1974–75 Buffalo Braves season


The 1974–75 Buffalo Braves season was the fifth season for the expansion Buffalo Braves franchise in the National Basketball Association and its Atlantic Division. It was the team's third season under head coach Jack Ramsay. The team's official home arena was Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
Despite losing three key players in Gar Heard, Jim McMillian and Ernie DiGregorio for long stretches, the Braves continued to improve. The Braves finished in 2nd place with a 49–33 record, as Bob McAdoo captured the NBA MVP Award. McAdoo led the league with 34.5 points per game, while adding 14.1 rebounds per game, which was 4th best in the league.
In the 1975 NBA Playoffs, the Braves earned the franchise's second playoff berth, this time against the Washington Bullets. The series went to seven games. However, the Braves lost game seven 115–96 on the road. After the season, the team was occupied with legal wrangling surrounding the departure of minority owner and general manager Eddie Donovan.

Offseason

On March 21, Braves general manager Eddie Donovan announced that he would resign effective April 1. The resignation was controversial because there were rumors that he would return to work for his prior team, New York Knicks, but there were simultaneous rumors that the Knicks had unfairly tampered with Donovan while under contract with the Braves. Upon the announced resignation, NBA Commissioner Walter Kennedy announced that the league would conduct a hearing on the matter. The transition was complicated by Donovan's 5% ownership of the Braves. Incoming commissioner, Larry O'Brien announced an amicable settlement as one of his first orders of business.

NBA Draft

The following members of the 1974–75 Buffalo Braves were drafted during the 1974 NBA Draft. McMillen played for a year in Europe before joining the 1975–76 Buffalo Braves. He played for a team in Bologna, Italy.
RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalityCollege
19Tom McMillenCenterUnited StatesMaryland
345Kim HughesCenterUnited StatesWisconsin
463Bernie HarrisForwardUnited StatesVirginia Commonwealth
581Tony ByersGuardUnited StatesWake Forest
699Gary LinkForwardUnited StatesMissouri
7117Tommy CurtisGuardUnited StatesUCLA
8135Glenn PriceForwardUnited StatesSt. Bonaventure
9153John FalconiGuardUnited StatesDavidson
10170Andy RimolForwardUnited StatesPrinceton

Roster

Regular season

;Overview
An early eleven-game winning streak helped the Braves achieve a 16–4 record to start the season and a later seven-game streak took them to 31–16. Buffalo supplanted the New York Knicks as Boston's closest competitor in the Atlantic foursome with 49 wins and 33 losses. Buffalo boasted high-scoring super star Bob McAdoo, who posted a 34.5 scoring average to lead the NBA, while making more field goals than any other player. He also led in minutes played, while also ranking among the best rebounders and shot blockers in the league. McAdoo also earned 798 free throw tries, another league high, converting 81% of his attempts. The Braves lost reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Ernie DiGregorio to a knee injury that limited him to 31 games, watched former Laker Jim McMillian battle illness that caused him to miss 20 games, and also lost Gar Heard for 15 games, which dropped the team from the elite and put more of the load on their star. The Braves attendance increased by 40,000 to 467,267 in their 41 home games, but the team fell to 5th of 18 teams. The team defense improved sufficiently to create an average 2.2-point scoring margin after a slight average deficit the year before.
McMillian ranked tenth in the league in field goal percentage. Heard ranked 9th in blocks per game. Jack Marin, who played in 81 games, ranked seventh in free throw percentage. Randy Smith, who played in all 82 regular-season games for the third consecutive season, finished fourth in assists per game. McAdoo, who also played all 82 games, led the NBA in minutes played, field goals, rebounds, points, and points per game. Meanwhile, he ranked sixth in blocks per game, second in total free throws, and fifth in field goal percentage. This performance earned him the league MVP and first team All-NBA honors.

