2004–05 Chicago Bulls season
NBA professional basketball team season
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The 2004–05 Chicago Bulls season was the Bulls' 39th season in the National Basketball Association.[1] After the retirement of Scottie Pippen, the Bulls stumbled out of the gate as they lost their first nine games on their way to an awful 3–14 start. However, they would win 13 of their 16 games in January including a 7-game winning streak, then win nine straight games between March and April. The Bulls finished second in the Central Division with a record of 47–35, and qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 1998, when they last made the NBA Finals, as well as when they won their last NBA championship. Second-year star Kirk Hinrich averaged 15.7 points, 6.4 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Top draft pick Ben Gordon became the first rookie to win the Sixth Man of The Year Award, as he and Luol Deng were both selected to the All-Rookie First Team.
| 2004–05 Chicago Bulls season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Scott Skiles |
| General manager | John Paxson |
| Owners | Jerry Reinsdorf |
| Arena | United Center |
| Results | |
| Record | 47–35 (.573) |
| Place | Division: 2nd (Central) Conference: 4th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | First Round (lost to Wizards 2–4) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | CSN Chicago, WGN, WCIU |
| Radio | WMVP |
However, injuries were an issue as Deng was out for April and the postseason with a wrist injury, and Eddy Curry was sidelined due to a heart ailment. In the first round of the playoffs, the Bulls took a 2–0 lead over the Washington Wizards, but would lose the final four games of the series. Following the season, Curry and Antonio Davis were both traded to the New York Knicks.
This was the Bulls' first winning season and first playoff run since 1998, during the Michael Jordan era, when they won their sixth and most recent NBA championship.
For the season, they slightly changed their uniforms added the Bulls secondary logo on the back of the jersey. They remained in use until 2014.
Offseason
The Bulls drafted Ben Gordon, Chris Duhon, and getting Luol Deng from a trade with the Phoenix Suns, with Gordon coming from Connecticut and Deng and Duhon coming from Duke. They also signed Argentinian forward Andrés Nocioni, who had played on several successful international teams. These acquisitions reflected John Paxson's strategy of building around players who had already been on successful teams, a departure from what Jerry Krause had done as General Manager, drafting Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler in the same season, players who both showed tremendous potential, but were both coming to the NBA directly from high school.
Jamal Crawford and Jerome Williams were traded to the New York Knicks for Dikembe Mutombo and Cezary Trybanski. However, Mutombo was traded again to the Houston Rockets for Eric Piatkowski and Adrian Griffin without ever playing in a game for the Bulls and Trybanksi was waived by the team in October.
