2004–05 Chicago Bulls season

The 2004–05 NBA 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 coachScott Skiles
General managerJohn Paxson
OwnersJerry Reinsdorf
ArenaUnited Center
Results
Record47–35 (.573)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Central)
Conference: 4th (Eastern)
Playoff finishFirst Round
(Lost to Wizards 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionCSN Chicago, WGN, WCIU
RadioWMVP

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.

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
Main article: 2004 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 39 Chris Duhon PG  United States Duke

Roster
Roster listing
Chicago Bulls roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
C 3 Chandler, Tyson 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Dominguez HS (CA)
C 2 Curry, Eddy  6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 285 lb (129 kg) Thornwood HS (IL)
PF 34 Davis, Antonio 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 245 lb (111 kg) UTEP
SF 9 Deng, Luol  6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Duke
PG 21 Duhon, Chris 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Duke
PF 51 Funderburke, Lawrence 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Ohio State
SG 7 Gordon, Ben 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Connecticut
SG 44 Griffin, Adrian 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 217 lb (98 kg) Seton Hall
PF 24 Harrington, Othella 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Georgetown
PG 12 Hinrich, Kirk (C) 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Kansas
SF 5 Nocioni, Andres 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) Argentina
PG 15 Pargo, Jannero 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Arkansas
SG 52 Piatkowski, Eric 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Nebraska
C 35 Reiner, Jared 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) Iowa
PG 30 Williams, Frank 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 212 lb (96 kg) Illinois
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

season standings
Central Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Detroit Pistons 5428.659–32–922–198–8
x-Chicago Bulls 4735.573727–1420–218–8
x-Indiana Pacers 4438.5371025–1619–229–7
Cleveland Cavaliers 4240.5121229–1213–287–9
Milwaukee Bucks 3052.3662423–187–348–8
Eastern Conference
# Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Miami Heat5923.720–
2 y-Detroit Pistons5428.6595
3 y-Boston Celtics4537.54914
4 x-Chicago Bulls4735.57312
5 x-Washington Wizards4537.54914
6 x-Indiana Pacers4438.53715
7 x-Philadelphia 76ers4339.52416
8 x-New Jersey Nets4240.51217
9 Cleveland Cavaliers4240.51217
10 Orlando Magic3646.43923
11 New York Knicks3349.40226
12 Toronto Raptors3349.40226
13 Milwaukee Bucks3052.36629
14 Charlotte Bobcats1864.22041
15 Atlanta Hawks1369.15946

