With a roster made up primarily of castoffs, the Braves got off on the right foot by beating the Cleveland Cavaliers 107–92 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium on October 14.
Hummer led Princeton with a .487 field goal percentage, as well as leading the team with 9.5 rebounds per game.
Howell was a six time NBA all-star, however, immediately after the draft, he was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers in exchange for power forward Bob Kauffman, who had played the 1969-70 season with the Chicago Bulls.
The Braves management were looking forward to his leadership on the team; however, due to contradictory language in his Baltimore contract that provided him a loophole to become a free agent after the 1969-70 NBA season.
[2] [3] Roster The Braves won their first game in franchise history, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 107–92 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium on October 14, 1970.
The Braves struggled during the rest of the month, earning a 2–5 record over their remaining seven games, with wins over the Phoenix Suns and Portland Trail Blazers.
Overall, their record was 7–16, as the club remained in the Atlantic Division cellar, 11 games behind the first place New York Knicks.
Also during this time, the Braves traded guard Freddie Crawford to the Philadelphia 76ers for a future draft pick.
The Braves returned to the win column on December 4, defeating the powerful New York Knicks 97–91, as Dick Garrett led the team with 23 points and 10 rebounds.
After a loss to Atlanta in their next game, the Braves defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 113–111 in overtime, as Kauffman led the way with 34 points and 11 rebounds.
In their next game, the Braves halted their losing streak with a 115–108 victory over the San Francisco Warriors, as Bob Kauffman led the way with 20 points and 17 rebounds.
Following the win over the Warriors, the Braves lost their next three games, including a 141–113 blowout loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Buffalo ended their losing streak with an impressive 119–113 win over the Portland Trail Blazers, in which eight players scored double digits in points for the Braves.
The Braves ended their losing streak and won their twentieth game of the season with a 120–109 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers on March 6.