Celtics C 56 26 .683 -
New York Knicks 49 33 .598 7
Buffalo Braves 42 40 .512 14
Philadelphia 76ers 25 57 .305 31

[29]

Season Schedule

G Date ' Opponent ' ' Tm Opp W L Streak Notes
1 Tue, Oct 9, 1973 Houston Rockets W OT 107 105 1 0 W 1
2 Fri, Oct 12, 1973 @ Boston Celtics L 112 118 1 1 L 1
3 Sat, Oct 13, 1973 Los Angeles Lakers L 122 125 1 2 L 2
4 Tue, Oct 16, 1973 @ New York Knickerbockers L 91 117 1 3 L 3
5 Sat, Oct 20, 1973 Philadelphia 76ers W 116 110 2 3 W 1
6 Wed, Oct 24, 1973 @ Milwaukee Bucks L 113 130 2 4 L 1
7 Fri, Oct 26, 1973 N Cleveland Cavaliers W 104 97 3 4 W 1 at Toronto, Canada
8 Sat, Oct 27, 1973 @ Cleveland Cavaliers W 111 101 4 4 W 2
9 Sun, Oct 28, 1973 @ Kansas City-Omaha Kings W 112 100 5 4 W 3
10 Tue, Oct 30, 1973 Seattle Supersonics W 105 103 6 4 W 4
11 Fri, Nov 2, 1973 @ Chicago Bulls L 97 107 6 5 L 1
12 Sat, Nov 3, 1973 Golden State Warriors L OT 121 124 6 6 L 2
13 Sun, Nov 4, 1973 N Chicago Bulls L OT 95 101 6 7 L 3 at Toronto, Canada
14 Wed, Nov 7, 1973 @ Seattle Supersonics L 113 130 6 8 L 4
15 Fri, Nov 9, 1973 @ Portland Trail Blazers L 108 122 6 9 L 5
16 Sat, Nov 10, 1973 @ Golden State Warriors L 105 128 6 10 L 6
17 Tue, Nov 13, 1973 Atlanta Hawks W 121 114 7 10 W 1
18 Thu, Nov 15, 1973 @ New York Knickerbockers L 86 97 7 11 L 1
19 Sat, Nov 17, 1973 Detroit Pistons L 94 98 7 12 L 2
20 Sun, Nov 18, 1973 @ Capital Bullets W 112 101 8 12 W 1
21 Tue, Nov 20, 1973 Phoenix Suns W 127 100 9 12 W 2
22 Sat, Nov 24, 1973 Kansas City-Omaha Kings W 143 131 10 12 W 3
23 Tue, Nov 27, 1973 Milwaukee Bucks L 110 115 10 13 L 1
24 Wed, Nov 28, 1973 @ Atlanta Hawks L 106 130 10 14 L 2
25 Fri, Nov 30, 1973 Capital Bullets L 113 121 10 15 L 3
26 Wed, Dec 5, 1973 Portland Trail Blazers W 114 110 11 15 W 1
27 Fri, Dec 7, 1973 New York Knickerbockers L 108 113 11 16 L 1
28 Sun, Dec 9, 1973 N Boston Celtics L 114 118 11 17 L 2 at Toronto, Canada
29 Tue, Dec 11, 1973 @ Atlanta Hawks W OT 132 127 12 17 W 1
30 Wed, Dec 12, 1973 N Boston Celtics L 119 126 12 18 L 1 at Providence, RI
31 Fri, Dec 14, 1973 @ Cleveland Cavaliers W 102 98 13 18 W 1
32 Tue, Dec 18, 1973 Cleveland Cavaliers W 100 93 14 18 W 2
33 Fri, Dec 21, 1973 New York Knickerbockers W 117 115 15 18 W 3
34 Sat, Dec 22, 1973 @ Kansas City-Omaha Kings L 112 122 15 19 L 1
35 Sun, Dec 23, 1973 N Capital Bullets L 85 110 15 20 L 2 at Toronto, Canada
36 Wed, Dec 26, 1973 Boston Celtics L 123 125 15 21 L 3
37 Sat, Dec 29, 1973 @ Phoenix Suns W 120 108 16 21 W 1
38 Sun, Dec 30, 1973 @ Los Angeles Lakers L 105 108 16 22 L 1
39 Tue, Jan 1, 1974 @ Portland Trail Blazers W 120 119 17 22 W 1
40 Wed, Jan 2, 1974 @ Seattle Supersonics W 115 111 18 22 W 2
