The Short, Unhappy Pythagorean Life of the Pittsburgh Pipers 1967-1972

This thread is another in my Pythagorean series, but it's different in that it will focus on one team: the ABA's Pittsburgh Pipers, who were original members of the ABA in 1967 and won the first ABA title, but fell completely apart shortly thereafter and were out of the league for good in the spring of 1972. They were in Pittsburgh for four years (they spent 1968-69 in Minneapolis) and we'll examine each of them to see if the Pipers can do better in the Pythagorean universe (here called "expected" wins and losses) than they did in real life. We begin with 1967-68, the Pipers' championship year:

Eastern Division:

Minneapolis Muskies: 49-29 (-1)
Pipers: 47-31 (-7)
Indiana Pacers: 40-38 (-2)
Kentucky Colonels: 37-41 (+1)
New Jersey Americans: 35-43 (-1)

Right from the start, the Pipers had bad luck if they had any luck at all. No one else in their division moved more than two games either way. Fortunately, the rest of the division was so mediocre that the Pipers finished second in spite of everything. In real life, the Colonels and Americans finished tied for fourth, which was a big deal since the top four teams in each division made the playoffs.

Western Division:

New Orleans Buccaneers: 51-27 (+3)
Denver Rockets: 50-28 (+5)
Dallas Chapparals: 42-36 (-4)
Houston Mavericks: 28-50 (-1)
Anaheim Amigos: 28-50 (+3)
Oakland Oaks: 24-54 (+2)

The Bucs gained three games to attain the best overall record in the league, while the Rockets gained five to make the division race tight. It's quite amazing that a pair of 28-50 teams are in playoff position, but that's the state of affairs with the Mavericks and Amigos, who will stage a one-game playoff to determine the West's final postseason team.

The Amigos won six of the nine regular season meetings between the two teams, so the playoff will take place at the Anaheim Convention Center.

Mavericks 109, Amigos 103

Houston's Art Becker provided a double-double of 22 points and ten rebounds to pace the visiting Mavericks, who will now meet the Buccaneers in the Western Division semifinals.

The semifinals are thus set in the West: the Mavs will face the Bucs, while the Rockets meet the Chaps. Both series will be best-of-five. In the East, we have real-life results: the Pipers swept the Pacers in three straight, while the Muskies outlasted the Colonels in five.

Next: We begin the Western Division semis.

Thoughts?













 
Wonder if they would have done better if they stay in Pittsburgh. Leaving for Minneapolis and then coming back to the Steel City may have doomed them in the long run.
 
It certainly did. The fans felt betrayed by the move, and coming back with their tails between their legs didn't change that one bit. They went from over 10,000 a game in '68 to almost-empty buildings by '72. Pro basketball has never recovered, and with the Penguins being so popular now, I highly doubt that even an established playoff team moving here intact would make much of a dent. Certainly an expansion team wouldn't.
 
I looked up the ABA playoff structure on Basketball Reference and discovered that I have it wrong. Instead of 1 playing 4 in the semis and 2 playing 3, it goes 1-3 and 2-4. But this is my universe, so I'm leaving it the way I had it. If you think I've changed things here, wait until we get to the NFL!
 
What about Connie Hawkins? IOTL he played for Pittsburgh in 1967-68 & quite probably
was THE reason they won the ABA that year.
I noticed, Garrett, you didn't mention him-
so am I correct in assuming you've butter-
flied him away?
 
Here's the Game 1 action from Sunday, March 26:

Buccaneers 129, Mavericks 104 (NO leads series 1-0)

Jack Moreland paced the home squad with thirty points on 13 of 17 from the floor (and no three-pointers), while Jimmy Jones added 22 points and Doug Moe twenty. Art Becker led the visitors with 23.

Rockets 102, Chaparrals 93 (DEN leads series 1-0)

Larry Jones led the way for the home squad with 25 points and nine rebounds, while both Willie Murrell (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Wayne Hiightower (14 points and a dozen boards) added double-doubles. Bob Verga led the visitors with nineteen points.

Next: We look at Game 2 in each series.

Thoughts?
 
Here's the Game 2 action from Monday, March 27:

Chapparals 103, Rockets 96 (OT; series tied 1-1)

Chaps forward Cincy Powell (27 points, 12 rebounds) hit the game-tying three-pointer with two seconds left in regulation, which led to a 10-0 run that put the game away for Dallas. The visitors ended the game on a 16-4 run. Larry Jones scored 33 points in a losing effort for the home squad. The series moves to Dallas for Game 3 on Thursday night.

