1978 Philadelphia 76ers: A Missed Opportunity
The 1978 Philadelphia 76ers were looking to take the final step. After acquiring Julius “Dr. J’ Erving in 1977, the Sixers reached the NBA Finals and won the first two games. Losing the next four left a sour taste in their mouth. After a tumultuous start to the ’78 season, Philadelphia reached the playoffs in prime position to finish the job, until another disappointing ending left them looking for answers.
A DEEP CAST
Dr. J delivered another vintage season, averaging 21 points/7 rebounds/4 assists. George McGinnis continued to anchor the frontline, with 20 points/10 rebounds line. McGinnis was getting help from emerging post man Darryl Dawkins, who averaged 12/8. Caldwell Jones came off the bench to play defense and get seven boards a night.
Henry Bibby orchestrated the floor show and averaged six assists per game in the backcourt. Doug Collins poured in 20ppg and added four assists a night of his own. Lloyd Free (later to change his first name to World B.) provided more offensive punch on the perimeter, with 16 points/4 assists.
The 76ers were deep and balanced. One thing they did not have was a harmonious relationship between ownership and the coaching staff. Owner Fritz Dixon was angry about the Finals collapse of ’77, feeling after his investment in Dr. J, that the team had the talent to win the whole thing. Head coach Gene Shue was the source of Dixon’s ire and began the season on a seat that was already hot.
BILLY C TAKES OVER
The 76ers lost four of their first six games. Hardly unusual for even a top team. But it was enough for Dixon to pull the trigger. He fired Shue and hired Billy Cunningham. “Billy C” had been a Hall of Fame player on Philadelphia’s last championship team in 1967. Now he was entrusted with winning the next one on the bench.
Whether it was the coaching change or just the natural result of a talented team getting settled into the season, Philadelphia got hot. They ripped off a 14-1 stretch. That included a pair of wins over San Antonio. The Spurs were in the Eastern Conference in this era, and one of the prime challengers to the 76ers.
On a November 29 road trip, Philly got 27 from Collins, 31 from McGinnis and a 28/8/5 line from Julius, en route to a 129-117 win. Back home on December 9, the 76ers beat the Spurs by controlling the boards, keyed by 17 rebounds from McGinnis and won 120-116.
Philadelphia briefly cooled after the hot streak. They lost four in a row, including in New York on Christmas Day. But even after that loss, the 76ers were still 20-11, 3 ½ games up on the Knicks in the Atlantic Division and up one game in the Eastern Conference overall.
TAKING CONTROL OF THE EAST
Philly picked themselves up after the Christmas loss and ripped off nine straight wins. After again temporarily slowing, they lost three of five and prepared to play the Denver Nuggets at home on January 29. The Nuggets were one of the prime contenders in the West and the prospect of their dynamic star, David Thompson, matched up against Dr. J, made this a marquee Sunday matchup.
Erving scored 26 and Collins went off for 30. The Denver stars, Thompson and Dan Issel were even better, combining for 73 points. The difference is that Philadelphia rebounded—in fact, they assaulted the glass, beating the Nuggets 53-33 on the boards. It was enough to pull out a 118-117 win.
Three days later, the 76ers made a return trip to Denver and won again. They repeated their rebounding dominance, to the tune of a 64-48 edge and showcased their depth with a 52-30 advantage in bench scoring. The final was 104-101.
By the early days of February, the Sixers were soaring. They were 34-14, comfortably clear of the field in the Atlantic Division. In the playoff format of this era, only six teams per conference qualified—meaning that the two division winners got byes into the conference semifinals. Philadelphia would clearly be one of those teams.
Moreover, with a five-game advantage on San Antonio, who led the Central Division, the 76ers were comfortably in position for the top seed in the East. Catching Bill Walton’s Portland Trail Blazers, their nemesis from the ’77 Finals, was a stretch, but Philadelphia had firm control of their backyard going into the regular season homestretch.
