1995–96 Detroit Pistons season
NBA team season / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The 1995–96 NBA season was the Pistons' 48th season in the National Basketball Association, and 39th season in the city of Detroit.[1] During the off-season, the Pistons hired Doug Collins as head coach,[2][3][4][5] while acquiring Otis Thorpe from the Portland Trail Blazers; Thorpe won a championship as a member of the Houston Rockets in the 1994 NBA Finals.[6][7][8] Under Collins, the Pistons, who were now led by second-year star Grant Hill and Allan Houston, struggled with a 5–9 record in November, but played .500 basketball for the remainder of the season, holding a 23–22 record at the All-Star break.[9] At midseason, the team signed free agent Michael Curry, who was previously released by the Washington Bullets.[10][11] The Pistons reemerged as a playoff contender finishing fifth in the Central Division with a 46–36 record,[12] and returned to the playoffs after a three-year absence.
1995–96 Detroit Pistons season | |||
---|---|---|---|
Head coach | Doug Collins | ||
General manager | Rick Sund | ||
Owner(s) | Bill Davidson | ||
Arena | The Palace of Auburn Hills | ||
Results | |||
Record | 46–36 (.561) | ||
Place | Division: 5th (Central) Conference: 7th (Eastern) | ||
Playoff finish | First round (lost to Magic 0–3) | ||
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com | |||
Local media | |||
Television | WKBD-TV (George Blaha, Kelly Tripucka) PASS Sports (Fred McLeod, Greg Kelser) | ||
Radio | WWJ (George Blaha) | ||
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Hill led the team with 20.2 points, 9.8 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and was named to the All-NBA Second Team, and selected for the 1996 NBA All-Star Game.[13][14][15][16] In addition, Houston finished second on the team in scoring averaging 19.7 points per game, and led them with 191 three-point field goals, while Thorpe provided the team with 14.2 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Joe Dumars played half of the season off the bench as the team's sixth man, averaging just 11.8 points and 4.0 assists per game,[17][18] as Lindsey Hunter was the team's starting point guard for half the season, contributing 8.5 points per game, and Terry Mills provided with 9.4 points and 4.3 rebounds per game off the bench. On the defensive side, top draft pick Theo Ratliff led the team with 1.5 blocks per game off the bench, and second round draft pick Don Reid was the team's starting power forward, averaging 3.8 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.[19] Hill also finished tied in ninth place in Most Valuable Player voting,[20] while Collins finished tied in third place in Coach of the Year voting,[21][22]
However, in the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Pistons would be swept by the Orlando Magic in three straight games.[23][24][25][26] Following the season, Houston signed as a free agent with the New York Knicks,[27][28][29][30] which left a bitter feud between Houston's and Hill's relationship,[31][32][33] and Mark West signed with the Cleveland Cavaliers.[34][35]
During a road game against the Magic on March 20, 1996, and with the Magic up by 20 points against the Pistons, Magic reverse guard Anthony Bowie called a timeout with 2.7 seconds left to set up a play, so he could get his first career triple-double. Collins was upset about this, and ordered his players off the court to the locker room before the game had ended. Collins was fined $5,000 by the league, as the Magic defeated the Pistons, 113–91.[36][37][38][39]