NBA draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College / Club Team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | Ben Gordon | SG |  United States United Kingdom |
Connecticut |
| 2 | 32 | Jackson Vroman | C | United States |
Iowa State |
| 2 | 38 | Chris Duhon | PG | United States |
Duke |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-Detroit Pistons | 54 | 28 | .659 | – | 32–9 | 22–19 | 8–8 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 47 | 35 | .573 | 7 | 27–14 | 20–21 | 8–8 |
| x-Indiana Pacers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 10 | 25–16 | 19–22 | 9–7 |
| e-Cleveland Cavaliers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 12 | 29–12 | 13–28 | 7–9 |
| e-Milwaukee Bucks | 30 | 52 | .366 | 24 | 23–18 | 7–34 | 8–8 |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | c-Miami Heat | 59 | 23 | .720 | – |
| 2 | y-Detroit Pistons | 54 | 28 | .659 | 5 |
| 3 | y-Boston Celtics | 45 | 37 | .549 | 14 |
| 4 | x-Chicago Bulls | 47 | 35 | .573 | 12 |
| 5 | x-Washington Wizards | 45 | 37 | .549 | 14 |
| 6 | x-Indiana Pacers | 44 | 38 | .537 | 15 |
| 7 | x-Philadelphia 76ers | 43 | 39 | .524 | 16 |
| 8 | x-New Jersey Nets | 42 | 40 | .512 | 17 |
| 9 | e-Cleveland Cavaliers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 17 |
| 10 | e-Orlando Magic | 36 | 46 | .439 | 23 |
| 11 | e-New York Knicks | 33 | 49 | .402 | 26 |
| 12 | e-Toronto Raptors | 33 | 49 | .402 | 26 |
| 13 | e-Milwaukee Bucks | 30 | 52 | .366 | 29 |
| 14 | e-Charlotte Bobcats | 18 | 64 | .220 | 41 |
| 15 | e-Atlanta Hawks | 13 | 69 | .159 | 46 |
Schedule
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Bulls score | Opponent score | Record | Streak | OT |
| 1 | November 5 | New Jersey | Loss | 106 | 111 | 0-1 | Lost 1 | 2OT |
| 2 | November 6 | @ Indiana | Loss | 90 | 100 | 0-2 | Lost 2 | |
| 3 | November 9 | Phoenix | Loss | 74 | 94 | 0-3 | Lost 3 | |
| 4 | November 13 | LA Clippers | Loss | 96 | 97 | 0-4 | Lost 4 | |
| 5 | November 16 | @ Sacramento | Loss | 106 | 113 | 0-5 | Lost 5 | |
| 6 | November 17 | @ Golden State | Loss | 85 | 98 | 0-6 | Lost 6 | |
| 7 | November 19 | @ Denver | Loss | 81 | 99 | 0-7 | Lost 7 | |
| 8 | November 21 | @ LA Lakers | Loss | 93 | 102 | 0-8 | Lost 8 | |
| 9 | November 22 | @ Phoenix | Loss | 82 | 100 | 0-9 | Lost 9 | |
| 10 | November 24 | @ Utah | Win | 101 | 99 | 1-9 | Won 1 | |
| 11 | November 27 | @ Cleveland | Loss | 74 | 96 | 1-10 | Lost 1 | |
| 12 | December 1 | LA Lakers | Win | 92 | 84 | 2-10 | Won 1 | |
| 13 | December 3 | Miami | Loss | 81 | 105 | 2-11 | Lost 1 | |
| 14 | December 4 | @ Washington | Loss | 88 | 95 | 2-12 | Lost 2 | |
| 15 | December 6 | San Antonio | Loss | 75 | 91 | 2-13 | Lost 3 | |
| 16 | December 8 | Cleveland | Win | 113 | 85 | 3-13 | Won 1 | |
| 17 | December 10 | Philadelphia | Loss | 88 | 93 | 3-14 | Lost 1 | |
| 18 | December 11 | Minnesota | Win | 99 | 88 | 4-14 | Won 1 | |
| 19 | December 13 | Dallas | Loss | 93 | 94 | 4-15 | Lost 1 | |