October–November

As he had the season before, DiGregorio had a tremendous opening night with 33 points. The Braves defeated the defending champion Boston Celtics 126–119, giving them their first win in nine games against Boston as a visitor. The Celtics had eliminated the Braves from the 1975 NBA Playoffs. DiGregorio was sidelined after six games due to knee surgery. After a 4–3 start, the Braves won eleven in a row starting with a November 3, 1974, victory over the Los Angeles Lakers at the Los Angeles Forum and culminating with a November 23 victory over the Phoenix Suns at home. In order to win the eighth game of the streak, the Braves had to overcome a seventeen-point deficit to earn a 111–106 victory against the Golden State Warriors. Even after losing to the Chicago Bulls on November 24, their 15–4 record was the best in the NBA.

December–January

During December, the Braves dealt with injuries to McMillan, who required an emergency appendectomy, and DiGregorio. After their great start, the Braves compiled a 6–7 month of December. On December 19, despite 49 points by McAdoo, the Braves lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers. On December 28, the NBA's smallest player, Calvin Murphy scored a career-high 45 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 125–117 victory over Buffalo. By January, Heard was suffering from a knee injury. As a result, in some games, the Braves only played seven players. In a January 3 game against the Detroit Pistons, Dale Schlueter was involved in two altercations that resulted in bench-clearing brawls. In January 1975, the Braves recorded a seven-game winning streak starting with a January 10 win over the Cavaliers and ending with a January 24 victory over the New York Knicks. In the fifth game of the streak, McAdoo outscored Pete Maravich 43–40 at New Orleans.

February–April

Following an 11–4 January, the Braves struggled to a 7–7 record in February. On January 24, DiGregorio returned to the active roster following his October 29 knee cartilage injury. The March 13 victory against the Golden State Warriors established the franchise record for most wins in a season at 43, surpassing the prior season's total of 42. From March 14 to March 21, the Braves posted their season-worst four-game losing streak. Donovan announced his April 1 resignation in late March. In late March, DiGregorio was sidelined for the rest of the season. The Braves then went on a five-game winning streak from March 22 to March 29, but the team lost three of four April regular-season games.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Season schedule


October: 4–2


GameDateTeamScoreRecordStreak
1October 18@ Boston Celtics126–1191–0Win 1
2October 19Boston Celtics95–1131–1Loss 1
3October 22New Orleans Jazz134–1182–1Win 1
4October 24New York Knicks 111–913–1Win 2
5October 26Chicago Bulls105–1044–1Win 3
6October 29@ Golden State Warriors101–1304–2Loss 1



November: 12–4


GameDateTeamScoreRecordStreak
7November 1@ Portland Trail Blazers106–1134–3Loss 2
8November 3@ Los Angeles Lakers124–1015–3Win 1
9November 6@ New Orleans Jazz110–986–3Win 2
10November 9Detroit Pistons109–1007–3Win 3
11November 10@ Detroit Pistons124–1178–3Win 4
12November 12Cleveland Cavaliers112–949–3Win 5
13November 14@ Boston Celtics 112–10010–3Win 6
14November 16Kansas City-Omaha Kings101–9611–3Win 7
15November 19Golden State Warriors111–10612–3Win 8
16November 20@ Washington Bullets115–10413–3Win 9
17November 21Philadelphia 76ers 99–9514–3Win 10
18November 23Phoenix Suns117–10415–3Win 11
19November 24@ Chicago Bulls89–9115–4Loss 1
20November 26@ Philadelphia 76ers103–9916–4Win 1
21November 29Washington Bullets93–9616–5Loss 1
22November 30@ New York Knicks111–11816–6Loss 2



December: 6–7


GameDateTeamScoreRecordStreak
23December 3Milwaukee Bucks101–11016–7Loss 3
24December 6Portland Trail Blazers114–10517–7Win 1
25December 7@ Philadelphia 76ers112–11617–8Loss 1
26December 10Philadelphia 76ers101–9118–8Win 1
27December 12Houston Rockets 124–11319–8Win 2
28December 13New York Knicks108–10420–8Win 3
29December 14@ New York Knicks118–10221–8Win 4
30December 17@ Kansas City-Omaha Kings110–11121–9Loss 1
31December 19@ Cleveland Cavaliers104–10621–10Loss 2
32December 20Atlanta Hawks102–11321–11Loss 3
33December 27@ Phoenix Suns108–9222–11Win 1
34December 28@ Houston Rockets117–12522–12Loss 1
35December 30@ Milwaukee Bucks91–10622–13Loss 2



