1981–82 Detroit Pistons season

The 1981–82 NBA season was the Detroit Pistons' 34th season in the NBA and 25th season in the city of Detroit.[1] The team played in the Detroit suburbs at the Pontiac Silverdome.

1981–82 Detroit Pistons season
Head coachScotty Robertson
General managerJack McCloskey
OwnersWilliam Davidson
ArenaPontiac Silverdome
Results
Record39–43 (.476)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Central)
Conference: 7th (Eastern)
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

The Pistons had the second pick in the 1981 NBA draft and chose Isiah Thomas from Indiana, adding a future Hall of Fame player for the centerpiece of the rebuilding franchise. The team finished greatly improved, 39-43 (.476), 3rd in the Central Division, an 18-game improvement from the previous season. The team was led by a pair of rookies, guard Thomas (17.0 ppg, 7.8 apg, NBA All-Star, NBA All Rookie Team) and forward Kelly Tripucka (21.6 ppg, NBA All-Star, NBA All Rookie Team), along with guard John Long (21.9 ppg) The team also picked up center Bill Laimbeer (12.8 ppg, 11.3 rpg) in a trade with Cleveland and guard Vinnie Johnson from Seattle (7.7 ppg), two key components of future championship Piston teams.[2][3]

Draft picks
Main article: 1981 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
12Isiah ThomasPG United StatesIndiana
112Kelly TripuckaSF/SG United StatesNotre Dame

Roster
1981–82 Detroit Pistons roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOBFrom
C 54 Benson, Kent 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Indiana
F 32 Carr, Kenny 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) NC State
SG 24 Hardy, Alan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Michigan
C 52 Hayes, Steve 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Idaho State
SG 10 Johnson, Vinnie 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Baylor
F 42 Jones, Edgar 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Nevada
F 22 Judkins, Jeff 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Utah
C 40 Laimbeer, Bill 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 245 lb (111 kg) Notre Dame
G 30 Lee, Ron 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 193 lb (88 kg) Oregon
SG 25 Long, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Detroit Mercy
PG 11 Thomas, Isiah 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Indiana
F 7 Tripucka, Kelly 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Notre Dame
G/F 41 Tyler, Terry 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Detroit Mercy
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season

Season standings
Central Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Milwaukee Bucks5527.671–31–1024–1724–6
x-Atlanta Hawks4240.51213.024–1718–2315–14
Detroit Pistons3943.47616.023–1816–2519–11
Indiana Pacers3547.42720.025–1610–3114–16
Chicago Bulls3448.41521.022–1912–2912–17
Cleveland Cavaliers1567.18340.09–326–355–25
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Boston Celtics6319.768–
2 y-Milwaukee Bucks5527.6718
3 x-Philadelphia 76ers5824.7075
4 x-New Jersey Nets4438.53719
5 x-Washington Bullets4339.52420
6 x-Atlanta Hawks4240.51221
7 Detroit Pistons3943.47624
8 Indiana Pacers3547.42728
9 Chicago Bulls3448.41529
10 New York Knicks3349.40230
11 Cleveland Cavaliers1567.18348
z - clinched division title
y - clinched division title
x - clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents
1981-82 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —1–52–34–21–11–12–40–22–04–21–10–23–33–25–13–31–12–01–11–11–12–02–4
Boston 5–1—4–25–02–01–16–01–11–14–12–01–13–35–15–14–21–11–12–02–00–22–06–0
Chicago 3–22–4—5–11–11–10–60–21–13–31–12–01–52–43–21–50–21–11–12–01–11–12–4
Cleveland 2–40–51–5—2–00–21–51–11–11–51–10–20–60–60–60–50–21–10–21–10–22–01–5
Dallas 1–10–21–10–2—1–51–10–52–41–14–21–41–12–01–10–22–32–31–52–31–43–31–1
Denver 1–11–11–12–05–1—1–13–25–10–24–21–41–11–11–11–12–32–32–45–02–33–32–0
Detroit 4–20–66–05–11–11–1—2–02–02–42–00–22–42–43–32–30–20–20–22–01–11–11–4
Golden State 2–01–12–01–15–02–30–2—1–42–03–23–32–01–11–10–24–22–43–25–11–53–21–1
Houston 0–21–11–11–14–21–50–24–1—2–03–31–41–11–11–11–13–24–13–34–12–36–02–0
Indiana 2–41–53–35–11–12–04–20–20–2—1–10–20–64–23–20–61–11–12–02–01–11–11–5
Kansas City 1–10–21–11–12–42–40–22–33–31–1—1–41–11–12–00–22–30–51–54–12–33–30–2
Los Angeles 2–01–10–22–04–14–12–03–34–12–04–1—0–21–10–21–14–25–12–35–14–25–02–0
Milwaukee 3–33–35–16–01–11–14–20–21–16–01–12–0—4–13–34–21–12–01–12–00–22–03–2
New Jersey 2–31–54–26–00–21–14–21–11–12–41–11–11–4—4–23–32–01–11–12–00–22–04–2
New York 1–51–52–36–01–11–13–31–11–12–30–22–03–32–4—1–50–21–10–22–00–22–01–5
Philadelphia 3–32–45–15–02–01–13–22–01–16–02–01–12–43–35–1—1–12–00–22–02–02–06–0
Phoenix 1–11–12–02–03–23–22–02–42–31–13–22–41–10–22–01–1—3–34–14–23–33–21–1
Portland 0–21–11–11–13–23–22–04–21–41–15–01–50–21–11–10–23–3—3–24–23–34–10–2
San Antonio 1–10–21–12–05–14–22–02–33–30–25–13–21–11–12–02–01–42–3—3–24–13–31–1
San Diego 1–10–20–21–13–20–50–21–51–40–21–41–50–20–20–20–22–42–42–3—1–51–40–2
Seattle 1–12–01–12–04–13–21–15–13–21–13–22–42–02–02–00–23–33–31–45–1—5–01–1
Utah 0–20–21–10–23–33–31–12–30–61–13–30–50–20–20–20–22–31–43–34–10–5—1–1
Washington 4–20–64–25–11–10–24–11–10–25–12–00–22–32–45–10–61–12–01–12–01–11–1—