| 20 | December 15 | @ Memphis | Win | 96 | 88 | 5-15 | Won 1 | |
| 21 | December 16 | Milwaukee | Win | 85 | 77 | 6-15 | Won 2 | |
| 22 | December 18 | Indiana | Win | 85 | 71 | 7-15 | Won 3 | |
| 23 | December 20 | Portland | Win | 92 | 87 | 8-15 | Won 4 | |
| 24 | December 22 | @ Detroit | Win | 89 | 82 | 9-15 | Won 5 | |
| 25 | December 26 | @ Milwaukee | Loss | 92 | 99 | 9-16 | Lost 1 | |
| 26 | December 28 | New Jersey | Loss | 80 | 84 | 9-17 | Lost 2 | |
| 27 | January 1 | Orlando | Win | 105 | 90 | 10-17 | Won 1 | |
| 28 | January 3 | Detroit | Loss | 80 | 87 | 10-18 | Lost 1 | |
| 29 | January 5 | @ New Orleans | Win | 95 | 89 | 11-18 | Won 1 | |
| 30 | January 7 | Utah | Win | 84 | 78 | 12-18 | Won 2 | |
| 31 | January 8 | Boston | Win | 102 | 91 | 13-18 | Won 3 | |
| 32 | January 10 | Golden State | Win | 94 | 85 | 14-18 | Won 4 | |
| 33 | January 12 | Philadelphia | Win | 110 | 87 | 15-18 | Won 5 | |
| 34 | January 15 | New York | Win | 86 | 84 | 16-18 | Won 6 | |
| 35 | January 17 | @ New York | Win | 88 | 86 | 17-18 | Won 7 | |
| 36 | January 19 | @ Boston | Loss | 83 | 92 | 17-19 | Lost 1 | |
| 37 | January 21 | Atlanta | Win | 95 | 85 | 18-19 | Won 1 | |
| 38 | January 22 | @ Detroit | Win | 100 | 89 | 19-19 | Won 2 | |
| 39 | January 24 | @ Atlanta | Win | 107 | 82 | 20-19 | Won 3 | |
| 40 | January 25 | Denver | Win | 111 | 107 | 21-19 | Won 4 | |
| 41 | January 27 | Charlotte | Win | 101 | 93 | 22-19 | Won 5 | |
| 42 | January 29 | Boston | Loss | 97 | 101 | 22-20 | Lost 1 | |
| 43 | February 1 | @ New Jersey | Loss | 97 | 107 | 22-21 | Lost 2 | |
| 44 | February 5 | @ Miami | Loss | 97 | 108 | 22-22 | Lost 3 | |
| 45 | February 8 | @ Dallas | Win | 107 | 100 | 23-22 | Won 1 | |
| 46 | February 9 | @ Houston | Loss | 92 | 105 | 23-23 | Lost 1 | |
| 47 | February 13 | @ Minnesota | Win | 87 | 83 | 24-23 | Won 1 | |
| 48 | February 15 | Sacramento | Win | 107 | 102 | 25-23 | Won 2 | |
| 49 | February 16 | @ Toronto | Win | 121 | 115 | 26-23 | Won 3 | |
| 50 | February 22 | Miami | Win | 105 | 101 | 27-23 | Won 4 | OT |
| 51 | February 23 | @ Cleveland | Loss | 91 | 100 | 27-24 | Lost 1 | |
| 52 | February 25 | Washington | Win | 97 | 90 | 28-24 | Won 1 | |
| 53 | February 26 | @ Charlotte | Win | 94 | 90 | 29-24 | Won 2 | |
| 54 | March 1 | Houston | Loss | 89 | 119 | 29-25 | Lost 1 | |
| 55 | March 4 | @ San Antonio | Loss | 99 | 102 | 29-26 | Lost 2 | |
| 56 | March 5 | @ Milwaukee | Loss | 87 | 95 | 29-27 | Lost 3 | |
| 57 | March 7 | Milwaukee | Win | 90 | 85 | 30-27 | Won 1 | |
| 58 | March 9 | @ Portland | Win | 97 | 84 | 31-27 | Won 2 | |
| 59 | March 11 | @ Seattle | Win | 100 | 97 | 32-27 | Won 3 | |
| 60 | March 13 | @ LA Clippers | Loss | 78 | 83 | 32-28 | Lost 1 | |
| 61 | March 15 | Seattle | Loss | 93 | 99 | 32-29 | Lost 2 | |
| 62 | March 16 | @ New Jersey | Loss | 84 | 100 | 32-30 | Lost 3 | |
| 63 | March 18 | New Orleans | Loss | 90 | 94 | 32-31 | Lost 4 | |
| 64 | March 19 | @ Philadelphia | Win | 94 | 88 | 33-31 | Won 1 | |
| 65 | March 21 | Atlanta | Win | 105 | 91 | 34-31 | Won 2 | |