January: 11–4


GameDateTeamScoreRecordStreak
36January 3Detroit Pistons92–11122–14Loss 3
37January 4@ Atlanta Hawks121–10823–14Win 1
38January 6@ Philadelphia 76ers95–10123–15Loss 1
39January 7Los Angeles Lakers115–10724–15Win 1
40January 9Boston Celtics 100–10824–16Loss 1
41January 10Cleveland Cavaliers104–10025–16Win 1
42January 12Boston Celtics114–10126–16Win 2
43January 17Golden State Warriors121–11627–16Win 3
44January 18@ Atlanta Hawks129–11528–16Win 4
45January 19@ New Orleans Jazz117–11229–16Win 5
46January 21Seattle SuperSonics118–10830–16Win 6
47January 24New York Knicks105–9931–16Win 7
48January 26@ Boston Celtics93–10731–17Loss 1
49January 30@ Cleveland Cavaliers97–9132–17Win 1
50January 31Atlanta Hawks111–10133–17Win 2



February: 7–7


GameDateTeamScoreRecordStreak
51February 1@ Detroit Pistons113–11933–18Loss 1
52February 4Philadelphia 76ers105–111 33–19Loss 2
53February 7Los Angeles Lakers108–9834–19Win 1
54February 9@ Seattle SuperSonics99–93 35–19Win 2
55February 11@ Los Angeles Lakers112–10836–19Win 3
56February 12@ Phoenix Suns96–10836–20Loss 1
57February 14Kansas City-Omaha Kings112–13236–21Loss 2
58February 16@ Chicago Bulls109–11436–22Loss 3
59February 18Phoenix Suns 124–10937–22Win 1
60February 21Portland Trail Blazers116–10638–22Win 2
61February 22@ New York Knicks92–8539–22Win 3
62February 25Washington Bullets93–11139–23Loss 1
63February 27New Orleans Jazz 110–10040–23Win 1
64February 28New York Knicks106–11440–24Loss 1



March: 8–6


GameDateTeamScoreRecordStreak
65March 1@ Milwaukee Bucks100–10440–25Loss 2
66March 4Seattle SuperSonics104–9741–25Win 1
67March 6@ Kansas City-Omaha Kings110–11141–26Loss 1
68March 8Milwaukee Bucks110–9542–26Win 1
69March 13@ Golden State Warriors122–10343–26Win 2
70March 14@ Seattle SuperSonics105–12543–27Loss 1
71March 16@ Portland Trail Blazers95–10243–28Loss 2
72March 18@ Houston Rockets115–12243–29Loss 3
73March 21@ Boston Celtics101–10943–30Loss 4
74March 22Houston Rockets117–11244–30Win 1
75March 25Philadelphia 76ers118–10345–30Win 2
76March 26@ Washington Bullets94–9146–30Win 3
77March 28@ Philadelphia 76ers115–10447–30Win 4
78March 29Boston Celtics102–9648–30Win 5



April: 1–3


GameDateTeamScoreRecordStreak
79April 1Chicago Bulls93–9848–31Loss 1
80April 2@ Boston Celtics92–9548–32Loss 2
81April 4Philadelphia 76ers108–9749–32Win 1
82April 6@ New York Knicks93–10549–33Loss 1


Source:

