From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base
1973–74 Detroit Pistons season
NBA team season
NBA team season
(lost to Bulls 3–4)
The 1973–74 Detroit Pistons season was the Detroit Pistons' 26th season in the NBA and 17th season in the city of Detroit. The team played at Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit.
The Pistons finished with a 52-30 (.634) record, 3rd place in the Midwest Division, only their second winning season since moving to Detroit in 1957. The team was led by guard Dave Bing (18.8 ppg, 6.9 apg, NBA All-Star) and center Bob Lanier (22.5 ppg, 13.3 rpg, NBA All-Star and NBA All-Star Game MVP). Pistons coach Ray Scott was recognized as the NBA Coach of the Year, the first black coach in the league to win the award. It wouldn't be until 1991 when Don Chaney won the award that another black coach was so honored.
Detroit advanced to the 1974 NBA Playoffs, the team's first playoff appearance since the 1967-68 Detroit Pistons season, losing the Western Conference semi-finals 4–3 to the Chicago Bulls, dropping the deciding 7th game 96–94 in Chicago. In the 7th game at Chicago Stadium, after a furious Detroit rally, Dennis Awtrey of the Bulls tipped an inbounds pass by Bing with 3 seconds remaining and Norm Van Lier dribbled out the clock to preserve the Chicago victory.
Draft picks
Main article: 1973 NBA draft
| Detroit Pistons}}" width="10%" | Round | Detroit Pistons}}" width="10%" | Pick | Detroit Pistons}}" width="20%" | Player | Detroit Pistons}}" width="15%" | Position | Detroit Pistons}}" width="15%" | Nationality | Detroit Pistons}}" width="20%" | College / Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | 129 | Ben Kelso | Guard | USA United States | Central Michigan |
Roster
- Ray Scott
Regular season
Season standings
Game log
| 1973–74 game log |
|---|
| **#** |
| 1 |
| 2 |
| 3 |
| 4 |
| 5 |
| 6 |
| 7 |
| 8 |
| 9 |
| 10 |
| 11 |
| 12 |
| 13 |
| 14 |
| 15 |
| 16 |
| 17 |
| 18 |
| 19 |
| 20 |
| 21 |
| 22 |
| 23 |
| 24 |
| 25 |
| 26 |
| 27 |
| 28 |
| 29 |
| 30 |
| 31 |
| 32 |
| 33 |
| 34 |
| 35 |
| 36 |
| 37 |
| 38 |
| 39 |
| 40 |
| 41 |
| 42 |
| 43 |
| 44 |
| 45 |
| 46 |
| 47 |
| 48 |
| 49 |
| 50 |
| 51 |
| 52 |
| 53 |
| 54 |
| 55 |
| 56 |
| 57 |
| 58 |
| 59 |
| 60 |
| 61 |
| 62 |
| 63 |
| 64 |
| 65 |
| 66 |
| 67 |
| 68 |
| 69 |
| 70 |
| 71 |
| 72 |
| 73 |
| 74 |
| 75 |
| 76 |
| 77 |
| 78 |
| 79 |
| 80 |
| 81 |
| 82 |
Playoffs
|- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 1 | March 30 | @ Chicago | W 97–88 | Bob Lanier (27) | Lanier, Rowe (13) | Don Adams (6) | Chicago Stadium 10,711 | 1–0 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 2 | April 1 | Chicago | L 103–108 | Bob Lanier (38) | Bob Lanier (19) | Dave Bing (7) | Cobo Arena 11,499 | 1–1 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | April 5 | @ Chicago | L 83–84 | Dave Bing (23) | Bob Lanier (16) | Lanier, Rowe (2) | Chicago Stadium 17,634 | 1–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 4 | April 7 | Chicago | W 102–87 | Bob Lanier (26) | Bob Lanier (18) | Dave Bing (8) | Cobo Arena 11,287 | 2–2 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 5 | April 9 | @ Chicago | L 94–98 | Bob Lanier (23) | Bob Lanier (17) | Dave Bing (6) | Chicago Stadium 14,236 | 2–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 6 | April 11 | Chicago | W 92–88 | Bob Lanier (28) | Bob Lanier (14) | Dave Bing (10) | Cobo Arena 11,134 | 3–3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 7 | April 13 | @ Chicago | L 94–96 | Stu Lantz (25) | Lanier, Rowe (10) | Stu Lantz (5) | Chicago Stadium 13,133
| 3–4 |
|---|
Player stats
Season
| Player | Games played | Minutes | Points | Rebounds | Assists | Steals | Blocks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bob Lanier | 81 | 3047 | 1822 | 1074 | 343 | 110 | 247 |
| Dave Bing | 81 | 3124 | 1520 | 281 | 555 | 109 | 17 |
| Curtis Rowe | 82 | 2499 | 878 | 515 | 136 | 49 | 36 |
| George Trapp | 82 | 1489 | 765 | 313 | 81 | 47 | 33 |
| Don Adams | 74 | 2298 | 759 | 448 | 141 | 110 | 12 |
| John Mengelt | 77 | 1555 | 680 | 206 | 148 | 68 | 7 |
| Willie Norwood | 74 | 1178 | 589 | 229 | 58 | 60 | 9 |
| Chris Ford | 82 | 2059 | 585 | 304 | 279 | 148 | 14 |
Awards and records
- Ray Scott, NBA Coach of the Year Award
- Dave Bing, All-NBA Second Team
References
References
- "1973-74 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats".
- (6 December 2011). "Chevette to Corvette No. 12: The 1973-74 Detroit Pistons".
- (23 February 2021). "Ray Scott, the NBA's first Black Coach of the Year | the Official Website of the NBA Coaches Association".
- "Ray Scott".
- "Ray Scott, NBA's first Black Coach of the Year, followed another trailblazer into history".
- (1974-04-14). "Bulls Top Pistons, 96‐94, For 4‐3 Victory in Series". The New York Times.
- "1973–74 Detroit Pistons". basketball-reference.com.
This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.
Ask Mako anything about 1973–74 Detroit Pistons season — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.
Research with MakoFree with your Surf account
Create a free account to save articles, ask Mako questions, and organize your research.
Sign up freeThis content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.
Report