41 Sat, Jan 5, 1974 @ New York Knickerbockers W 111 110 19 22 W 3
42 Sun, Jan 6, 1974 N Atlanta Hawks W 117 109 20 22 W 4 at Toronto, Canada
43 Tue, Jan 8, 1974 Atlanta Hawks W 100 96 21 22 W 5
44 Fri, Jan 11, 1974 Houston Rockets W 117 99 22 22 W 6
45 Sat, Jan 12, 1974 @ Capital Bullets W 97 96 23 22 W 7
46 Sun, Jan 13, 1974 N Houston Rockets L 112 121 23 23 L 1 at Toronto, Canada
47 Fri, Jan 18, 1974 Capital Bullets W 98 94 24 23 W 1
48 Sun, Jan 20, 1974 @ Philadelphia 76ers L 112 129 24 24 L 1
49 Tue, Jan 22, 1974 Philadelphia 76ers W 119 109 25 24 W 1
50 Wed, Jan 23, 1974 N Milwaukee Bucks L 88 114 25 25 L 1 at Madison, WI
51 Fri, Jan 25, 1974 Kansas City-Omaha Kings L 113 118 25 26 L 2
52 Sat, Jan 26, 1974 @ Atlanta Hawks L 122 132 25 27 L 3
53 Sun, Jan 27, 1974 @ Houston Rockets W 122 108 26 27 W 1
54 Tue, Jan 29, 1974 Golden State Warriors L 121 128 26 28 L 1
55 Wed, Jan 30, 1974 @ Detroit Pistons L 96 111 26 29 L 2
56 Sun, Feb 3, 1974 N Philadelphia 76ers W 112 98 27 29 W 1 at Toronto, Canada
57 Wed, Feb 6, 1974 @ Philadelphia 76ers W 114 98 28 29 W 2
58 Fri, Feb 8, 1974 Chicago Bulls W 106 101 29 29 W 3
59 Sat, Feb 9, 1974 @ New York Knickerbockers W OT 103 100 30 29 W 4
60 Sun, Feb 10, 1974 @ Cleveland Cavaliers L 121 125 30 30 L 1
61 Tue, Feb 12, 1974 New York Knickerbockers L 93 100 30 31 L 2
62 Wed, Feb 13, 1974 @ Philadelphia 76ers W 129 106 31 31 W 1
63 Fri, Feb 15, 1974 Detroit Pistons W 118 116 32 31 W 2
64 Sat, Feb 16, 1974 @ Capital Bullets L 92 101 32 32 L 1
65 Sun, Feb 17, 1974 @ Houston Rockets W 135 118 33 32 W 1
66 Tue, Feb 19, 1974 Milwaukee Bucks W 145 109 34 32 W 2
67 Thu, Feb 21, 1974 N New York Knickerbockers W 119 97 35 32 W 3 at Toronto, Canada
68 Fri, Feb 22, 1974 Boston Celtics L 109 116 35 33 L 1
69 Tue, Feb 26, 1974 Los Angeles Lakers L 112 119 35 34 L 2
70 Wed, Feb 27, 1974 N Boston Celtics W 122 104 36 34 W 1 at Providence, RI
71 Fri, Mar 1, 1974 Boston Celtics W 110 94 37 34 W 2
72 Sat, Mar 2, 1974 @ Philadelphia 76ers W 103 99 38 34 W 3
73 Fri, Mar 8, 1974 Seattle Supersonics L OT 117 123 38 35 L 1
74 Sun, Mar 10, 1974 N Portland Trail Blazers W 122 112 39 35 W 1 at Toronto, Canada
75 Tue, Mar 12, 1974 Phoenix Suns W 124 94 40 35 W 2
76 Fri, Mar 15, 1974 @ Chicago Bulls L 97 114 40 36 L 1
77 Sat, Mar 16, 1974 Cleveland Cavaliers W 114 105 41 36 W 1
78 Sun, Mar 17, 1974 @ Detroit Pistons L 109 116 41 37 L 1
79 Thu, Mar 21, 1974 @ Golden State Warriors W 115 102 42 37 W 1
80 Fri, Mar 22, 1974 @ Phoenix Suns L 119 126 42 38 L 1
81 Sun, Mar 24, 1974 @ Los Angeles Lakers L 124 150 42 39 L 2
82 Tue, Mar 26, 1974 @ Houston Rockets L 96 119 42 40 L 3

