1974–75 Detroit Pistons season

1974–75 Detroit Pistons season
Head coach	Ray Scott
General manager	Edwin Coil
Owner(s)	Bill Davidson
Arena	Cobo Arena
Results
Record	40–42 (.488)
Place	Division: 3rd (Midwest) Conference: 5th (Western)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to SuperSonics 1–2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

The 1974–75 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 27th season in the NBA and 18th season in the city of Detroit. The team played at Cobo Arena in downtown Detroit.

The Pistons finished with a 40–42 (.488) record, 3rd place in the Midwest Division. The team was led guard Dave Bing (19.0 ppg, 7.7 apg, NBA All-Star), who held out over a contract dispute in the pre-season and center Bob Lanier (24.0 ppg, 12.0 rpg, NBA All-Star). The steady improvement of the previous three seasons (26 to 40 to 52 wins) came to a halt, as injuries played a significant role in derailing the promising season. In Sports Illustrated, the team was discussing Lanier playing through injury, "He’s our savior," says Rowe. Our healer, says Adams. Our leader, says Bing. Listen to those guys, says Lanier. They think I'm Moses."

Detroit advanced to the 1975 NBA Playoffs, losing a first round series of the Western Conference playoffs 2–1 to the Seattle SuperSonics, dropping the deciding 3rd game 100–94 in Seattle, with each team winning at home in the series. Lanier was limited in the series, averaging 20.3 ppg vs. his season average of 24.0 ppg, Howard Porter, picked up in a December trade with the Chicago Bulls, had an excellent series with 17.3 ppg, but the team could not overcome the stellar shooting of Downtown Freddie Brown, who averaged 23.7 ppg and Tom Burleson with a double-double of 22.3 ppg and 10.7 rpg.

Draft picks

Main article: 1974 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	15	Al Eberhard	Forward	United States	Missouri
2	33	Eric Money	Guard	United States	Arizona
10	175	Bill Ligon	Guard	United States	Vanderbilt

Roster

Detroit Pistons roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From SF 10 Adams, Don 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1947-11-27 Northwestern PG 21 Bing, Dave 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1943-11-24 Syracuse C 20 Davis, Jim 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1941-12-18 Colorado SF 44 Eberhard, Al 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1952-05-10 Missouri SG 42 Ford, Chris 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1949-01-11 Villanova C 16 Lanier, Bob 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1948-09-10 St. Bonaventure SG 26 Ligon, Bill 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1952-05-29 Vanderbilt SG 15 Mengelt, John 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1949-10-16 Auburn SG 14 Money, Eric 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1955-02-06 Arizona C 43 Moore, Otto 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1946-08-27 Texas–Pan American SF 8 Norwood, Willie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1947-08-08 Alcorn State SF 54 Porter, Howard 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1948-08-31 Villanova PF 18 Rowe, Curtis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1949-07-02 UCLA PF 31 Trapp, George 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1948-07-11 Long Beach State

Head coach Ray Scott Assistant coach(es) Jim Davis Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Last transaction: February 18, 1975

Regular season

Season standings

Midwest Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	–	29–12	18–23	11–15
x-Kansas City–Omaha Kings	44	38	.537	3	29–12	15–26	17–9
x-Detroit Pistons	40	42	.488	7	26–15	14–27	10–16
Milwaukee Bucks	38	44	.463	9	25–16	13–28	14–12

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Golden State Warriors	48	34	.585	–
2	y-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	1
3	x-Kansas City–Omaha Kings	44	38	.537	4
4	x-Seattle SuperSonics	43	39	.524	5
5	x-Detroit Pistons	40	42	.488	8
6	Portland Trail Blazers	38	44	.463	10
6	Milwaukee Bucks	38	44	.463	10
8	Phoenix Suns	32	50	.390	16
9	Los Angeles Lakers	30	52	.366	18

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1974–75 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	BUF	CHI	CLE	DET	GSW	HOU	KCO	LAL	MIL	NOJ	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SEA	WAS
Atlanta	—	0–4	1–3	0–4	3–4	2–2	1–3	2–5	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–5	0–4	2–2	4–0	1–3	3–1	3–5
Boston	4–0	—	5–4	3–1	3–1	3–1	1–3	4–0	2–2	4–0	4–0	4–0	7–2	5–3	3–1	4–0	2–2	2–2
Buffalo	3–1	4–5	—	1–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3	4–0	1–3	4–0	5–3	6–3	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2
Chicago	4–0	1–3	3–1	—	2–2	4–5	3–1	2–2	4–5	3–1	3–5	4–0	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	4–0	1–3
Cleveland	4–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	—	2–2	2–2	4–4	2–2	2–2	1–3	6–1	1–3	3–1	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–5
Detroit	2–2	1–3	2–2	5–4	2–2	—	1–3	2–2	2–6	3–1	3–6	4–0	2–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–3
Golden State	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	—	2–2	2–2	5–2	3–1	2–2	3–1	3–1	5–3	5–3	4–3	1–3
Houston	5–2	0–4	2–2	2–2	4–4	2–2	2–2	—	4–0	2–2	3–1	5–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–5
Kansas City-Omaha	2–2	2–2	3–1	5–4	2–2	6–2	2–2	0–4	—	3–1	6–3	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–1	1–3	1–3
Los Angeles	2–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–3	2–5	2–2	1–3	—	4–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	4–4	2–5	2–6	1–3
Milwaukee	2–2	0–4	3–1	5–3	3–1	6–3	1–3	1–3	3–6	0–4	—	3–1	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3	0–4
New Orleans	5–3	0–4	0–4	0–4	1–6	0–4	2–2	3–5	2–2	1–3	1–3	—	2–2	2–2	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–7
New York	4–0	2–7	3–5	1–3	3–1	2–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–2	—	4–5	3–1	2–2	2–2	1–3
Philadelphia	2–2	3–5	3–6	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	1–3	2–2	5–4	—	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3
Phoenix	0–4	1–3	1–3	2–2	2–2	2–2	3–5	2–2	1–3	4–4	2–2	3–1	1–3	2–2	—	1–6	4–3	1–3
Portland	3–1	0–4	2–2	2–2	2–2	1–3	3–5	2–2	1–3	5–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	2–2	6–1	—	2–6	1–3
Seattle	1–3	2–2	1–3	0–4	2–2	2–2	3–4	3–1	3–1	6–2	3–1	3–1	2–2	2–2	3–4	6–2	—	1–3
Washington	5–3	2–2	2–2	3–1	5–3	3–1	3–1	5–2	3–1	3–1	4–0	7–0	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	3–1	—

Playoffs

1975 playoff game log
First Round: 1–2 (home: 1–0; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 8 @ Seattle L 77–90 Howard Porter (21) Bob Lanier (14) Bob Lanier (9) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 0–1 2 April 10 Seattle W 122–106 Bing, Trapp (24) George Trapp (14) Dave Bing (11) Cobo Arena 10,490 1–1 3 April 12 @ Seattle L 93–100 Bob Lanier (29) Curtis Rowe (13) Dave Bing (10) Seattle Center Coliseum 14,082 1–2
1975 schedule