Game log

Regular season
1981–82 game log
Total: 39–43 (Home: 23–18; Road: 16–25)
October: 2–0 (home: 1–0; road: 1–0)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1 October 30 Milwaukee W 118–113 Pontiac Silverdome 1–0
2 October 31 @ Chicago
November: 6–7 (home: 4–3; road: 2–4)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
3 November 5 New Jersey W 109–103 Pontiac Silverdome 3–0
4 November 6 @ Washington L 82–86 Capital Centre 3–1
5 November 7 Boston L 88–129 Pontiac Silverdome 3–2
6 November 10 Philadelphia L 93–95 Pontiac Silverdome 3–3
7 November 12 Cleveland
8 November 14 @ Atlanta W 117–104 The Omni 5–3
9 November 18 @ Cleveland
10 November 19 Washington W 122–97 Pontiac Silverdome 6–4
11 November 21 Utah
12 November 24 @ Milwaukee L 95–103 MECCA Arena 7–5
13 November 25 @ Kansas City
14 November 27 Atlanta L 112–114 (OT) Pontiac Silverdome 8–6
15 November 28 @ Philadelphia L 103–116 The Spectrum 8–7
December: 5–10 (home: 2–3; road: 3–7)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
16 December 1 @ New York
17 December 2 @ Boston L 114–115 Boston Garden 8–9
18 December 4 @ Indiana
19 December 5 Milwaukee L 108–111 Pontiac Silverdome 8–11
20 December 10 New York
21 December 12 @ Seattle L 111–117 Kingdome 8–13
22 December 13 @ Portland
23 December 15 @ Golden State
24 December 17 Indiana
25 December 19 New York
26 December 22 @ Dallas
27 December 23 @ Denver W 124–119 McNichols Sports Arena 12–15
28 December 26 Chicago
29 December 29 @ Washington L 125–129 Capital Centre 13–16
30 December 30 @ New Jersey L 119–130 Brendan Byrne Arena 13–17
January: 5–9 (home: 2–4; road: 3–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
31 January 2 @ New York
32 January 5 Philadelphia W 124–101 Pontiac Silverdome 14–18
33 January 7 Phoenix L 94–110 Pontiac Silverdome 14–19
34 January 9 Los Angeles L 127–130 Pontiac Silverdome 14–20
35 January 10 @ Boston L 124–134 Hartford Civic Center 14–21
36 January 12 @ Chicago
37 January 14 Washington L 114–121 Pontiac Silverdome 15–22
38 January 16 Boston L 120–128 Pontiac Silverdome 15–23
39 January 17 @ Milwaukee W 108–103 MECCA Arena 16–23
40 January 19 @ Utah
41 January 21 @ San Diego
42 January 22 @ Los Angeles L 111–123 The Forum 17–25
43 January 23 @ Phoenix L 90–113 Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum 17–26
44 January 27 Atlanta W 108–107 Pontiac Silverdome 18–26
February: 7–6 (home: 5–3; road: 2–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
45 February 2 @ Atlanta W 106–105 The Omni 19–26
46 February 5 @ Chicago
47 February 6 New Jersey L 120–125 Pontiac Silverdome 20–27
48 February 9 Chicago
49 February 10 @ New Jersey L 108–115 Brendan Byrne Arena 21–28
50 February 11 Cleveland
51 February 13 Portland
52 February 16 Houston W 111–109 Pontiac Silverdome 23–29
53 February 17 @ San Antonio L 112–126 HemisFair Arena 23–30
54 February 20 Indiana
55 February 25 San Antonio L 116–119 Pontiac Silverdome 24–31
56 February 27 Kansas City
57 February 28 @ Indiana
March: 9–7 (home: 5–2; road: 4–5)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
58 March 2 @ Milwaukee L 91–101 MECCA Arena 25–33
59 March 4 Chicago
60 March 6 @ New York
61 March 8 Boston L 101–111 Pontiac Silverdome 27–34
62 March 10 Denver L 113–124 Pontiac Silverdome 27–35
63 March 12 Golden State
64 March 14 @ Cleveland
65 March 16 San Diego
66 March 18 Seattle W 119–115 Pontiac Silverdome 31–35
67 March 19 @ Houston W 111–102 The Summit 32–35
68 March 21 @ Atlanta L 111–119 The Omni 32–36
69 March 25 Philadelphia W 100–98 Pontiac Silverdome 33–36
70 March 26 @ Boston L 104–125 Boston Garden 33–37
71 March 27 @ New Jersey W 123–121 Brendan Byrne Arena 34–37
72 March 30 @ Washington L 98–127 Capital Centre 34–38
73 March 31 @ Indiana
April: 5–4 (home: 4–3; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
74 April 1 Dallas
75 April 3 Indiana
76 April 7 Atlanta W 120–115 Pontiac Silverdome 36–40
77 April 9 Milwaukee L 100–118 Pontiac Silverdome 36–41
78 April 11 New York
79 April 14 @ Philadelphia L 111–119 The Spectrum 37–42
80 April 15 Cleveland
81 April 17 New Jersey L 132–147 Pontiac Silverdome 38–43
82 April 18 @ Cleveland
1981–82 schedule