Schedule
GameDateOpponentResultBulls scoreOpponent scoreRecordStreakOT
1November 5New JerseyLoss1061110-1Lost 12OT
2November 6@ IndianaLoss901000-2Lost 2
3November 9PhoenixLoss74940-3Lost 3
4November 13LA ClippersLoss96970-4Lost 4
5November 16@ SacramentoLoss1061130-5Lost 5
6November 17@ Golden StateLoss85980-6Lost 6
7November 19@ DenverLoss81990-7Lost 7
8November 21@ LA LakersLoss931020-8Lost 8
9November 22@ PhoenixLoss821000-9Lost 9
10November 24@ UtahWin101991-9Won 1
11November 27@ ClevelandLoss74961-10Lost 1
12December 1LA LakersWin92842-10Won 1
13December 3MiamiLoss811052-11Lost 1
14December 4@ WashingtonLoss88952-12Lost 2
15December 6San AntonioLoss75912-13Lost 3
16December 8ClevelandWin113853-13Won 1
17December 10PhiladelphiaLoss88933-14Lost 1
18December 11MinnesotaWin99884-14Won 1
19December 13DallasLoss93944-15Lost 1
20December 15@ MemphisWin96885-15Won 1
21December 16MilwaukeeWin85776-15Won 2
22December 18IndianaWin85717-15Won 3
23December 20PortlandWin92878-15Won 4
24December 22@ DetroitWin89829-15Won 5
25December 26@ MilwaukeeLoss92999-16Lost 1
26December 28New JerseyLoss80849-17Lost 2
27January 1OrlandoWin1059010-17Won 1
28January 3DetroitLoss808710-18Lost 1
29January 5@ New OrleansWin958911-18Won 1
30January 7UtahWin847812-18Won 2
31January 8BostonWin1029113-18Won 3
32January 10Golden StateWin948514-18Won 4
33January 12PhiladelphiaWin1108715-18Won 5
34January 15New YorkWin868416-18Won 6
35January 17@ New YorkWin888617-18Won 7
36January 19@ BostonLoss839217-19Lost 1
37January 21AtlantaWin958518-19Won 1
38January 22@ DetroitWin1008919-19Won 2
39January 24@ AtlantaWin1078220-19Won 3
40January 25DenverWin11110721-19Won 4
41January 27CharlotteWin1019322-19Won 5
42January 29BostonLoss9710122-20Lost 1
43February 1@ New JerseyLoss9710722-21Lost 2
44February 5@ MiamiLoss9710822-22Lost 3
45February 8@ DallasWin10710023-22Won 1
46February 9@ HoustonLoss9210523-23Lost 1
47February 13@ MinnesotaWin878324-23Won 1
48February 15SacramentoWin10710225-23Won 2
49February 16@ TorontoWin12111526-23Won 3
50February 22MiamiWin10510127-23Won 4OT
51February 23@ ClevelandLoss9110027-24Lost 1
52February 25WashingtonWin979028-24Won 1
53February 26@ CharlotteWin949029-24Won 2
54March 1HoustonLoss8911929-25Lost 1
55March 4@ San AntonioLoss9910229-26Lost 2
56March 5@ MilwaukeeLoss879529-27Lost 3
57March 7MilwaukeeWin908530-27Won 1
58March 9@ PortlandWin978431-27Won 2
59March 11@ SeattleWin1009732-27Won 3
60March 13@ LA ClippersLoss788332-28Lost 1
61March 15SeattleLoss939932-29Lost 2
62March 16@ New JerseyLoss8410032-30Lost 3
63March 18New OrleansLoss909432-31Lost 4
64March 19@ PhiladelphiaWin948833-31Won 1
65March 21AtlantaWin1059134-31Won 2
66March 23@ TorontoWin948535-31Won 3
67March 25@ BostonWin948636-31Won 4
68March 26IndianaWin1009637-31Won 5
69March 28MemphisWin948638-31Won 6
70March 30@ CharlotteWin1029939-31Won 7
71March 31ClevelandWin1029040-31Won 8OT
72April 2CharlotteWin1129741-31Won 9
73April 5@ MiamiLoss8610441-32Lost 1
74April 6@ OrlandoWin10210142-32Won 1OT
75April 8@ New YorkWin1029443-32Won 2
76April 9TorontoWin1109744-32Won 3
77April 11DetroitLoss848544-33Lost 1OT
78April 13@ WashingtonLoss829344-34Lost 2
79April 15OrlandoWin1177745-34Won 1
80April 16@ AtlantaWin11410546-34Won 2
81April 19New YorkWin929147-34Won 3
82April 20@ IndianaLoss838547-35Lost 1
1April 24WashingtonWin103941-0Won 1
2April 27WashingtonWin1131032-0Won 2
3April 30@ WashingtonLoss991172-1Lost 1
4May 2@ WashingtonLoss991062-2Lost 2
5May 4WashingtonLoss1101122-3Lost 3
6May 6@ WashingtonLoss91942-4Lost 4

