1972–73 Baltimore Bullets season

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1972–73 Baltimore Bullets season
Division champions
Head coachGene Shue
General managerJerry Sachs
Owner(s)Abe Pollin
ArenaBaltimore Civic Center
Results
Record52–30 (.634)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Central)
Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishConference Semi-finals
(lost to Knicks 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWMAR-TV
RadioWFBR
< 1971–72 1973–74 >

In the 1972–73 NBA season, their 12th overall season and tenth and final season in Baltimore, Maryland, the Bullets were led by seventh-year head coach Gene Shue and won a third consecutive Central Division title.

Prior to the season in June, forward Elvin Hayes was acquired in a trade from the Houston Rockets, for forward Jack Marin and draft picks.[1] In the 1972 draft in April, Baltimore selected point guard Kevin Porter in the third round. After a slow start, the Bullets had a strong 10–4 record in December.[2] In the playoffs, they faced their playoff rivals the New York Knicks, and fell in five games in the conference semi-finals;[3] the Knicks went on to win the NBA title.

Following the season, the Bullets made a short move to the new Capital Centre in Landover, a suburb east of Washington, D.C., and became the Capital Bullets.[2][4] The Bullets would later play 35 regular season games in Baltimore from the 1988–89 through 1996–97 seasons.[5][6]

Draft picks[edit]

Main article: 1972 NBA draft

Roster[edit]

Baltimore Bullets roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
G 45 Chenier, Phil 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) California
G 21 Clark, Archie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Minnesota
C 11 Hayes, Elvin 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Houston
F 13 Love, Stan 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Oregon
F 24 Marin, Jack 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Duke
PG 10 Porter, Kevin 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Saint Francis (PA)
G 33 Rinaldi, Rich 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Saint Peter's
SG 6 Riordan, Mike 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Providence
SF 9 Stallworth, Dave 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Wichita State
PF 12 Tresvant, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Seattle
F 41 Unseld, Wes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Louisville
Head coach
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season[edit]

Season standings[edit]

Central Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Baltimore Bullets 52 30 .634 – 24–9 21–17 7–4 17–5
x-Atlanta Hawks 46 36 .561 6 28–13 17–23 1–0 10–12
Houston Rockets 33 49 .402 19 14–14 10–28 9–7 9–13
Cleveland Cavaliers 32 50 .390 20 20–21 10–27 2–2 8–14
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-Boston Celtics 68 14 .829
2 x-New York Knicks 57 25 .695
3 y-Baltimore Bullets 52 30 .634
4 x-Atlanta Hawks 46 36 .561
5 Houston Rockets 33 49 .402
6 Cleveland Cavaliers 32 50 .390
7 Buffalo Braves 21 61 .256
8 Philadelphia 76ers 9 73 .110

Record vs. opponents[edit]

1972–73 NBA records
Team ATL BAL BOS BUF CHI CLE DET GSW HOU KCO LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SEA
Atlanta – 3–4 1–5 5–1 2–2 3–4 2–2 1–3 4–4 2–2 3–1 1–3 3–3 6–0 3–1 4–0 3–1
Baltimore 4–3 – 1–5 5–1 0–4 8–0 2–2 3–1 5–2 3–1 1–3 2–2 3–3 5–1 2–2 4–0 4–0
Boston 5–1 5–1 – 7–0 3–1 5–1 3–1 3–1 5–1 3–1 4–0 2–2 4–4 7–0 4–0 4–0 4–0
Buffalo 1–5 1–5 0–7 – 2–2 1–5 1–3 0–4 1–5 1–3 0–4 0–4 1–6 7–1 1–3 2–2 2–2
Chicago 2–2 4–0 1–3 2–2 – 3–1 3–4 3–3 4–0 5–2 1–5 2–4 3–1 4–0 4–2 5–1 5–1
Cleveland 4–3 0–8 1–5 5–1 1–3 – 1–3 1–3 4–3 2–2 1–3 1–3 0–6 6–0 1–3 1–3 3–1
Detroit 2–2 2–2 1–3 3–1 4–3 3–1 – 2–4 1–3 3–3 1–5 2–5 1–3 3–1 4–2 6–0 2–4
Golden State 3–1 1–3 1–3 4–0 3–3 3–1 4–2 – 3–1 4–2 3–4 1–5 2–2 4–0 2–4 5–1 4–3
Houston 4–4 2–5 1–5 5–1 0–4 3–4 3–1 1–3 – 0–4 1–3 1–3 1–5 5–1 2–2 2–2 2–2
Kansas City-Omaha 2–2 1–3 1–3 3–1 2–5 2–2 3–3 2–4 4–0 – 1–5 1–6 0–4 3–1 3–3 4–2 4–2
Los Angeles 1–3 3–1 0–4 4–0 5–1 3–1 5–1 4–3 3–1 5–1 – 3–3 2–2 4–0 6–1 6–0 6–0
Milwaukee 3–1 2–2 2–2 4–0 4–2 3–1 5–2 5–1 3–1 6–1 3–3 – 2–2 3–1 5–1 5–1 5–1
New York 3–3 3–3 4–4 6–1 1–3 6–0 3–1 2–2 5–1 4–0 2–2 2–2 – 6–1 3–1 3–1 4–0
Philadelphia 0–6 1–5 0–7 1–7 0–4 0–6 1–3 0–4 1–5 1–3 0–4 1–3 1–6 – 0–4 1–3 1–3
Phoenix 1–3 2–2 0–4 3–1 2–4 3–1 2–4 4–2 2–2 3–3 1–6 1–5 1–3 4–0 – 5–2 4–2
Portland 0–4 0–4 0–4 2–2 1–5 3–1 0–6 1–5 2–2 2–4 0–6 1–5 1–3 3–1 2–5 – 3–4
Seattle 1–3 0–4 0–4 2–2 1–5 1–3 4–2 3–4 2–2 2–4 0–6 1–5 0–4 3–1 2–4 4–3 —