Playoffs

During the playoffs, the Braves captured home court advantage with a victory over the Washington Bullets in game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals, but the Bullets returned the favor in game two. The home teams won the remaining games as Buffalo lost the series in seven games. DiGregorio missed the playoffs. McAdoo played 46.7 minutes per game during the playoffs and averaged 37.4 points, which both led the league. Heard averaged 11.7 points and 10.9 rebounds.
During the regular season the Bullets had been 36–5 at home, but lost both games to the Braves. The Braves then opened the series at the Capital Centre with a 113–102 victory in game 1. McAdoo was the game-high scorer with 35 and game-high rebounder with 14. The Bullets rebounded for a 120–106 victory in game 2 in Buffalo. Wes Unseld totaled 25 rebounds and Elvin Hayes added 16 as well as 34 points. Meanwhile, McAdoo, who had averaged 14.1 rebounds during the regular season only had 6. In game 3, Phil Chenier scored 18 points in the third quarter as the Bullets expanded a 53–52 lead to 81–70. Unseld had 18 rebounds and Hayes had 16 to go along with his 30 points. McAdoo had a game-high 34 and Smith added 26 in a losing effort. Before game 4, McAdoo received his hardware for his league MVP and league scoring title and responded that night with a 50-point performance as the Braves evened the series 2–2 with a 108–102 victory. Two nights later Hayes responded with 46 points, including 16 in the fourth quarter, as the Bullets completed a 97–93 comeback victory to regain the series lead 3–2. In the game, the score was tied at 89 with two minutes left when Nick Weatherspoon hit a 17-foot jumper to give the Bullets the lead for good. Chenier and Hayes built the lead up to 94–89 before McMillian made two short shots to bring the Braves back within 1 point in the final minute. An Unseld offensive rebound and putback of a Hayes miss gave the Bullets crucial points in the final seconds. On the night Hayes shot 19-for 26 and McAdoo countered with 34 points. In game 6, the Braves earned a 102–96 victory as McAdoo scored 9 of his 37 points in the final five minutes. The game had 19 tie scores, with the last being at 89. In game 7, Washington jumped to a 28–13 lead after one quarter behind 14 points by Chenier. Washington expanded the lead to 42–19 before closing the first half with a 56–38 lead. On the night, Chenier had a career-high 39 points in the 115–96 victory. McAdoo had 36 for Buffalo.

Playoff schedule


Second round: 3–4


DateTeamScore
April 10@ Washington Bullets113–102
April 12Washington Bullets106–120
April 16@ Washington Bullets96–111
April 18Washington Bullets108–102
April 20@ Washington Bullets93–97
April 23Washington Bullets102–96
April 25@ Washington Bullets96–115


Source:

Player stats

PlayerGPMPGFGFGAFG%FTFTAFT%ORPGDRPGRPGAPGSPGBPGPFPGPPG
8243.213.426.10.5127.89.70.8053.710.314.12.21.12.13.434.5
8236.67.415.40.4842.93.60.81.234.26.51.70317.8
6234.45.611.20.4993.13.70.8424.26.22.51.10.22.114.3
8126.54.710.30.4552.42.70.8691.33.24.51.60.60.22.911.8
6732.14.712.20.3881.62.80.5642.87.29.92.81.61.83.611.1
31233.37.50.441.11.50.7780.21.31.54.90.6027.8
7921.436.50.4661.51.80.8220.91.22.12.21.10.32.17.6
6818.52.44.60.5260.710.7210.71.21.920.60.41.65.5
42161.83.90.4750.50.90.5531.43.34.710.30.31.94.2
7612.71.22.30.5171.11.60.69412.43.51.40.20.62.13.5
7617.61.33.40.3910.70.90.8060.31.11.43.41.10.31.93.4
224.712.10.46800.20.20.50.510.30.10.112
112.30.210.1820.10.20.50.20.50.70.100.100.5

Awards and honors

Prior to the season the team lost Bob Kauffman to the New Orleans Jazz in the May 20, 1974 NBA Expansion Draft.
On August 29, 1974, the Braves purchased Dale Schlueter from the Atlanta Hawks. On September 4, 1974, Matt Guokas was traded along with a 1977 NBA Draft second round pick and a future second round draft pick to the Chicago Bulls for Bob Weiss. Bernie Harris was waived on January 20, 1975. Mike Macaluso did not return to play for the Braves and never played in the NBA again.
The Braves were involved in the following transactions during the 1974–75 season.

Trades

Free agents

Additions

Subtractions