1975–76 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1975–76 season was the sixth season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] The Blazers finished at 37–45, one game shy of their franchise high from the previous year. Despite finishing with a better record than the Detroit Pistons of the Midwest Division, the Pistons made the playoffs and the Blazers did not.

1975–76 Portland Trail Blazers season
Head coachLenny Wilkens
General managerHarry Glickman
Owner(s)Larry Weinberg
ArenaMemorial Coliseum
Results
Record37–45 (.451)
PlaceDivision: 5th (Pacific)
Conference: 7th (Western)
Playoff finishDid not qualify

Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKOIN
RadioKOIN
< 1974–75 1976–77 >

Draft picks

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Lionel Hollins was the sixth pick overall in the 1975 NBA draft.

Note: This is not a complete list; only the first two rounds are covered, as well as any other picks by the franchise who played at least one NBA game.

RoundPickPlayerPositionNationalitySchool/Club Team
16Lionel HollinsG  United StatesArizona State
225Bob GrossG/F  United StatesLong Beach State
350Gus GerardG/F  United StatesSpirits of St. Louis (ABA)
461Phil HicksF  United StatesTulane

Roster

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1975–76 Portland Trail Blazers roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
G33Anderson, Dan6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)185 lb (84 kg)USC
F40Clemens, Barry6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)210 lb (95 kg)Ohio Wesleyan
SF30Gross, Bob6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)200 lb (91 kg)Long Beach State
C10Hawes, Steve6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)220 lb (100 kg)Washington
G14Hollins, Lionel6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)185 lb (84 kg)Arizona State
G23Jones, Steve "Snapper"6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)205 lb (93 kg)Oregon
C25Martin, LaRue6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)208 lb (94 kg)Loyola Chicago
F36Neal, Lloyd6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)225 lb (102 kg)Tennessee State
SG45Petrie, Geoff6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)190 lb (86 kg)Princeton
F15Steele, Larry6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)180 lb (82 kg)Kentucky
C32Walton, Bill6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)210 lb (95 kg)UCLA
PF21Wicks, Sidney6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)225 lb (102 kg)UCLA
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

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The Trail Blazers played their home games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

October

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Three of the first four games of the 1975–76 season for the Trail Blazers were played on the road. It proved to be a stiff opening test for the team, as they lost all three road games handily, and narrowly missed beating the Phoenix Suns in the lone home game of the opening month.[2]

The opening game of the season was a visit to Seattle to face the SuperSonics on October 24. The Blazers started out well, leading 28–24 after the first quarter. However, by halftime Seattle was leading 57–53. The Blazers came back and made it a one-point game by the start of the fourth quarter, but Seattle pulled away, winning the fourth quarter by a 27–20 margin, and thus the game, 105–97. Geoff Petrie led the Blazers with 25 points, and Sidney Wicks added 20. Lloyd Neal fouled out after amassing 6 fouls to go along with 15 points. The Blazers' record: 0–1. For the SuperSonics, the leaders were Fred Brown with 29 points, and Slick Watts with 17. The game was played in front of a crowd of 13,601.[3]

Portland were home the following evening to face the Phoenix Suns, on October 25. The Blazers blew an 11-point lead they had amassed after the first three-quarters, as the Suns dominated the final quarter, 26–12, to take the game by a final score of 89–88. It was a tough way to start the home portion of the season's schedule, and it would take a little more 'killer instinct' if they wanted to finish off teams and progress in the direction towards success. Bill Walton led the Blazers with 33 points, and Sidney Wicks chipped in 21. The Suns were guided by Paul Westphal's 17 points, while Nate Hawthorne and Alvin Adams contributed 14. Mike Bantom fouled out for Phoenix after failing to sink a single basket. This contest was played in front of a crowd of 11,274 incredibly disappointed partisans. The Blazers dropped to 0–2, while the Suns went to 1–0.[4]

Season standings

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W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Golden State Warriors5923.72036–523–1817–9
x-Seattle SuperSonics4339.5241631–1012–2912–14
x-Phoenix Suns4240.5121727–1415–2615–11
Los Angeles Lakers4042.4881931–119–3110–16
Portland Trail Blazers3745.4512225–1512–3011–15
#
Team W L PCT GB
1z-Golden State Warriors5923.720
2x-Seattle SuperSonics4339.52416
3x-Phoenix Suns4240.51217
4y-Milwaukee Bucks3844.46321
5x-Detroit Pistons3646.43923
6Los Angeles Lakers4042.48819
7Portland Trail Blazers3745.45122
8Kansas City Kings3151.37828
9Chicago Bulls2458.29335
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

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1975–76 NBA Records
TeamATLBOSBUFCHICLEDETGSWHOUKCKLALMILNOJNYKPHIPHOPORSEAWAS
Atlanta2–32–32–22–51–32–22–52–21–32–22–43–22–30–42–21–31–5
Boston3–24–32–23–24–02–24–12–24–02–24–15–24–34–02–22–23–2
Buffalo3–23–43–13–21–31–33–24–02–23–14–14–33–43–12–22–22–3
Chicago2–22–21–30–43–41–41–31–63–23–42–20–40–42–31–42–30–4
Cleveland5–22–32–34–02–21–32–41–32–24–04–33–23–23–14–03–14–2
Detroit3–10–43–14–32–20–52–25–21–43–41–33–11–31–42–33–22–2
Golden State2–22–23–14–13–15–02–24–15–25–02–24–03–14–24–24–33–1
Houston5–21–42–33–14–22–22–22–21–32–22–43–23–20–43–12–23–4
Kansas City2–22–20–46–13–12–51–42–22–32–51–31–31–33–20–52–31–3
Los Angeles3–10–42–22–32–24–12–53–13–22–33–13–12–22–43–43–31–3
Milwaukee2–22–21–34–30–44–30–52–25–23–22–22–22–23–22–32–32–2
New Orleans4–21–41–42–23–43–12–24–23–11–32–22–31–41–33–11–34–3
New York2–32–53–44–02–31–30–42–33–11–32–23–25–22–23–10–43–2
Philadelphia3–23–44–34–02–33–11–32–33–12–22–24–12–53–14–02–22–3
Phoenix4–00–41–33–21–34–12–44–02–34–22–33–12–21–35–24–30–4
Portland2–22–22–24–10–43–22–41–35–04–33–21–31–30–42–53–32–2
Seattle3–12–22–23–21–32–33–42–23–23–33–23–14–02–23–43–31–3
Washington5–12–33–24–02–42–21–34–33–13–12–23–42–33–24–02–23–1

Awards and honors

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References

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  1. ^ "1975–76 Portland Trail Blazers". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  2. ^ "1975-76 Portland Trail Blazers Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  3. ^ "Portland Trail Blazers at Seattle SuperSonics Box Score, October 24, 1975". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2017.
  4. ^ "Phoenix Suns at Portland Trail Blazers Box Score, October 25, 1975". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved February 25, 2017.