How good were the 1970's Washington Bullets?

[Lebron23]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nf8JzTyNMEk

[L.Kizzle]

Franchise wise, they made 4 Finals in the 70s, winning it all in 1978.
Those early 70s Baltimore Bullets were much different than later in the decade Bullets. They were also called the Capital Bullets for one season.

Underrated guards on that squad. Pearl Monroe, Phil Chenier, Archie Clark, Dave Bing, Kevin Porter.

[1987_Lakers]

They weren't anywhere near as good as the all-time great teams from the early 70's like the Knicks, Lakers & Bucks. But probably the most consistent team throughout the 70's.

I obviously wasn't around at the time to get an answer, but I've wondered how a 60 win team like the Bullets got swept in the Finals to a team that didn't even win 50 games, on paper at least the Bullets seemed more dominant.

Overall, they were a good team, but nothing about them jumped at you, which is why they are kinda forgotten.

[L.Kizzle]

They weren't anywhere near as good as the all-time great teams from the early 70's like the Knicks, Lakers & Bucks. But probably the most consistent team throughout the 70's.

I obviously wasn't around at the time to get an answer, but I've wondered how a 60 win team like the Bullets got swept in the Finals to a team that didn't even win 50 games, on paper at least the Bullets seemed more dominant.

Overall, they were a good team, but nothing about them jumped at you, which is why they are kinda forgotten.
I think the early teams with Earl Monroe and Gus Johnson were better than the late 70s teams. They seemed better.
I heard of the Pearl/Clyde and Gus/DeBusschere battles a lot.

[tontoz]

Balanced team. A lot of good players. Their '78 team that won the title had nobody averaging over 20 ppg but 6 guys averaging double figures.

[L.Kizzle]

Balanced team. A lot of good players. Their '78 team that won the title had nobody averaging over 20 ppg but 6 guys averaging double figures.

Idk if you were watching the early 70s teams, how do they compare to the late 70s? Wes Unseld is obviously the only main stay.

[tontoz]

Idk if you were watching the early 70s teams, how do they compare to the late 70s? Wes Unseld is obviously the only main stay.

I don't remember the early 70s. I was 11 when they won the title. I got one of those "Opera isn't over till the fat lady sings" t shirts. :lol

[iamgine]

They were around Mitchell & Gobert's Utah Jazz but when fully healthy.

[pandiani17]

Quality thread.

[L.Kizzle]

They were around Mitchell & Gobert's Utah Jazz but when fully healthy.
I don't recall them making 4 Finals in the decade.

[iamgine]

I don't recall them making 4 Finals in the decade.

I don't recall them being fully healthy.

[L.Kizzle]

I don't recall them being fully healthy.
I don't think a healthy Joe Ingles takes them to the promise land, but that's me.

[!@#$%Vectors!@#]

Good enough to be swept by rick barry and some scrubs

[L.Kizzle]

Good enough to be swept by rick barry and some scrubs
They list two games by 1 point. The other games, lost by 6 and 8 points.

[!@#$%Vectors!@#]

They list two games by 1 point. The other games, lost by 6 and 8 points.

They also got swept in 71. The point still stands. They got lit up by rick barry and rookie Jamal Wilkes.

[iamgine]

I don't think a healthy Joe Ingles takes them to the promise land, but that's me.
If the competition is weaker in some years, its very posssible.

[JBSptfn]

Their one title came because Bill Walton got hurt. If Walton stays healthy, there is no Bullets Fever, and the fat lady would have sung.

[tontoz]

Their one title came because Bill Walton got hurt. If Walton stays healthy, there is no Bullets Fever, and the fat lady would have sung.

Walton being hurt was the norm. His healthy seasons were the exceptions.

[JBSptfn]

Walton being hurt was the norm. His healthy seasons were the exceptions.

That's why they should have traded him in 1976, not Moses Malone. During his first two seasons, he only played in approximately 50% of Portland's games.

[dankok8]

Elvin Hayes is probably the most disrespected player ever to lead a team to a championship (and two more finals) in NBA history.

But yea the Bullets were pretty good!

[L.Kizzle]

Elvin Hayes is probably the most disrespected player ever to lead a team to a championship (and two more finals) in NBA history.

But yea the Bullets were pretty good!
Definitely underrated on this place.

[1987_Lakers]

I remember the poster "tontoz" who also posted in this thread said months back that he saw those late 70's Bullets teams and he felt Dandridge was their best player on the championship team.

[tontoz]

I remember the poster "tontoz" who also posted in this thread said months back that he saw those late 70's Bullets teams and he felt Dandridge was their best player on the championship team.


I still think that. At the end of the game I wanted the ball in Bobby's hands. He would consistently make the right play, taking a good shot or making the right pass.

For his career Hayes shot 45% from the field, pretty bad for a.big and well below Dandridge at 48%.

Hayes was a black hole that relied heavily on a turnaround fadeaway, not an efficient shot.

Keep in mind I was a kid then and looking at offense. I didn't pay much attention to defense and rebounding.

[houston]

elvin hayes was choke artist and terrible teammate

[JBSptfn]

I still think that. At the end of the game I wanted the ball in Bobby's hands. He would consistently make the right play, taking a good shot or making the right pass.

For his career Hayes shot 45% from the field, pretty bad for a.big and well below Dandridge at 48%.

Hayes was a black hole that relied heavily on a turnaround fadeaway, not an efficient shot.

Keep in mind I was a kid then and looking at offense. I didn't pay much attention to defense and rebounding.

Tontoz, what was the downfall of the Bullets after 1979? Poor Drafting? Age? They haven't been back to the elite since (although, for a brief time around 1997-98, it looked like they had a team of the future with Webber and Howard before Chris was traded).

[dankok8]

I still think that. At the end of the game I wanted the ball in Bobby's hands. He would consistently make the right play, taking a good shot or making the right pass.

For his career Hayes shot 45% from the field, pretty bad for a.big and well below Dandridge at 48%.

Hayes was a black hole that relied heavily on a turnaround fadeaway, not an efficient shot.

Keep in mind I was a kid then and looking at offense. I didn't pay much attention to defense and rebounding.

Hayes had TS% around or above league average for most of his career. FG% is misleading. And as you admitted you didn't pay much attention to defense and rebounding.

Overall Hayes was the best player on the 1978 Bullets.

[1987_Lakers]

Hayes had TS% around or above league average for most of his career. FG% is misleading. And as you admitted you didn't pay much attention to defense and rebounding.

Overall Hayes was the best player on the 1978 Bullets.

But how does his TS% compare to other Bigs around the time?

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

But how does his TS% compare to other Bigs around the time?

Not only that, but threes weren't even shot in the 70s.

FG or EFG% would be a better measure to use.

[1987_Lakers]

From '69-'79 Hayes had a 49 TS%

Kareem in that time frame was at 58 TS%

McAdoo from '74-'79: 56 TS%

Bill Walton in '77 & '78: 56 TS%

Cowens '72-'79: 50 TS%

Hayes' TS% among other elte big men seemed well below average, only Cowens was on the same level in terms of efficiency, and he was never an elite scorer.

[tontoz]

Hayes had TS% around or above league average for most of his career. FG% is misleading. And as you admitted you didn't pay much attention to defense and rebounding.

Overall Hayes was the best player on the 1978 Bullets.

FG% is misleading now. It wasn't misleading then because there was no 3 pt line.

Hayes was one of the biggest guys in the league. Instead of imposing his will and taking it to the basket he settled for fadeaways.

Being a black hole isn't a big deal if you can score like McHale. When you are a black hole and score inefficiently that is a problem.