Player statistics
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 GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Kent Benson 75 72 32.9 .505 .273 .804 8.7 2.1 .88 1.30 12.5
Kenny Carr 28 6 15.9 .458 .000 .646 4.9 .8 .21 .21 7.4
Glenn Hagan 4 0 6.3 .429 .000 1.000 1.0 2.0 .33 .00 1.8
Alan Hardy 38 0 8.2 .456 .000 .621 0.9 .5 .24 .11 3.7
Steve Hayes 26 0 15.8 .495 .000 .610 3.8 .9 .12 .69 4.5
Phil Hubbard 52 38 21.2 .505 .000 .650 5.2 1.3 .73 .31 10.0
Vinnie Johnson 67 15 17.8 .493 .273 .754 2.1 2.4 .75 .34 7.7
Edgar Jones 48 19 16.7 .548 .500 .698 4.3 .8 .58 1.92 7.8
Jeff Judkins 30 0 8.4 .383 .100 .615 1.1 .5 .20 .67 2.6
Greg Kesler 11 0 16.6 .407 .000 .659 3.5 1.1 .45 .64 8.8
Bill Laimbeer 30 30 31.2 .516 .143 .813 11.3 1.8 .57 1.13 12.8
Ron Lee 81 7 18.1 .358 .305 .706 1.9 3.9 1.43 .25 3.4
John Long 69 66 32.0 .492 .133 .865 3.7 2.1 .94 .36 21.9
Paul Mokeski 39 3 13.4 .441 .000 .758 3.1 .6 .33 .59 3.2
Isiah Thomas 72 72 33.8 .424 .288 .704 2.9 7.8 2.08 .24 17.0
Kelly Tripucka 82 82 37.5 .496 .227 .797 5.4 3.3 1.09 .25 21.6
Terry Tyler 82 0 24.3 .523 .250 .740 6.0 5.4 .94 1.95 9.9
Larry Wright 1 0 6.0 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0

Awards and records

References
  1. 1981-82 Detroit Pistons
  2. "1981-82 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats".
  3. "Chevette to Corvette No. 37: The 1981-82 Detroit Pistons". October 24, 2011.

See also
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.