1973-74

The 1973-74 Braves were the NBA's most pleasant surprise. The team took a gamble by trading young center Elmore Smith to the Lakers for Jim McMillian, a solid small forward who had averaged better than 18 points in his previous two seasons in Los Angeles. That trade allowed Coach Ramsay to move McAdoo to center. The Braves also added Garfield Heard at the power forward spot and rookie Ernie DiGregorio at the point guard position. Ramsay's moves paid off. Buffalo chalked up a 42-40 record and earned the first playoff berth in franchise history. McAdoo led the league in scoring, averaging 30.6 points, and he finished third in rebounding with 15.1 boards per contest. DiGregorio topped the circuit with 8.2 assists per game and became the second Braves player in as many years to be named NBA Rookie of the Year. The Braves were second to no one when it came to putting the ball in the basket. The team led the league in scoring, pouring in 111.6 points per game. But Buffalo also featured the weakest defense in the NBA, surrendering an average of 111.8 points per contest. Buffalo faced Boston in the first round of the 1974 NBA Playoffs and put up a respectable fight. After four contests the series was knotted at two games apiece. The more experienced Celtics then eked out close wins in Game 5 and Game 6 to take the series.