1970–71 Portland Trail Blazers season

1970–71 Portland Trail Blazers season
First NBA season
Head coach	Rolland Todd
Arena	Memorial Coliseum
Results
Record	30–52 (.366)
Place	Division: 5th (Pacific) Conference: 9th (Western)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	KPTV
Radio	KLPM

The Portland Trail Blazers were one of three new teams to join the NBA. They played their first game in Portland, beating their expansion brethren, the Cleveland Cavaliers, 115-112 on October 16. The Blazers would finish last in the Pacific Division with a record of 29-53. Of the three expansion teams, their record was the best. The Blazers won seven more games than the Buffalo Braves and 14 more than the Cavaliers. The leading scorer for the Blazers was Geoff Petrie. He averaged 24.8 points per game while sharing Rookie of the Year honors with Boston Celtics star Dave Cowens.

The inaugural Portland Trail Blazers team.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Main article: 1970 NBA draft

Expansion Draft

Player	Position	Team
Rick Adelman		San Diego Rockets
Jerry Chambers		Phoenix Suns
LeRoy Ellis		Baltimore Bullets
Fred Hetzel		Philadelphia 76ers
Joe Kennedy		Seattle SuperSonics
Ed Manning		Chicago Bulls
Stan McKenzie		Phoenix Suns
Dorie Murrey		Seattle SuperSonics
Pat Riley		San Diego Rockets
Dale Schlueter		San Francisco Warriors
Larry Siegfried		Boston Celtics

Roster

Portland Trail Blazers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PG 12 Adelman, Rick 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Loyola Marymount (CA) SG 33 Barnett, Jim 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Oregon C 25 Ellis, Leroy 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) St. John's F 15 English, Claude 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Rhode Island PF 48 Gilmore, Walt 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Fort Valley State PF 44 Gregor, Gary 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) South Carolina PF 11 Halimon, Shaler 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 199 lb (90 kg) Utah State SF 38 Knight, Ron 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) California State, LA PF 35 Manning, Ed 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Jackson State PF 40 McKenzie, Stan 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) New York PF 41 Murrey, Dorie 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 229 lb (104 kg) Detroit SG 45 Petrie, Geoff 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Princeton C 54 Schlueter, Dale 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Colorado State F 54 Stricker, Bill 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Pacific	Head coach Rolland Todd (Fresno State) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions Last transaction: 2008-02-21

Regular season

The Trail Blazers played their home games at Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

Season standings

Pacific Division

Team	W	L	PCT.	GB
Los Angeles Lakers	48	34	.585	-
San Francisco Warriors	41	41	.500	7
San Diego Rockets	40	42	.488	8
Seattle SuperSonics	38	44	.463	10
Portland Trail Blazers	29	53	.354	19

#	Western Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT
1	z-Milwaukee Bucks	66	16	.805
2	y-Los Angeles Lakers	48	34	.585
3	x-Chicago Bulls	51	31	.622
4	x-San Francisco Warriors	41	41	.500
5	Phoenix Suns	48	34	.585
6	Detroit Pistons	45	37	.549
7	San Diego Rockets	40	42	.488
8	Seattle SuperSonics	38	44	.463
9	Portland Trail Blazers	29	53	.354

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Awards and honors

• Geoff Petrie, Co-Rookie of the Year

References

• Blazers on Database Basketball
• Blazers on Reference Basketball