Source: www.basketball-reference.com

Playoff Schedule

Date ' Opponent ' Tm Opp
Sat, Mar 30, 1974 @ Boston Celtics L 97 107
Tue, Apr 2, 1974 Boston Celtics W 115 105
Wed, Apr 3, 1974 @ Boston Celtics L 107 120
Sat, Apr 6, 1974 Boston Celtics W 104 102
Tue, Apr 9, 1974 @ Boston Celtics L 97 100
Fri, Apr 12, 1974 Boston Celtics L 104 106

Source: www.basketball-reference.com

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  Bold  Career high
Player GP MPG FG FGA FG% FT FTA FT% ORPG DRPG RPG APG SPG BPG PFPG PPG
Bob McAdoo 74 43 12.2 22.3 0.547 6.2 7.8 0.793 3.8 11.3 15.1 2.3 1.2 3.3 3.4 30.6
Jim McMillian 82 40.5 7.3 14.8 0.494 4 4.6 0.858 2.6 4.8 7.4 3.1 1.6 0.3 2.3 18.6
Randy Smith 82 33.5 6.5 13.2 0.492 2.5 3.5 0.712 1.1 2.8 3.8 4.7 2.5 0 3.2 15.5
Gar Heard 81 35.7 6.5 14.9 0.435 2.4 3.6 0.65 3.3 8.4 11.7 2.2 1.7 2.8 3.7 15.3
Ernie DiGregorio 81 35.9 6.5 15.6 0.421 2.1 2.4 0.902 0.6 2.1 2.7 8.2 0.7 0.1 3 15.2
Jack Marin 27 25.2 5.4 9.9 0.545 2.6 3 0.877 1.1 3.4 4.5 1.7 0.9 0.7 3.4 13.4
Bob Kauffman 74 17.6 2.3 4.9 0.467 1.4 2 0.713 1.3 3.1 4.4 1.9 0.5 0.2 2.1 6.1
Matt Guokas 27 20.3 2.3 4.1 0.555 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.4 1 1.5 2.6 0.7 0.2 2.1 4.9
Dave Wohl 41 14.8 1.5 3.7 0.4 1 1.5 0.7 0.2 0.5 0.7 3.1 0.8 0 1.8 4
Ken Charles 59 11.7 1.5 3.1 0.476 0.9 1.3 0.671 0.4 0.7 1.1 0.9 0.5 0.2 1.5 3.9
Lee Winfield 36 12 1 2.9 0.352 0.9 1.4 0.635 0.5 0.7 1.2 1.3 0.4 0.1 1.2 3
Kevin Kunnert 39 8.7 1.3 2.6 0.485 0.3 0.4 0.688 1.1 1.6 2.7 0.6 0.1 0.6 2.1 2.8
Mike Macaluso 30 3.7 0.6 1.5 0.432 0.3 0.6 0.588 0.3 0.5 0.8 0.1 0.2 0 1 1.6
Paul Ruffner 20 2.6 0.6 1.4 0.407 0.4 0.7 0.615 0.2 0.4 0.6 0 0.1 0.1 0.5 1.5
Jim Garvin 6 1.8 0.2 0.7 0.25 0 0 0.2 0.7 0.8 0 0 0 0.2 0.3

Awards and honors

References

  1. ^ "Jack Ramsay". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  2. ^ "Los Angeles Clippers Franchise Index". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-26.
  3. ^ "Denver's Mark Warkentien named NBA Executive of the Year". NBA.com. 2009-05-03. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
  4. ^ a b c "Gar Heard". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-03-27.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Buffalo Braves (1970–1978)
  6. ^ "Jack Marin". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  7. ^ a b "1973 NBA Draft". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  8. ^ "Paul Ruffner". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  9. ^ "Jim Garvin". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-06-18.
  10. ^ "Lee Winfield". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  11. ^ "Bill Hewitt". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  12. ^ "Dick Garrett". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  13. ^ "Howard Komives". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  14. ^ "Fred Hilton". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  15. ^ "Harold Fox". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  16. ^ a b Lemire, Joe (2008-10-27). "Grand Entrances: Who had the best first games in sports?". Sports Illustrated. 109 (16): 24. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  17. ^ a b "1973-74 Buffalo Braves Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  18. ^ "Braves Win, 122-104, Now 1-22 Against Celts". Los Angeles Times. 1974-02-28. p. C4. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g "Bob McAdoo". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  20. ^ "NBA & ABA Yearly Leaders and Records for Rebounds Per Game". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  21. ^ "NBA & ABA Yearly Leaders and Records for Points Per Game". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  22. ^ a b c "Ernie DiGregorio". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  23. ^ "Coaches: Nate McMillan". NBA Media Ventures, LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  24. ^ a b "Jim McMillian". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  25. ^ a b "1973-74 Buffalo Braves Roster and Statistics". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  26. ^ "Randy Smith". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  27. ^ Biderman, David (2010-04-16). "Youngest Playoff Teams". The Wall Street Journal. p. W4.
  28. ^ "Bob Kauffman". Basketball-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 2010-04-19.
  29. ^ 1973-74 NBA Season Summary - Basketball-Reference.com

External links

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