Buccaneers 113, Mavericks 94 (NO leads series 2-0)

Three different Bucs had double-doubles, led by Doug Moe's 24 points and eleven rebounds. Leary Lentz led the Mavs with fifteen points and twelve rebounds. The Mavs go home looking to keep their season alive with a win in Game 3 on Thursday night.

Next: We look at Game 3 in each series.

Thoughts?
 
Here's the Game 3 action for Thursday, March 30:

Buccaneers 115, Mavericks 91 (NO sweeps series 3-0)

Red Robbins' double-double (16 points, 19 rebounds) paced the victorious Bucs. while the Mavs settled for thirteen points from Willie Somerset. The Bucs will face the Rockets-Chaparrals winner in the Western Division finals.

Chaparrals 119, Rockets 107 (DAL leads series 2-1)

Cincy Powell led the way for the home squad with 29 points (12-22 shooting) and fourteen rebounds, while John Beasley added 23 points and nineteen boards. Wayne Hightower had 25 points for Denver, who led 32-9 after one quarter and 58-46 at the half. The Chaps look to close out the series in Game 4 tomorrow night.

Next: We look at Game 4 between the Rockets and the Chaps.

Thoughts?
 
Here's the Game 4 action for Friday, March 31:

Chaparrals 116, Rockets 96 (DAL wins series 3-1)

John Beasley's second straight double-double (17 points, 12 rebounds) led the Chaps to the series win. Byron Beck led the way off the bench for the Rockets with fifteen points and seven rebounds. The Chaps will now face the Bucs in the Western Division finals.

The two teams met in the real-life Western finals, and the Bucs took the series four games to one. That set up the ABA finals between the Pipers and the Bucs, which the Pipers won in seven games, just like in real life.

Next: After a year in Minneapolis, the Pipers return to Pittsburgh for the 1969-70 season.

Thoughts?
 
Now on to the 1969-70 season. We begin in the Eastern Division:

Indiana Pacers: 51-33 (-8)
Kentucky Colonels: 45-39 (0)
Carolina Cougars: 41-43 (-1)
New York Nets: 40-44 (+1)
Pipers: 31-53 (+2)
Miami Floridians: 29-55 (+6)

It's rare for a division winner to take an eight-game drop and still cruise to victory, but the Pacers managed it. The Floridians' six-game upswing still left them two games behind the fifth-place Pipers, who dropped sixteen games from their championship season two years before.

Both rounds of the Eastern playoffs happened as they did in real life: the Pacers eliminated the Cougars four games to one, while the Colonels edged the Nets four games to three. The Pacers then beat the Colonels in five games to make the ABA Finals. (Now that I have the playoff format straight, I'm using the 1-3 and 2-4 system that the ABA did in real life.)

Now for the West:

Denver Rockets: 53-31 (+2)
Dallas Chaparrals: 47-37 (+2)
New Orleans Buccaneers: 44-40 (+2)
Los Angeles Stars: 41-43 (-2)
Washington Capitols: 40-44 (-4)

The biggest change is that the Caps' four-game slide knocks them out of the playoffs, while the Bucs' two-game improvement moves them into the three seed. Incidentally, whoever put the Caps in the West needed to go back to the third grade and retake geography. The Pacers should have changed divisions instead.

The Stars upset the Chaps in six games to take one Western semifinal. We'll cover the Bucs-Rockets semifinal beginning in our next post.

Next: Game 1 in Denver.

Thoughts?
 
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Here's the action for Friday, April 17:

Buccaneers 111, Rockets 88 (NO leads series 1-0)

Double-doubles from Red Robbins (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Gerald Govan (17 points, 14 rebounds) keyed this surprising rout. Denver's Spencer Haywood led all scorers and rebounders in a losing cause with 28 and 21 respectively.

Next: We look at Game 2.

Thoughts?
 
Here's the action for Saturday, April 18:

Rockets 106, Buccaneers 100 (series tied 1-1)

Spencer Haywood played lights-out again, ending his evening with 34 points and pulling down 14 rebounds. Steve "Snapper" Jones led the visiting Bucs with 24 points, while Red Robbins notched a double-double with 19 points and 18 rebounds. The series will head to New Orleans for Game 3 on Monday night.