| 66 | March 23 | @ Toronto | Win | 94 | 85 | 35-31 | Won 3 | |
| 67 | March 25 | @ Boston | Win | 94 | 86 | 36-31 | Won 4 | |
| 68 | March 26 | Indiana | Win | 100 | 96 | 37-31 | Won 5 | |
| 69 | March 28 | Memphis | Win | 94 | 86 | 38-31 | Won 6 | |
| 70 | March 30 | @ Charlotte | Win | 102 | 99 | 39-31 | Won 7 | |
| 71 | March 31 | Cleveland | Win | 102 | 90 | 40-31 | Won 8 | OT |
| 72 | April 2 | Charlotte | Win | 112 | 97 | 41-31 | Won 9 | |
| 73 | April 5 | @ Miami | Loss | 86 | 104 | 41-32 | Lost 1 | |
| 74 | April 6 | @ Orlando | Win | 102 | 101 | 42-32 | Won 1 | OT |
| 75 | April 8 | @ New York | Win | 102 | 94 | 43-32 | Won 2 | |
| 76 | April 9 | Toronto | Win | 110 | 97 | 44-32 | Won 3 | |
| 77 | April 11 | Detroit | Loss | 84 | 85 | 44-33 | Lost 1 | OT |
| 78 | April 13 | @ Washington | Loss | 82 | 93 | 44-34 | Lost 2 | |
| 79 | April 15 | Orlando | Win | 117 | 77 | 45-34 | Won 1 | |
| 80 | April 16 | @ Atlanta | Win | 114 | 105 | 46-34 | Won 2 | |
| 81 | April 19 | New York | Win | 92 | 91 | 47-34 | Won 3 | |
| 82 | April 20 | @ Indiana | Loss | 83 | 85 | 47-35 | Lost 1 |
Playoffs
The Bulls' record of 47-35 was good enough for the #4 seed in the Eastern conference. In the first round of the playoffs the Bulls met another young team on the upswing, the Washington Wizards. The Bulls would lose the series 4–2, staying competitive throughout most of the series, but ultimately unable to find an answer for Wizards star Gilbert Arenas. The Bulls also entered the series nursing injuries. Most notably, Eddy Curry was injured in late March, and the Bulls signed veteran Lawrence Funderburke just days before the beginning of the postseason in an attempt to add more depth to their front-court.
| 2005 playoff game log | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First Round: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3)
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| 2005 schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game |
| FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| RPG | Rebounds per game | APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game |
| BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
Regular season
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyson Chandler | 80 | 10 | 27.4 | .494 | .000 | .673 | 9.7 | .8 | .9 | 1.8 | 8.0 |
| Eddy Curry | 63 | 60 | 28.7 | .538 | .720 | 5.4 | .6 | .3 | .9 | 16.1 | |
| Antonio Davis | 72 | 62 | 25.6 | .461 | .757 | 5.9 | 1.1 | .4 | .6 | 7.0 | |
| Luol Deng | 61 | 45 | 27.3 | .434 | .265 | .741 | 5.3 | 2.2 | .8 | .4 | 11.7 |
| Chris Duhon | 82 | 73 | 26.5 | .352 | .355 | .731 | 2.6 | 4.9 | 1.0 | .0 | 5.9 |
| Lawrence Funderburke | 2 | 0 | 10.5 | .500 | .600 | 1.5 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 4.5 | |
| Ben Gordon | 82 | 3 | 24.4 | .411 | .405 | .863 | 2.6 | 2.0 | .6 | .1 | 15.1 |
| Adrian Griffin | 69 | 1 | 9.7 | .360 | .222 | .750 | 2.1 | .8 | .6 | .1 | 2.2 |
| Othella Harrington | 70 | 28 | 18.2 | .512 | .718 | 4.2 | .8 | .3 | .3 | 8.0 | |
| Kirk Hinrich | 77 | 77 | 36.4 | .397 | .355 | .792 | 3.9 | 6.4 | 1.6 | .3 | 15.7 |
