1970–71 Baltimore Bullets season

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1970–71 Baltimore Bullets season
Conference champions
Division champions
Head coachGene Shue
ArenaBaltimore Civic Center
Results
Record42–40 (.512)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Central)
Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finishNBA Finals
(Lost to Bucks 0–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWBAL-TV
RadioWBAL
< 1969–70 1971–72 >

The 1970–71 season was the 10th season of the Baltimore Bullets in the NBA. This would be its first year in the newly created Central Division inside the Eastern Conference.[1] Despite playing close to .500 basketball all season, the Bullets would capture the Central Division with a 42–40 record.[2]

Draft picks[]

Main article: 1970 NBA Draft

The Baltimore Bullets made seventeen selections in the 1970 NBA Draft.[3]

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College/Club team
1 9 George E. Johnson  United States Stephen F. Austin
3 49 Seaburn Hill  United States Arizona State
4 54 Bill Stricker  United States Pacific
4 66 Billy Jones  United States Louisiana College
5 83 Gary Zeller  United States Drake
6 100 Marvin Polnick  United States Stephen F. Austin
7 117 Charlie Wallace  United States Oklahoma City
8 134 Tom Dyksera  United States Wheaton (IL)
9 151 Will Hetzel  United States Maryland
10 168 Ron Becker  United States New Mexico Lobos
11 183 Mel Bell  United States Houston
12 193 Ben McGilmer  United States Iowa
13 203 Dan Debardabi  United States Northern Arizona
14 213 Mike Williams  United States Northern Arizona
15 222 Ted Rose  United States Northern Michigan
16 229 Don Rather  United States Northern Arizona
17 233 Vince Fritz  United States Oregon State

Roster[]

1970–71 Baltimore Bullets roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From
PF 12 Barnes, Jim 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1941–04–13 UTEP
G 3 Carter, Fred 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1945–02–14 Mount St. Mary's
F 31 Johnson, George E. 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1947–06–19 Stephen F. Austin
F 25 Johnson, Gus 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1938–12–13 Idaho
G 22 Loughery, Kevin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1940–03–28 St. John's
F 24 Marin, Jack 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1944–10–12 Duke
G 15 Miles, Eddie 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1940–07–05 Seattle
G 10 Monroe, Earl 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1944–11–21 Winston-Salem State
PF 40 Murrey, Dorie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 229 lb (104 kg) 1943–09–07 Detroit
F 40 Stewart, Dennis 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1947–04–11 Michigan
PF 12 Tresvant, John 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1939–11–06 Seattle
SF 35 Tucker, Al 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1943–02–24 Oklahoma Baptist
F 41 Unseld, Wes 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1946–03–14 Louisville
G 11 Zeller, Gary 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1947–11–20 Drake
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

Central Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Baltimore Bullets 42 40 .512 – 24–13 16–25 2–2 10–6
x-Atlanta Hawks 36 46 .439 6 21–20 14–26 1–0 9–7
Cincinnati Royals 33 49 .402 9 17–16 11–28 5–5 16–6
Cleveland Cavaliers 15 67 .183 27 11–30 2–37 2–0 1–13
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-New York Knicks 52 30 .634
2 y-Baltimore Bullets 42 40 .512
3 x-Philadelphia 76ers 47 35 .573
4 x-Atlanta Hawks 36 46 .439
5 Boston Celtics 44 38 .537
6 Cincinnati Royals 33 49 .402
7 Buffalo Braves 22 60 .268
8 Cleveland Cavaliers 15 67 .183



Record vs. opponents[]

1970–71 NBA records
Team ATL BAL BOS BUF CHI CIN CLE DET LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SDR SFW SEA
Atlanta — 3–3 2–4 3–1 1–4 2–4 4–0 0–5 3–2 1–4 3–3 4–2 1–4 2–2 2–3 2–3 3–2
Baltimore 3–3 — 3–3 3–1 2–3 3–3 4–0 2–3 2–3 1–4 2–4 3–3 3–2 2–2 4–1 2–3 3–2
Boston 4–2 3–3 — 4–0 4–1 4–2 3–1 2–3 3–2 0–5 0–6 4–2 2–3 2–2 3–2 3–2 3–2
Buffalo 1–3 1–3 0–4 — 0–4 0–4 5–7 1–5 2–2 0–4 2–2 0–4 1–3 6–6 1–3 1–3 1–3
Chicago 4–1 3–2 1–4 4–0 — 4–0 4–0 3–3 2–4 1–5 3–2 3–2 3–3 3–1 6–0 4–2 3–2
Cincinnati 4–2 3–3 2–4 4–0 0–4 — 5–1 1–4 1–4 1–4 2–4 1–5 1–4 4–0 1–3 2–3 1–4
Cleveland 0–4 0–4 1–3 7–5 0–4 1–5 — 2–2 0–4 0–4 0–4 1–3 0–4 2–10 0–4 1–3 0–4
Detroit 5–0 3–2 3–2 5–1 3–3 4–1 2–2 — 2–3 1–5 2–3 2–3 2–4 3–1 4–2 1–4 3–1
Los Angeles 2–3 3–2 2–3 2–2 4–2 4–1 4–0 3–2 — 1–4 3–2 3–2 2–4 4–0 3–3 4–2 4–2
Milwaukee 4–1 4–1 5–0 4–0 5–1 4–1 4–0 5–1 4–1 — 1–4 4–1 4–2 3–1 4–1 6–0 5–1
New York 3–3 4–2 6–0 2–2 2–3 4–2 4–0 3–2 2–3 4–1 — 2–4 4–1 3–1 4–1 3–2 2–3
Philadelphia 2–4 3–3 2–4 4–0 2–3 5–1 3–1 3–2 2–3 1–4 4–2 — 3–2 4–0 3–2 3–2 3–2
Phoenix 4–1 2–3 3–2 3–1 3–3 4–1 4–0 4–2 4–2 2–4 1–4 2–3 — 4–0 2–4 3–2 3–2
Portland 2–2 2–2 2–2 6–6 1–3 0–4 10–2 1–3 0–4 1–3 1–3 0–4 0–4 — 0–4 1–3 2–4
San Diego 3–2 1–4 2–3 3–1 0–6 3–1 4–0 2–4 3–3 1–4 1–4 2–3 4–2 4–0 — 2–4 5–1
San Francisco 3–2 3–2 2–3 3–1 2–4 3–2 3–1 4–1 2–4 0–6 2–3 2–3 2–3 3–1 4–2 — 3–3
Seattle 2–3 2–3 2–3 3–1 2–3 4–1 4–0 1–3 2–4 1–5 3–2 2–3 2–3 4–2 1–5 3–3 —