Next: We look at Game 3.

Thoughts?
 
Here's the action for Monday, April 20:

Buccaneers 112, Rockets 101 (NO leads series 2-1)

Gerald Govan was the driving force for the Bucs, pulling down 26 rebounds, ten of them from the offensive glass, to go along with 21 points on eight of fourteen shooting. Red Robbins added sixteen points and eighteen boards of his own. Spencer Haywood had a third consecutive stellar game for the visitors, leading all scorers with thirty points and pulling down a dozen boards, while Byron Beck scored fourteen and added a dozen rebounds. Game 4 of this series will be tomorrow night in New Orleans.

Next: We look at Game 4.

Thoughts?
 
Here's the action for Tuesday, April 21:

Buccaneers 114, Rockets 97 (NO leads series 3-1)

Gerald Govan and Red Robbins led the Bucs to another big win at home. Govan shot nine of fourteen from the floor for 21 points and added 12 rebounds, while Robbins contributed 15 points on six of eleven shooting and pulled down 21 rebounds. Spencer Haywood achieved his fourth consecutive double-double for Denver (25 points, 13 rebounds) in a losing cause. The Bucs can clinch a berth in the Western Division finals with a victory on Thursday night in Denver.

Next: We look at Game 5.

Thoughts?
 
Here's the action for Thursday, April 23:

Buccaneers 122, Rockets 115 (NO wins series 4-1)

Gerald Govan's 24 points and 27 rebounds joined Red Robbins' 15 points and 11 rebounds to clinch the series upset for the Bucs. Govan shot eleven of eighteen from the floor, while Robbins shot seven of twelve. Spencer Haywood led the Rockets for the fifth straight game with 24 points and 16 rebounds. The Bucs will host the Los Angeles Stars in Game 1 of the Western Division finals.

Next: We look at Game 1 of the Western finals.

Thoughts?
 
Here's the action for Thursday, April 30:

Buccaneers 112, Stars 104 (NO leads series 1-0)

Jimmy Jones was on fire for the home squad, hitting ten of nineteen from the floor and thirteen of fourteen from the line for a total of 34 points. Red Robbins added yet another double-double with 21 points and 19 rebounds, and Gerald Govan pulled down eighteen more boards. The Stars were led by seventeen points each from Craig Raymond and George Stone. Raymond also pulled down eleven rebounds, while Wayne Hightower scored twelve points and added thirteen boards. The series continues tomorrow night in New Orleans with Game 2.

Next: We look at Game 2.

Thoughts?
 
Here's the action for Friday, May 1:

Buccaneers 115, Stars 95 (NO leads series 2-0)

Jimmy Jones led the Bucs with 23 points including eleven of thirteen from the charity stripe, while Snapper Jones added 21 points and nine boards and Gerald Govan added a double-double with 13 points and 17 boards. Tom Workman led Los Angeles off the bench with sixteen points, while Craig Raymond (ten points, fifteen rebounds) and Wayne Hightower (eleven points, twelve rebounds) contributed double-doubles. The series heads to LA for Game 3 on Sunday.

Next: We look at Game 3.

Thoughts?
 
Here's the action for Sunday, May 3:

Stars 105, Buccaneers 91 (NO leads series 2-1)

The Stars got back into the series thanks to double-doubles from George Stone (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Craig Raymond (15 points, 13 rebounds). The visitors got double-doubles from Jack Moreland (13 points, 11 rebounds) and Gerald Govan (10 points, 15 rebounds) while Snapper Jones led all scorers with 23 points. The Stars will attempt to tie the series with a victory in Game 4 tomorrow night at home.

Next: We look at Game 4.

Thoughts?
 
Here's the action for Monday, May 4:

Stars 129, Buccaneers 120 (series tied 2-2)

The Stars evened the series behind George Stone's double-double (20 points, 11 rebounds). Craig Raymond also contributed twenty points and pulled down eight rebounds. Three players had double-doubles for the Bucs: Gerald Govan (18 points, 14 rebounds), Red Robbins (15 points, 13 rebounds), and reserve Ron Franz (15 points, 11 rebounds). The series goes back to New Orleans for a pivotal Game 5 on Wednesday night.

Before the game, a moment of silence was held for those killed in the shooting at Kent State University earlier in the day.

Next: We look at Game 5.

Thoughts?
 
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