1977–78 Detroit Pistons season

NBA team season March 2026 August 2023 Detroit Pistons 1978 38 44 Midwest 4 9 Herb Brown (fired) Bob Kauffman Bob Kauffman Bill Davidson Cobo Arena Did not qualify DET WKBD-TV WJR The 1977–78 Detroit Pistons season was the Detroit Pistons' 30th season in the NBA and 21st season in the city of Detroit. The team played at Cobo Arena in Detroit. It was the last season playing in Detroit, until the 2017-18 season when the team returned to the city proper.https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/DET/1978.html 1977-78 Detroit Pistons Roster and Stats Basketball-Reference.com 19 February 2022 1977-78 was the franchise's final season in Cobo Arena, as they moved to the Pontiac Silverdome in the Detroit suburbs, also the home of the NFL's Detroit Lions, the next season. The Pistons finished with a 38-44 (.463) record, 4th place in the Midwest Division. Tensions lingered from the previous season, especially between coach Herb Brown and point guard Kevin Porter. Before the season began, the two tried to make peace, with Porter stating, "This year when I'm yanked I'll accept it," and Brown replying, "I may have made some mistakes." Team captain Bob Lanier, would add, "You can't change human nature. To be fair they should trade one of them."https://vault.si.com/vault/1977/10/31/scouting-reports https://web.archive.org/web/20220124001720/https://vault.si.com/vault/1977/10/31/scouting-reports dead January 24, 2022 Scouting Reports Porter was traded in November, 8 games into the season, to the New Jersey Nets and would lead the NBA in assists on the season. Brown was fired a month later. Then, with Brown gone, Porter would return in a trade to Detroit the following season. Forward Marvin "Bad News" Barnes would report to the Adult Correctional Institute in Cranston, Rhode Island in the 1977 off-season to serve a 152-day sentence. He had pleaded guilty to a two-year-old charge that he had attacked Providence teammate Larry Ketvirtis with a tire iron. The judge gave him three years of probation. An October 1976 gun incident at the Detroit airport in which Barnes tried to get a weapon through security was a probation violation,https://www.nytimes.com/1976/12/17/archives/barnes-pleads-guilty-to-lesser-gun-charges.html Barnes Pleads Guilty to Lesser Gun Charges The New York Times 17 December 1976 causing the judge to require the completion of that initial sentence.https://vault.si.com/vault/1977/10/24/this-time-the-news-is-good https://web.archive.org/web/20200702152253/https://vault.si.com/vault/1977/10/24/this-time-the-news-is-good dead July 2, 2020 This time the News is goodhttps://www.sportscasting.com/future-nba-player-marvin-bad-news-barnes-was-caught-in-the-most-inept-robbery-attempt-ever/ Future NBA Player Marvin 'Bad News' Barnes Was Caught in the Most Inept Robbery Attempt Ever 17 January 2021 Barnes was traded to the Buffalo Braves in November, bringing Gus Gerard and John Shumate to Detroit.https://www.basketball-reference.com/players/b/barnema01.html Marvin Barnes Stats The team was led by center Bob Lanier (24.5 ppg, 11.3 rpg, NBA All-Star) and guard Eric Money (18.6 ppg, 4.7 apg), out of the playoffs for the first time in 4 seasons.https://pistonpowered.com/2011/10/28/chevette-to-corvette-no-33-the-1977-78-detroit-pistons/ Chevette to Corvette No. 33: The 1977-78 Detroit Pistons 28 October 2011 Draft picks 1977 NBA draft Round Pick Player Position Nationality College / Team 2 36 Ben Poquette Center USA United States Central Michigan Roster Detroit Pistons 1977–78 #002FA7 #FFFFFF #eb003c #FFFFFF 30 M. L. Carr F 6 6 205 Guilford 13 Leon Douglas C 6 10 230 Alabama 44 Al Eberhard SF 6 6 225 Missouri 42 Chris Ford G-F 6 5 190 Villanova 22 Gus Gerard F 6 8 205 Virginia 16 Bob Lanier C 6 11 250 St. Bonaventure 14 Eric Money G 6 0 175 Arizona 50 Ben Poquette C 6 9 235 Central Michigan 15 Jim Price basketball PG 6 3 195 Louisville 34 John Shumate F 6 9 235 Notre Dame 35 Al Skinner SG 6 3 190 Massachusetts Bob Kauffman Regular season Season standings DET DET z – clinched division title y – clinched division title x – clinched playoff spot Game log Regular season Detroit Pistons 1978 #0000FF #FF0000 Total: 38–44 (home: 24–17; road: 14–27) Detroit Pistons October yes #FF0000 #0000FF 4 0 0 3 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 3 | October 21, 19778:05p.m. EDT | @ Washington | L 109–117 | Lanier (33) | Lanier (10) | Lanier (6) | Capital Centre13,276 | 1–2 Detroit Pistons November #FF0000 #0000FF 3 4 1 4 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 11 | November 13, 19777:05p.m. EST | Washington | W 104–102 | Money (36) | Douglas (13) | Money (7) | Cobo Arena5,149 | 6–5 Detroit Pistons December #FF0000 #0000FF 3 5 4 2 Detroit Pistons January #FF0000 #0000FF 4 1 3 6 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ccffcc" | 44 | January 24, 19788:05p.m. EST | @ Washington | W 104–101 | Lanier (24) | Lanier (11) | Carr,Money (4) | Capital Centre6,717 | 19–25 Detroit Pistons February #FF0000 #0000FF 5 3 1 4 |- align="center" |colspan="9" bgcolor="#bbcaff"|All-Star Break |- style="background:#cfc;" |- bgcolor="#bbffbb" Detroit Pistons March #FF0000 #0000FF 4 3 4 5 |- align="center" bgcolor="#ffcccc" | 62 | March 3, 19788:05p.m. EST | Washington | L 108–124 | Money (20) | Poquette (12) | Money (7) | Cobo Arena5,033 | 29–33 Detroit Pistons April #FF0000 #0000FF 1 1 1 3 DET 1978 References Category:Detroit Pistons seasons Detroit Detroit Pistons Detroit Pistons Category:1977 in Detroit Category:1978 in Detroit