Record vs. opponents
2004-05 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MEM MIA MIL MIN NJN NOH NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA TOR UTA WAS
Atlanta —1–31–30–40–41–10–21–30–21–10–30–21–10–20–41–21–10–31–11–31–31–30–20–20–20–20–21–20–20–4
Boston 3–1—4–02–21–20–20–21–31–11–11–22–01–11–11–23–11–11–32–03–13–01–31–11–10–20–22–03–12–03–1
Charlotte 3–10–4—0–40–40–21–12–10–22–00–30–20–20–21–30–41–10–41–11–33–10–30–20–21–10–20–21–21–10–4
Chicago 4–02–24–0—2–21–11–12–21–10–22–20–21–12–01–32–22–00–41–14–03–02–10–22–01–10–21–13–02–01–2
Cleveland 4–02–14–02–2—1–11–12–22–00–21–31–11–12–00–32–21–11–32–01–33–10–31–12–00–20–20–23–12–01–2
Dallas 1–12–02–01–11–1—2–11–13–12–21–11–22–24–02–02–02–22–04–02–01–11–11–24–03–11–33–12–03–02–0
Denver 2–02–01–11–11–11–2—1–12–21–22–02–12–24–01–12–02–21–14–01–11–11–10–43–11–22–22–22–02–22–0
Detroit 3–13–11–22–22–21–11–1—2–02–02–22–02–00–22–12–21–12–12–03–03–13–11–11–11–11–11–13–11–14–0
Golden State 2–01–12–01–10–21–32–20–2—1–21–10–41–31–30–22–01–20–22–21–11–11–12–22–23–10–32–21–12–11–1
Houston 1–11–10–22–02–02–22–10–22–1—1–13–02–23–11–11–11–22–03–11–12–02–02–24–02–22–23–11–12–21–1
Indiana 3–02–13–02–23–11–10–22–21–11–1—0–21–12–03–12–22–02–21–12–21–30–41–12–00–21–10–22–12–02–2
L.A. Clippers 2–00–22–02–01–12–11–20–24–00–32–0—2–21–31–11–11–31–13–11–11–11–10–42–20–40–42–11–12–21–1
L.A. Lakers 1–11–12–01–11–12–22–20–23–12–21–12–2—0–30–22–02–11–13–01–11–10–20–42–11–30–41–31–11–30–2
Memphis 2–01–12–00–20–20–40–42–03–11–30–23–13–0—1–12–03–12–03–11–11–12–02–23–10–33–10–32–03–00–2
Miami 4–02–13–13–13–00–21–11–22–01–11–31–12–01–1—4–01–13–02–04–04–02–21–11–12–01–10–23–12–04–0
Milwaukee 2–11–34–02–22–20–20–22–20–21–12–21–10–20–20–4—1–12–11–12–12–10–40–20–20–20–21–12–21–11–3
Minnesota 1–11–11–10–21–12–22–21–12–12–10–23–11–21–31–11–1—2–04–01–11–12–01–34–03–11–21–30–23–11–1
New Jersey 3–03–14–04–03–10–21–11–22–00–22–21–11–10–20–31–20–2—2–03–11–33–10–21–11–10–20–22–22–01–3
New Orleans 1–10–21–11–10–20–40–40–22–21–31–11–30–31–30–21–10–40–2—1–10–21–10–42–11–20–40–30–22–21–1
New York 3–11–33–10–43–10–21–10–31–11–12–21–11–11–10–41–21–11–31–1—1–23–10–21–10–21–10–21–32–02–1
Orlando 3–10–31–30–31–31–11–11–31–10–23–11–11–11–10–41–21–13–12–02–1—2–20–21–11–11–11–12–22–02–2
Philadelphia 3–13–13–01–23–01–11–11–31–10–24–01–12–00–22–24–00–21–31–11–32–2—0–21–10–20–21–13–11–12–1
Phoenix 2–01–12–02–01–12–14–01–12–22–21–14–04–02–21–12–03–12–04–02–02–02–0—3–02–21–22–12–03–11–1
Portland 2–01–12–00–20–20–41–31–12–20–40–22–21–21–31–12–00–41–11–21–11–11–10–3—1–31–21–31–12–20–2
Sacramento 2–02–01–11–12–01–32–11–11–32–22–04–03–13–00–22–01–31–12–12–01–12–02–23–1—1–31–31–12–12–0
San Antonio 2–02–02–02–02–03–12–21–13–02–21–14–04–01–31–12–02–12–04–01–11–12–02–12–13–1—2–21–12–21–1
Seattle 2–00–22–01–12–01–32–21–12–21–32–01–23–13–02–01–13–12–03–02–01–11–11–23–13–12–2—2–03–10–2
Toronto 2–11–32–10–31–30–20–21–31–11–11–21–11–10–21–32–22–02–22–03–12–21–30–21–11–11–10–2—2–01–3
Utah 2–00–21–10–20–20–32–21–11–22–20–22–23–10–30–21–11–30–22–20–20–21–11–32–21–22–21–30–2—0–2
Washington 4–01–34–02–12–10–20–20–41–11–12–21–12–02–00–43–11–13–11–11–22–21–21–12–00–21–12–03–12–0—

Postseason

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.

