1973-1974 Chicago Bulls: Sticking to Fundamentals

1973-1974 Chicago Bulls: Sticking to Fundamentals

1973-1974 Chicago Bulls: Sticking to Fundamentals

The Chicago Bulls are now known as one of the best franchises in the history of the National Basketball Association, and that is because of the contributions made by their championship winning teams in the 1990’s as they created 2 dynasties of 3 NBA Championships each, which were led by the nucleus of coach Phil Jackson and star players like Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. Of course, the history of the Bulls franchise doesn’t begin and end with those teams, but instead the Bulls did have some competitive teams well before the Jordan Era ever got started.

The Bulls had a humble beginning for an NBA franchise in the 1966-1967 season as they quietly entered the association. However, they would immediately start making appearances in the playoffs due to the fact that they already had a roster of players talented enough to carry the team to victory.

In the 1973-1974 NBA season the Chicago Bulls went 54-28, finishing 5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks in the Western Conference. In conference head-to-head play the Bulls fared very well as they went 5-2 against the Kansas City-Omaha Kings, 4-0 against the Houston Rockets, and 4-2 against the Golden State Warriors, Portland Trail Blazers and the Seattle SuperSonics.

This Bulls team wasn’t a flashy bunch on the floor as they were sticking to fundamentals. During the 1970’s it was more essential for teams to show orchestrated teamwork rather than “Hero Ball” where one single player took over a basketball game. This Bulls team was about orchestrated teamwork more than anything else.

Power forward Bob Love had 1,785 points, 492 rebounds, 130 assists and 84 steals while making 323 of 395 free throws. Love averaged 21.8 points per game and 6 rebounds per game. Small forward Chet Walker had 1,583 points, 406 rebounds and 200 assists while making 439 of 502 free throws. Walker averaged 19.3 points per game and 5 rebounds per game. Point guard Norm Van Lier had 1,142 points, 548 assists and 162 steals while making 288 of 370 free throws. Van Lier averaged 14.3 points per game and 6.9 assists per game.

Shooting guard Jerry Sloan had 1,018 points, 556 rebounds and 183 steals while making o\193 of 273 free throws. Sloan averaged 13.2 points per game, 7.2 rebounds per game and 2.4 steals per game. Center Clifford Ray had 747 points, 977 rebounds and 173 blocks while making 121 of 199 free throws. Ray averaged 12.2 rebounds per game, 3.1 assists per game and 2.2 blocks per game. Small forward Howard Porter had 684 points and 285 rebounds while making 91 of 115 free throws. Shooting guard Bob Weiss had 668 points, 303 assists and 104 steals while making 142 of 170 free throws.

Making the NBA All-Defensive First Team were Jerry Sloan and Norm Van Lier while Bob Love made the Second Team. Along with Chet Walker, Van Lier made the All-Star Game and he would also be named the All-NBA Second Team.

While they weren’t the most dominant team in the NBA, the Chicago Bulls certainly had high moments in the regular season as they enjoyed two long winning streaks. Their first long winning streak was 12 games long. This 12-game winning streak began with a 101-94 win over the Detroit Pistons on October 13, and it ended with a 116-98 win over the Seattle SuperSonics on November 11. The 2^nd long winning streak for the Bulls was just as good in quality as they went on a 10-game winning streak. This winning streak began with a close 99-97 win over the Portland Trail Blazers on January 20, and it ended with a 112-95 win over the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.

One of the most impressive regular season wins for the Bulls came on February 19 where they easily took down the Phoenix Suns with a 130-96 win at Chicago Stadium. Chet Walker had 25 points and 5 rebounds. Howard Porter had 25 points and 10 rebounds. Jerry Sloan had 23 points and 9 rebounds. Though he only had 8 points, Clifford Ray pulled down 13 rebounds.

The Chicago Bulls would end up playing a heavily contested Western Conference Semifinals series against the Detroit Pistons in what would turn out to be a complete 7-game battle. The Pistons would strike first by winning Game 1 on March 30 at Chicago Stadium by the score of 102-87. The Bulls would bounce back to win Game 2 on April 1 at the Cobo Arena by the score of 108-103. Bob love led the offensive charge with 38 points. Chet Walker had 20 points and 5 rebounds. Jerry Sloan had 19 points and 8 rebounds.

In Game 3 on April 5 the Bulls just barely beat the Pistons 84-83 at Chicago Stadium. Chet Walker had 21 points and 7 rebounds. Jerry Sloan had 18 points and 14 rebounds. Bob Love had 15 points and 8 rebounds. In Game 4 on April 7 at the Cobo Arena the Pistons defeated the Bulls 102-87. The Bulls would again bounce back to win Game 5 on April 9 at Chicago Stadium by the score of 98-94. Bob Love had 32 points, 5 rebounds and 3 assists. Jerry Sloan had 20 points, 17 rebounds and 3 assists. Chet Walker had 16 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists. Clifford Ray had only 9 points but he grabbed 10 rebounds.

The Pistons simply wouldn’t go away as they tied the series at 3 games apiece by beating the Bulls 92-88 in Game 6 on April 11 at the Cobo Arena. However, the Bulls would indeed get the last laugh as they narrowly beat the Pistons 96-94 in the deciding Game 7 on April 13 at Chicago Stadium. Chet Walker had 26 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Bob Love had 24 points, 6 rebounds and 2 assists.

Unfortunately for the Bulls they would face a team that was at the top of their game in the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bulls would be swept by the Bucks 4 games to none in the Western Conference Finals. This would mark the end of the Early Era for the Chicago Bulls as they would begin to rebuild the roster and give it a new look with different players.