1978–79 Portland Trail Blazers season

The 1978–79 Portland Trail Blazers season was the ninth season of the Portland Trail Blazers in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

1978–79 Portland Trail Blazers season
Head coachJack Ramsay
General managerHarry Glickman
Owner(s)Larry Weinberg
ArenaMemorial Coliseum
Results
Record45–37 (.549)
PlaceDivision: 4th (Pacific)
Conference: 6th (Western)
Playoff finishFirst round
(lost to Suns 1–2)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionKOIN
RadioKWJJ

During the offseason, MVP Bill Walton demanded to be traded, citing unethical and incompetent treatment of his and other players' injuries by the Blazers' front office. He did not get his wish and sat out the 1978–79 season in protest, signing with the San Diego Clippers when he became a free agent in 1979.[1]

Before the draft, Larry Bird had just finished his junior year at Indiana State. However, he was eligible to be drafted without applying for "hardship" because his original college class at the Indiana University had graduated.[2][3] He initially enrolled at Indiana in 1974 but dropped out before the season began. After sitting out a year, he enrolled at Indiana State.[4] Despite being eligible for the draft, he stated that he would return to college for his senior season. His hometown team, the Indiana Pacers, initially held the first overall pick. However, when they failed to persuade him to leave college early, they traded the first pick to the Blazers, who also failed to convince him into signing; ultimately the Blazers used the first pick on Minnesota standout center Mychal Thompson.[5][6]

As a result, the Blazers fell 13 games from their franchise-best record of the previous year, barely squeezing into the playoffs with a 45–37 record that earned them the sixth and final seed, only two games better than the Clippers.

The Blazers were ousted from the 1979 NBA Playoffs after losing their best-of-three series to the Phoenix Suns, two games to one.

Draft picks
Main article: 1978 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.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 1 Mychal Thompson F/C  Bahamas Minnesota
1 7 Ron Brewer G  United States Arkansas
2 24 Keith Herron G/F  United States Villanova
2 44 Clemon Johnson F/C  United States Florida A&M
5 110 Clay Johnson G  United States Missouri

Roster
Portland Trail Blazers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
G 10 Brewer, Ron 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Arkansas
F 30 Gross, Bob 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Long Beach State
G 14 Hollins, Lionel 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Arizona State
F 20 Lucas, Maurice 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Marquette
F 36 Neal, Lloyd 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Tennessee State
F/C 25 Owens, Tom 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) South Carolina
F 15 Steele, Larry 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Kentucky
F/C 43 Thompson, Mychal 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 226 lb (103 kg) Minnesota
G 13 Twardzik, Dave 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Old Dominion
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

