1973–74 Indiana Pacers season

1973–74 Indiana Pacers season
Head coachBobby Leonard
ArenaFairgrounds Coliseum
Results
Record46–38 (.548)
PlaceDivision: 2nd
Conference: 2nd
Playoff finishDivision Finals
(lost to Stars 3–4)
RadioWIBC

The 1973–74 Indiana Pacers season was the franchise's seventh season both as a team and while in the American Basketball Association. Entering this season, the Pacers sought to not just obtain a three-peat of championships while in the ABA, but also win their fourth championship in five seasons after previously winning the ABA Finals in 1970, 1972, and 1973. However, the Pacers would finish the season with a 46–38 record, posting a five win downgrade from the previous season. Despite that notion, the Pacers would still finish in second place for the Western Division for the season, behind only the Utah Stars there. While in the playoffs, the Pacers would go tooth and nail with the San Antonio Spurs, surviving the first round in seven games, before losing the Western Division Finals to the Utah Stars in seven games themselves (with the Stars later losing the 1974 ABA Finals to the New York Nets by five games), thus preventing the Pacers from becoming the sole dynasty of the ABA with four championships in five years.

ABA Draft

Main article: 1973 ABA draft

Interestingly, this year's ABA draft would involve four different types of drafts throughout the early 1973 year: a "Special Circumstances Draft" on January 15, a "Senior Draft" on April 25, an "Undergraduate Draft" also on April 25, and a "Supplemental Draft" on May 18, though the Pacers joined the New York Nets as one of two teams to avoid using that last draft entirely. Still, the following selections were made in these respective drafts by the Pacers.

Special Circumstances Draft

Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality College
1 2 Mike Green PF/C United States Louisiana Tech
2 14 Dave Cowens SF United States Houston

Senior Draft

Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality College
1 7 Steve Downing C United States Indiana
2 17 Jim O'Brien SG/SF United States Maryland
3 27 Jim Resteck F United States Auburn
4 37 John Ritter F United States Indiana
5 47 Allan Hornyak SG United States Ohio State
6 57 Joe Wallace SF United States Denver
7 67 Jim Andrews C United States Kentucky
8 77 Mike Edwards SG United States Tennessee
9 87 Bobby Wilson G United States Wichita State (redshirt)[1]
10 97 Byron Jones F United States San Francisco

The "Senior Draft" done in April is often considered the official, main draft period of the 1973 ABA draft by basketball historians.

Special Circumstances Draft

Round Pick Player Position(s) Nationality College
11 (1) 107 (7) Len Elmore PF/C United States Maryland
12 (2) 117 (17) Rudy Jackson C United States Hutchinson Community Junior College[2][3]

The "Undergraduate Draft" is considered a continuation of the "Senior Draft" that was done earlier that same day, hence the numbering of the rounds and draft picks here. Also, the Pacers joined the New York Nets as one of only two teams to decline participation in the "Supplementary Draft" entirely, meaning there will be no section for that draft with the Pacers here.[4]

Roster

1973–74 Indiana Pacers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From
SF 22 Bob Arnzen 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) November 3, 1947 Notre Dame
SF 22 Johnny Baum 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 200 lb (91 kg) June 17, 1946 Temple
SF 35 Roger Brown 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 205 lb (93 kg) May 22, 1942 Dayton
PG 10 Don Buse 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) August 10, 1950 Evansville
SG 33 Larry Cannon 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) April 12, 1947 La Salle
C 34 Mel Daniels 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) July 20, 1944 New Mexico
SG 13 Donnie Freeman 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) July 18, 1944 Illinois
PF 20 Darnell Hillman 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) August 29, 1949 San José State
SG 43 Kevin Joyce 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) June 27, 1951 South Carolina
SG 11 Billy Keller 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 177 lb (80 kg) August 30, 1947 Purdue
PG 14 Freddie Lewis 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) July 1, 1943 Arizona State
PF 30 George McGinnis 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 235 lb (107 kg) August 12, 1950 Indiana
C 24 Bob Netolicky 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) August 2, 1942 Drake
PF 24 Bill Newton 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) December 22, 1950 LSU
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Season standings

Western Division

Team W L Pct.
Utah Stars 51 33 .607
Indiana Pacers 46 38 .548
San Antonio Spurs 45 39 .536
San Diego Conquistadors 37 47 .440
Denver Rockets 37 47 .440

Player stats

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game
Player GP MPG RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
George McGinnis 80 40.8 15.0 3.3 2.0 0.5 25.9
Mel Daniels 78 32.6 11.6 1.6 0.7 1.2 15.4
Roger Brown 82 30.8 4.8 2.8 0.7 0.7 11.8
Darnell Hillman 83 27.9 8.1 1.2 0.8 2.1 9.1
Freddie Lewis 78 27.7 2.6 4.1 1.3 0.1 9.9
Donnie Freeman 66 26.3 2.5 2.5 0.7 0.3 14.3
Don Buse 77 24.4 3.3 3.4 1.9 0.3 5.5
Bob Netolicky 56 20.7 5.2 0.9 0.4 0.4 9.1
Bill Keller 75 19.0 1.7 2.3 0.5 0.0 9.5
Kevin Joyce 56 17.6 1.6 2.3 0.6 0.1 7.3
Larry Cannon 3 8.7 1.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 2.3
Johnny Baum 13 8.7 1.9 0.2 0.5 0.2 2.8
Bob Arnzen 20 7.5 1.0 0.2 0.2 0.1 2.8
Bill Newton 11 6.6 1.6 0.5 0.2 0.0 1.4[5]

Playoffs

Western Division Semifinals vs San Antonio Spurs[6]

Game Date Location Score Record Attendance
1 March 30 Indiana 109–113 0–1 7,438
2 April 1 Indiana 128–101 1–1 6,988
3 April 3 San Antonio 96–115 1–2 10,693
4 April 4 San Antonio 91–89 2–2 12,079
5 April 6 Indiana 105–100 3–2 10,079
6 April 10 San Antonio 86–102 3–3 12,304
7 April 12 Indiana 86–79 4–3 10,079

Western Division Finals vs Utah Stars

Game Date Location Score Record Attendance
1 April 13 Utah 96–105 0–1 7,557
2 April 15 Utah 102–106 0–2 7,143
3 April 17 Indiana 90–99 0–3 6,337
4 April 18 Indiana 118–107 1–3 6,265
5 April 22 Utah 110–101 2–3 10,248
6 April 25 Indiana 91–89 3–3 9,482
7 April 27 Utah 87–109 3–4 12,191

Awards, records, and honors

ABA All-Stars

[7]

References

  1. ^ "Bobby Wilson". SRCBB. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  2. ^ Goldaper, Sam (October 24, 1973). "Forged Transcript Puts Focus on College Recruiting Abuses". New York Times. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  3. ^ "Rudy Jackson". The Draft Review. May 14, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2024.
  4. ^ 1973 ABA Draft on databaseBasketball.com
  5. ^ 1973-74 Indiana Pacers Roster and Stats
  6. ^ "Remember the ABA: 1973-74 Regular Season Standings and Playoff Results".
  7. ^ 1973-74 ABA Season Summary
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