Game log[edit]

1972–73 game log
# Date Opponent Score High points Record
1 October 10 @ Cleveland 102–90 Rich Rinaldi (26) 1–0
2 October 13 Atlanta 98–115 Phil Chenier (24) 2–0
3 October 15 @ Phoenix 98–107 Chenier, Unseld (22) 2–1
4 October 16 @ Golden State 96–97 Phil Chenier (22) 2–2
5 October 19 @ Kansas City–Omaha 94–83 Phil Chenier (24) 3–2
6 October 21 Boston 104–101 Phil Chenier (24) 3–3
7 October 25 @ Detroit 115–105 Mike Riordan (24) 4–3
8 October 27 New York 92–88 Rich Rinaldi (21) 4–4
9 October 28 @ New York 90–94 Mike Riordan (27) 4–5
10 November 3 @ Boston 96–109 Mike Davis (26) 4–6
11 November 4 N Cleveland 98–108 Mike Riordan (25) 5–6
12 November 7 @ Atlanta 107–109 (OT) Mike Riordan (28) 5–7
13 November 8 Buffalo 94–126 Elvin Hayes (25) 6–7
14 November 10 @ Milwaukee 82–120 Elvin Hayes (25) 6–8
15 November 11 Chicago 111–106 Elvin Hayes (30) 6–9
16 November 14 Houston 103–104 Elvin Hayes (22) 7–9
17 November 17 Phoenix 106–117 Phil Chenier (26) 8–9
18 November 18 @ Chicago 79–95 Dave Stallworth (18) 8–10
19 November 21 @ Buffalo 124–88 Phil Chenier (27) 9–10
20 November 22 Seattle 90–112 Elvin Hayes (23) 10–10
21 November 25 Milwaukee 101–91 Elvin Hayes (31) 10–11
22 November 28 N Houston 90–108 Mike Riordan (27) 11–11
23 November 29 N Houston 102–94 Elvin Hayes (30) 11–12
24 December 1 Houston 96–103 Phil Chenier (27) 12–12
25 December 5 @ Cleveland 103–100 Elvin Hayes (27) 13–12
26 December 6 Portland 102–115 Phil Chenier (53) 14–12
27 December 8 @ Atlanta 115–134 Mike Riordan (27) 14–13
28 December 9 Kansas City–Omaha 112–120 Mike Riordan (30) 15–13
29 December 12 Philadelphia 102–123 Mike Riordan (31) 16–13
30 December 15 Houston 91–94 Elvin Hayes (20) 17–13
31 December 16 N Golden State 99–105 Elvin Hayes (33) 18–13
32 December 20 Los Angeles 96–90 Chenier, Hayes (21) 18–14
33 December 23 Detroit 97–104 Flynn Robinson (25) 19–14
34 December 26 @ Buffalo 121–104 Mike Riordan (23) 20–14
35 December 28 @ Atlanta 112–111 Mike Riordan (26) 21–14
36 December 29 Buffalo 118–109 Elvin Hayes (35) 21–15
37 December 30 @ New York 98–100 Elvin Hayes (23) 21–16
38 January 1 @ Milwaukee 88–87 Mike Riordan (23) 22–16
39 January 3 Cleveland 80–89 Elvin Hayes (26) 23–16
40 January 7 N Boston 116–98 Elvin Hayes (24) 23–17
41 January 9 @ Portland 105–93 Elvin Hayes (23) 24–17
42 January 10 @ Seattle 98–86 Mike Riordan (20) 25–17
43 January 14 @ Phoenix 95–94 Chenier, Riordan (22) 26–17
44 January 16 @ Los Angeles 112–104 Elvin Hayes (32) 27–17
45 January 19 N Philadelphia 94–110 Mike Riordan (23) 28–17
46 January 20 N Seattle 106–126 Phil Chenier (26) 29–17
47 January 21 Philadelphia 97–108 Elvin Hayes (33) 30–17
48 January 26 @ Chicago 100–110 Elvin Hayes (34) 30–18
49 January 27 Buffalo 87–115 Phil Chenier (23) 31–18
50 January 28 @ Cleveland 102–93 Elvin Hayes (25) 32–18
51 January 30 Golden State 86–104 Clark, Riordan (24) 33–18
52 February 2 New York 77–89 Wes Unseld (22) 34–18
53 February 4 N Los Angeles 125–115 Clark, Unseld (24) 34–19
54 February 6 @ Atlanta 106–112 Phil Chenier (30) 34–20
55 February 7 Atlanta 108–137 Elvin Hayes (28) 35–20
56 February 9 @ Buffalo 101–95 Chenier, Hayes (24) 36–20
57 February 11 @ Portland 102–97 Elvin Hayes (34) 37–20
58 February 14 @ Seattle 107–106 Elvin Hayes (27) 38–20
59 February 15 @ Golden State 96–94 Phil Chenier (26) 39–20
60 February 16 @ Los Angeles 103–121 Phil Chenier (20) 39–21
61 February 18 N Milwaukee 93–96 Archie Clark (25) 40–21
62 February 21 Phoenix 107–98 Elvin Hayes (33) 40–22
63 February 23 @ Detroit 105–107 Phil Chenier (27) 40–23
64 February 24 Portland 110–128 Archie Clark (31) 41–23
65 February 27 Cleveland 95–99 Chenier, Hayes (26) 42–23
66 February 28 @ Philadelphia 96–102 Phil Chenier (36) 42–24
67 March 3 @ New York 97–75 Elvin Hayes (23) 43–24
68 March 4 N New York 97–106 Archie Clark (24) 44–24
69 March 8 @ Kansas City–Omaha 93–105 Mike Riordan (27) 44–25
70 March 9 @ Houston 109–104 Archie Clark (26) 45–25
71 March 10 N Chicago 105–99 Hayes, Riordan (19) 45–26
72 March 13 Kansas City–Omaha 99–103 Phil Chenier (24) 46–26
73 March 14 @ Boston 107–111 Mike Riordan (34) 46–27
74 March 16 Boston 97–103 Elvin Hayes (29) 47–27
75 March 17 @ Philadelphia 120–115 Elvin Hayes (43) 48–27
76 March 18 Philadelphia 118–129 Archie Clark (27) 49–27
77 March 21 Houston 118–110 Archie Clark (24) 49–28
78 March 23 @ Cleveland 106–104 Archie Clark (33) 50–28
79 March 24 Cleveland 116–120 (OT) Stan Love (28) 51–28
80 March 25 Atlanta 105–112 Mike Riordan (23) 52–28
81 March 27 Detroit 112–98 Mike Riordan (18) 52–29
82 March 28 @ Boston 101–120 Phil Chenier (20) 52–30