THE DOOR OPENS
The Sixers went through a sluggish 8-6 stretch but maintained a four-game lead on the Spurs for the best record in the East. On February 28, Philadelphia was in Portland. Already a game with a marquee feel, even on a Tuesday night in the dog days of the regular season, this night would prove to be a seminal moment for this NBA season and indeed for an entire era.
Walton left the game with a foot injury. He was gone for the balance of the regular season and attempts to come back in the playoffs would be futile. In the long-term, the game’s signature star—dominating 1978 to such a degree that would be named MVP in spite of missing the last month-plus—was never the same.
In the short term, there was a power vacuum at the top. And no one was better positioned to step in than the Philadelphia 76ers.
MAKING THEIR MOVE
Philly got into playoff gear as springtime arrived, winning eight in a row in a March. That included four wins over divisional rivals in playoff-bound New York and the Boston Celtics, their ancient foe who fell out of contention this season.
By season’s end, the 76ers were 55-27 and the Eastern Conference road traveled through Philadelphia. While Portland still had the best record overall, the Blazers were wounded and the Sixers were ahead of everyone else. This looked like their year.
SWEEPING AWAY NEW YORK
The Knicks came through what was then a best two-of-three “mini-series” in the first round and were Philadelphia’s opponent in the conference semis. New York was coached by Willis Reed, like Cunningham, an on-court hero from his franchise’s recent championship year. The Knicks had a terrific post player in Bob McAdoo, who averaged 27 points/13 rebounds. And Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, a hero of their 1973 title run, was 33-years-old, but still good for 18 points/5 assists in the backcourt.
Philadelphia’s defense was locked in for Game 1, and they shut down both McAdoo and Monroe. The 76er attack was balanced, with eight players scoring between 12-18 points, and Philly blasted New York 130-90.
The Sixers didn’t win by forty in Game 2, but it was still a comfortable night. They shot 50 percent from the floor, played good defense, outrebounded the Knicks and got 22 points/7 rebounds/5 assists from Erving. With a 119-100 win, they held serve at home.
In Madison Square Garden for Game 3, McAdoo got loose, but the 76er stars were ready with answers. McGinnis, Dr. J and Collins all scored, rebounded, and moved the basketball. They combined for 78 points/24 rebounds/19 assists. It was too much and a 137-126 win put Philly in firm control.
New York didn’t roll over and Game 4 was tied after three quarters. But the 76er front line continued to control the glass. The rebounding edge was 52-42, led by 14 boards from Caldwell Jones. Collins scored 24, Julius hit for 23 and a 112-107 win closed out the sweep.
WASHINGTON RUINS THE PLAN
On the other side of the bracket, the Washington Bullets upset San Antonio. The Bullets were anchored by center Elvin Hayes, an excellent all-around player. But they were also a 44-win team. Their advancement, along with Portland officially falling by the wayside in the West, seemed to underscore that 1978 was Philadelphia’s year.
But it wasn’t. Philadelphia gave away homecourt right off the rip with poor shooting from Collins and being outrebounded in Game 1. And it got worse. Even with Washington’s solid power forward Wes Unseld needing to miss the next three games with a calf injury, the 76ers still dug themselves a 3-1 series hole. Philadelphia won Game 5 at home and Game 6 came down to the wire. They still had a chance to pull it out. But Unseld, now back in the floor, beat them with a late offensive rebound and putback and the season ended with a 101-99 loss.
THE WINDOW THAT GOT AWAY
While a 55-win season and conference finals appearance should never be dismissed, the disappointment of this ending shouldn’t be sugar-coated. Everything seemed to be in place for a championship, and it wasn’t delivered. Moreover, 1979 was more of the same.
Philadelphia continued to be one of the league’s defining powers through the first part of the 1980s. They made the Finals three more times and won it all in 1983. But with Magic Johnson and Larry Bird entering the league in 1980, it was tougher at the top. The 1978-79 window was the missed opportunity where the 76ers might have done more.