Game log[]

Playoffs[]

In the playoffs the Bullets would get off to a quick start as they grabbed a 3–1 series lead over the Philadelphia 76ers. However, the Bullets would find themselves in a 7th game and that game the Bullets would emerge victorious 128–120.[2] The Bullets would face the New York Knicks in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Bullets would finally break through in Game 5 and break the tie in the series by beating the Knicks at Madison Square Garden 89–84.[2] The Bullets would have a chance to close the series out at home, but the Knicks would bounce back with a 113–96 win to force a 7th and deciding game in New York. In the seventh game, the Bullets would triumph, winning in New York by 2 points to reach the NBA Finals.However, the Bullets would be swept in 4 straight games by the Milwaukee Bucks.[1]

1971 playoff game log
Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (Home: 2–2; Road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 March 24 Philadelphia L 112–126 Loughery, Gus Johnson (19) Wes Unseld (20) Kevin Loughery (4) Baltimore Civic Center
6,707 		0–1
2 March 26 @ Philadelphia W 119–107 Marin, Monroe (24) Wes Unseld (18) Earl Monroe (6) Spectrum
10,369 		1–1
3 March 28 Philadelphia W 111–103 Earl Monroe (29) Wes Unseld (24) Kevin Loughery (7) Baltimore Civic Center
5,589 		2–1
4 March 30 @ Philadelphia W 120–105 Jack Marin (27) Gus Johnson (14) Earl Monroe (6) Spectrum
8,909 		3–1
5 April 1 Philadelphia L 103–104 Earl Monroe (26) Wes Unseld (18) Kevin Loughery (5) Baltimore Civic Center
10,998 		3–2
6 April 3 @ Philadelphia L 94–98 Earl Monroe (30) Wes Unseld (18) Kevin Loughery (5) Spectrum
7,059 		3–3
7 April 4 Philadelphia W 128–120 Jack Marin (33) Wes Unseld (22) Gus Johnson (8) Baltimore Civic Center
6,662 		4–3
Conference Finals: 4–3 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 6 @ New York L 111–112 Earl Monroe (29) Wes Unseld (22) Earl Monroe (4) Madison Square Garden
19,500 		0–1
2 April 9 @ New York L 88–107 John Tresvant (20) Wes Unseld (20) Kevin Loughery (16) Madison Square Garden
19,500 		0–2
3 April 11 New York W 114–88 Earl Monroe (31) Wes Unseld (26) Wes Unseld (9) Baltimore Civic Center
8,083 		1–2
4 April 14 New York W 101–80 Jack Marin (27) John Tresvant (17) Wes Unseld (6) Baltimore Civic Center
12,289 		2–2
5 April 16 @ New York L 84–89 Jack Marin (25) John Tresvant (17) Wes Unseld (3) Madison Square Garden
19,500 		2–3
6 April 18 New York W 113–96 Earl Monroe (27) Wes Unseld (15) Earl Monroe (7) Baltimore Civic Center
11,211 		3–3
7 April 19 @ New York W 93–91 Earl Monroe (26) Wes Unseld (20) Earl Monroe (6) Madison Square Garden
19,500 		4–3
NBA Finals: 0–4 (Home: 0–2; Road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 21 @ Milwaukee L 88–98 Earl Monroe (26) John Tresvant (14) Fred Carter (4) Milwaukee Arena
10,746 		0–1
2 April 25 Milwaukee L 83–102 Jack Marin (22) Wes Unseld (20) Earl Monroe (6) Baltimore Civic Center
12,289 		0–2
3 April 28 @ Milwaukee L 99–107 Jack Marin (21) Wes Unseld (23) Wes Unseld (6) Milwaukee Arena
10,746 		0–3
4 April 30 Milwaukee L 106–118 Fred Carter (28) Wes Unseld (23) Wes Unseld (10) Baltimore Civic Center
11,842 		0–4
1971 schedule

Awards and honors[]

  • Gus Johnson, All-NBA Second Team
  • Gus Johnson, NBA All-Defensive First Team

References[]

  1. ^ a b Baltimore Bullets
  2. ^ a b c Washington Wizards (1963–Present)
  3. ^ "1970 NBA Draft". Basketball Reference. Retrieved August 28, 2020.
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