Playoffs[edit]

1973 playoff game log
Conference Semi-finals: 1–4 (home: 1–1; road: 0–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 March 30 @ New York L 83–95 Archie Clark (22) Wes Unseld (16) Archie Clark (6) Madison Square Garden
19,694 		0–1
2 April 1 @ New York L 103–123 Phil Chenier (27) Wes Unseld (14) Kevin Porter (7) Madison Square Garden
19,694 		0–2
3 April 4 New York L 96–103 Elvin Hayes (36) Elvin Hayes (14) Riordan, Clark (4) Baltimore Civic Center
12,289 		0–3
4 April 6 New York W 97–89 Elvin Hayes (34) Hayes, Unseld (13) Archie Clark (10) Baltimore Civic Center
12,289 		1–3
5 April 8 @ New York L 99–109 Archie Clark (30) Wes Unseld (21) Chenier, Unseld (4) Madison Square Garden
19,694 		1–4
1973 schedule

Awards and honors[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Bullets gets 'Big E' for Marin, plus". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. June 24, 1972. p. 1, part 2.
  2. ^ a b Washington Wizards (1963–Present)
  3. ^ Roethenberg, Fred (April 9, 1973). "Knicks eliminate Baltimore Bullets". Free Lance-Star. (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. p. 6.
  4. ^ "Baltimore five set to become Capital Bullets". Bangor Daily News. (Maine). Associated Press. February 17, 1973. p. 21.
  5. ^ The last time the Washington Bullets played in Baltimore United Press International
  6. ^ "Bullets leave Baltimore with win Mavericks fall, 94-87" The Baltimore Sun
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