| Andrés Nocioni | 81 | 38 | 23.4 | .401 | .258 | .766 | 4.8 | 1.5 | .5 | .4 | 8.4 |
| Jannero Pargo | 32 | 0 | 14.2 | .385 | .348 | .739 | 1.5 | 2.4 | .5 | .0 | 6.4 |
| Eric Piatkowski | 68 | 11 | 12.4 | .430 | .425 | .804 | 1.2 | .8 | .4 | .0 | 4.8 |
| Jared Reiner | 19 | 2 | 6.9 | .333 | .250 | 2.0 | .1 | .2 | .4 | 1.1 | |
| Frank Williams | 9 | 0 | 7.9 | .150 | .000 | .7 | 1.2 | .2 | .3 | .7 |
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyson Chandler | 6 | 0 | 28.7 | .475 | .696 | 9.7 | 1.3 | .2 | 2.2 | 11.7 | |
| Antonio Davis | 6 | 6 | 29.2 | .435 | .739 | 6.8 | 1.8 | .7 | .7 | 9.5 | |
| Chris Duhon | 6 | 5 | 26.5 | .297 | .273 | .818 | 4.3 | 3.5 | .3 | .0 | 6.2 |
| Lawrence Funderburke | 5 | 0 | 5.6 | .500 | .500 | .6 | .2 | .0 | .0 | .6 | |
| Ben Gordon | 6 | 1 | 25.5 | .405 | .318 | .800 | 2.7 | 2.5 | .8 | .3 | 14.5 |
| Adrian Griffin | 5 | 0 | 17.2 | .517 | .800 | 4.0 | 1.8 | 1.0 | .0 | 6.8 | |
| Othella Harrington | 6 | 6 | 17.2 | .500 | .545 | 2.5 | .5 | .2 | .0 | 8.0 | |
| Kirk Hinrich | 6 | 6 | 35.5 | .450 | .515 | .690 | 3.7 | 5.8 | 2.0 | .7 | 21.2 |
| Andrés Nocioni | 6 | 6 | 33.7 | .403 | .353 | .739 | 8.2 | 2.3 | .2 | 1.0 | 12.8 |
| Jannero Pargo | 5 | 0 | 15.2 | .353 | .406 | .600 | 1.0 | 2.0 | .6 | .0 | 10.4 |
| Eric Piatkowski | 5 | 0 | 13.2 | .316 | .385 | .857 | 1.8 | .6 | .8 | .2 | 4.6 |
| Jared Reiner | 3 | 0 | 2.3 | .000 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | .0 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Bulls only.
Awards and records
- Ben Gordon, NBA Sixth Man of the Year Award
- Ben Gordon, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
- Luol Deng, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team
Ben Gordon lost out to Emeka Okafor for Rookie of the Year honors, but did win Sixth Man of the Year honors, averaging 15.1 points per game despite making only three starts.
Transactions
- June 24, 2004: Drafted G Ben Gordon in the 1st round (3rd overall) of the 2004 NBA Draft
- June 24, 2004: Drafted C Jackson Vroman in the 2nd round (31st overall) of the 2004 NBA Draft
- June 24, 2004: Drafted G Chris Duhon in the 2nd round (38th overall) of the 2004 NBA Draft
- June 24, 2004: Traded C Jackson Vroman, a future first-round pick and cash to the Phoenix Suns for F Luol Deng
- August 5, 2004: Traded G Jamal Crawford and F Jerome Williams to the New York Knicks for C Dikembe Mutombo, F Othella Harrington, G Frank Williams and C Cezary Trybański
- August 11, 2004: Signed free agent F Andrés Nocioni
- August 20, 2004: Waived F Paul Shirley
- September 8, 2004: Traded C Dikembe Mutombo to the Houston Rockets for G Adrian Griffin, F Eric Piatkowski and G Mike Wilks
- September 30, 2004: Signed free agent C Jared Reiner
- October 4, 2004: Waived F Chris Jefferies
- October 5, 2004: Announced the retirement of F Scottie Pippen
- October 20, 2004: Waived G Mike Wilks
- October 28, 2004: Waived C Cezary Trybański
- November 1, 2004: Waived F Eddie Robinson
- January 5, 2005: Waived F Tommy Smith
- April 18, 2005: Signed F Lawrence Funderburke