East First Round

(4) Chicago Bulls vs. (5) Washington Wizards

April 24
4:30 pm
Washington Wizards 94, Chicago Bulls 103
Scoring by quarter: 26–24, 26–29, 30–24, 12–26
Pts: Larry Hughes 31
Rebs: Kwame Brown 9
Asts: Gilbert Arenas 8		 Pts: Ben Gordon 30
Rebs: Andrés Nocioni 18
Asts: Kirk Hinrich 7
United Center, Chicago
Attendance: 22,655
Referees: Dick Bavetta, Michael Smith, Mike Callahan
April 27
7:30 pm
Washington Wizards 103, Chicago Bulls 113
Scoring by quarter: 29–19, 21–38, 20–24, 33–32
Pts: Gilbert Arenas 39
Rebs: Larry Hughes 10
Asts: Larry Hughes 5		 Pts: Kirk Hinrich 34
Rebs: Chris Duhon 8
Asts: Chris Duhon 7
United Center, Chicago
Attendance: 22,605
Referees: David Jones, Monty Mccutchen, Ron Garretson
April 30
3:00 pm
Chicago Bulls 99, Washington Wizards 117
Scoring by quarter: 23–31, 32–26, 22–33, 22–27
Pts: Tyson Chandler 15
Rebs: Antonio Davis 11
Asts: Duhon, Hinric, Pargo 4 each		 Pts: Gilbert Arenas 32
Rebs: Haywood, Thomas 9 each
Asts: Gilbert Arenas 7
MCI Center, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 20,173
Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Tom Washington, Tony Brothers
May 2
7:30 pm
Chicago Bulls 99, Washington Wizards 106
Scoring by quarter: 15–29, 22–32, 23–19, 39–26
Pts: Hinrich, Pargo 18 each
Rebs: Tyson Chandler 13
Asts: Gordon, Hinrich 5 each		 Pts: Juan Dixon 35
Rebs: Etan Thomas 9
Asts: Gilbert Arenas 5
MCI Center, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 20,173
Referees: Dan Crawford, James Capers, Joe Forte
May 4
6:00 pm
Washington Wizards 112, Chicago Bulls 110
Scoring by quarter: 34–28, 29–21, 23–24, 26–37
Pts: Larry Hughes 33
Rebs: Antawn Jamison 10
Asts: Gilbert Arenas 8		 Pts: Ben Gordon 27
Rebs: Tyson Chandler 10
Asts: Kirk Hinrich 7
United Center, Chicago
Attendance: 22,250
Referees: Bob Delaney, Derrick Stafford, Greg Willard
May 6
8:00 pm
Chicago Bulls 91, Washington Wizards 94
Scoring by quarter: 26–23, 28–29, 20–16, 17–26
Pts: Hinrich, Nocioni 22 each
Rebs: Tyson Chandler 11
Asts: Kirk Hinrich 9		 Pts: Larry Hughes 21
Rebs: Ruffin, Haywood 8 each
Asts: Gilbert Arenas 7
Washington wins the series, 4–2
MCI Center, Washington, D.C.
Attendance: 20,173
Referees: Bernie Fryer, Jack Nies, Jim Clark
Regular season series

Washington won 2–1 in the regular-season series:

December 4, 2004
Chicago Bulls 88, Washington Wizards 95
MCI Center, Washington, D.C.
April 13, 2005
Chicago Bulls 82, Washington Wizards 93
MCI Center, Washington, D.C.

Last Playoffs meeting: 1997 Eastern Conference First Round (Chicago won 3–0)

Awards and records

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

References
  1. https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/2005.html
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