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

Season standings
Pacific Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Seattle SuperSonics 5230.634–31–1021–2011–9
x-Phoenix Suns 5032.610232–918–2311–9
x-Los Angeles Lakers 4735.573531–1016–2511–9
x-Portland Trail Blazers 4537.549733–812–298–12
San Diego Clippers 4339.524929–1214–2711–9
Golden State Warriors 3844.4631423–1815–268–12
#
Western Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Seattle SuperSonics5230.634–
2 y-Kansas City Kings4834.5854
3 x-Phoenix Suns5032.6102
4 x-Denver Nuggets4735.5735
5 x-Los Angeles Lakers4735.5735
6 x-Portland Trail Blazers4537.5497
7 San Diego Clippers4339.5249
8 Indiana Pacers3844.46314
9 Milwaukee Bucks3844.46314
10 Golden State Warriors3844.46314
11 Chicago Bulls3151.37821
z – clinched division title
y – clinched division title
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1978–79 NBA records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NOJ NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA WAS
Atlanta –2–23–13–13–13–11–33–11–32–21–33–02–22–22–22–22–12–23–13–11–32–2
Boston 2–2–1–22–21–32–22–11–33–11–31–31–31–32–23–12–20–41–30–41–32–20–4
Chicago 1–32–1–1–32–22–23–12–22–20–41–31–32–22–23–11–31–34–00–30–40–41–3
Cleveland 1–32–23–1–1–21–32–12–21–31–32–21–33–12–22–22–20–40–40–42–22–20–4
Denver 1–33–12–22–1–2–24–01–33–11–33–12–24–03–13–10–33–11–33–12–23–11–3
Detroit 1–32–22–23–12–2–1–32–22–22–22–22–10–42–21–31–30–41–31–32–20–31–3
Golden State 3–11–21–31–20–43–1–2–22–22–21–32–21–33–13–13–11–32–21–31–33–12–2
Houston 1–33–12–22–23–12–22–2–0–43–12–12–23–14–04–00–42–23–13–12–12–22–2
Indiana 3–11–32–23–11–32–22–24–0–1–30–42–21–22–12–22–22–23–13–11–30–41–3
Kansas City 2–23–14–03–13–12–22–21–33–1–2–22–23–13–12–12–22–21–31–32–22–23–0
Los Angeles 3–13–13–12–21–32–23–11–24–02–2–3–12–22–23–01–32–22–22–22–22–22–2
Milwaukee 0–33–13–13–12–21–22–22–22–22–21–3–2–23–11–32–22–22–21–31–32–21–3
New Jersey 2–23–12–21–30–44–03–11–32–11–32–22–2–3–11–32–23–02–20–42–20–41–3
New Orleans 2–22–22–22–21–32–21–30–41–21–32–21–31–3–2–22–21–31–32–20–40–30–4
New York 2–21–31–32–21–33–11–30–42–21–20–33–13–12–2–2–20–41–31–32–22–21–3
Philadelphia 2–22–23–12–23–03–11–34–02–22–23–12–22–22–22–2–1–31–23–13–11–33–1
Phoenix 1–24–03–14–01–34–03–12–22–22–22–22–20–33–14–03–1–3–13–12–21–31–3
Portland 2–23–10–44–03–13–12–21–31–33–12–22–22–23–13–12–11–3–2–12–21–33–1
San Antonio 1–34–03–04–01–33–13–11–31–33–12–23–14–02–23–11–31–31–2–4–02–21–3
San Diego 1–33–14–02–22–22–23–11–23–12–22–23–12–24–02–21–32–22–20–4–2–20–3
Seattle 3–12–24–02–21–33–01–32–24–02–22–22–24–03–02–23–13–13–12–22–2–2–2
Washington 2–24–03–14–03–13–12–22–23–10–32–23–13–14–03–11–33–11–33–13–02–2—

Playoffs
1979 playoff game log
First round: 1–2 (home: 1–0; road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 2 @ Phoenix L 103–107 Ron Brewer (26) Thompson, Lucas (10) Lucas, Brewer (5) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
12,660		 0–1
2 April 4 Phoenix W 96–92 Ron Brewer (21) Mychal Thompson (17) Maurice Lucas (4) Memorial Coliseum
12,666		 1–1
3 April 6 @ Phoenix L 91–101 three players tied (16) Maurice Lucas (16) Maurice Lucas (9) Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum
12,660		 1–2
1979 schedule

Awards and honors

References
  1. Love, Matt (2007). Red Hot and Rollin': A Retrospection of the Portland Trail Blazers' 1976–77 NBA Championship Season. Pacific City, Oregon: Nestucca Spit Press. p. 119. ISBN 978-0-9744364-8-7.
  2. "Larry Bird Bio". NBA.com. Turner Sports Interactive, Inc. Archived from the original on September 1, 2010. Retrieved September 27, 2010.
  3. "If Blazers draft Bird, they won't wait year to sign him". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. June 6, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  4. Deford, Frank (March 21, 1988). "A Player for the Ages". Sports Illustrated. Time Warner Company. Archived from the original on September 30, 2013. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  5. Sachare, Alex (June 11, 1978). "Thompson picked first". Daily News. Bowling Green, Kentucky. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
  6. "Blazers Get No. 1 Pick". Sarasota Journal. Sarasota, Florida: Lindsay Newspapers Inc. June 9, 2010. Retrieved October 1, 2010.
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