1988–89 Cleveland Cavaliers season

NBA professional basketball team season

NBA professional basketball team season
1988–89 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coachLenny Wilkens
General managerWayne Embry
ArenaRichfield Coliseum
Results
Record57–25 (.695)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Central)
Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finishFirst round
(lost to Bulls 2–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWOIO
(Joe Tait, Jim Chones)
RadioWRMR[1]
(Joe Tait, Jim Johnson)
< 1987–88 1989–90 >

The 1988-89 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 19th season of NBA basketball in Cleveland, Ohio.[2] During the off-season, the team signed free agent Tree Rollins,[3][4][5] and acquired Darnell Valentine from the expansion Miami Heat.[6][7][8] The Cavaliers started their season with a 133–93 road win over the expansion Charlotte Hornets on November 4, 1988, which was the Hornets' first game in franchise history,[9][10][11][12] then posted an 11-game winning streak between December and January, which led to a successful 24–5 start,[13][14][15] held a 35–11 record at the All-Star break,[16] and finished the season with a 57–25 record, setting a franchise high.[17] This record was tied for 2nd best in the NBA, finishing 2nd in the Central Division.

Mark Price and Brad Daugherty both led the team in scoring with 18.9 points per game each, while Price contributed 8.4 assists and 1.5 steals per game, while being selected to the All-NBA Third Team, and Daugherty averaged 9.2 rebounds per game. In addition, Ron Harper averaged 18.6 points, 5.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game, while Larry Nance provided the team with 17.2 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive First Team, and sixth man Hot Rod Williams contributed 11.6 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game off the bench. Mike Sanders provided with 9.3 points per game, and Craig Ehlo contributed 7.4 points and 1.3 steals per game off the bench.[18]

Price, Daugherty and Nance were all selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game, with head coach Lenny Wilkens coaching the Eastern Conference;[19][20][21][22][23] however, Harper was not selected for the All-Star Game.[24][25] Price also finished in tenth place in Most Valuable Player voting,[26][27] and Wilkens finished in third place in Coach of the Year voting.[28][29][30]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Cavaliers were eliminated by Michael Jordan's 6th-seeded Chicago Bulls in five games, thanks to a memorable series-clinching shot by Jordan.[31][32][33][34] Following the season, Sanders signed as a free agent with the Indiana Pacers.[35][36][37]

Key Dates:

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality School/Club Team
1 22 Randolph Keys Forward  United States Southern Miss
3 64 Winston Bennett Forward  United States Kentucky

Roster

1988–89 Cleveland Cavaliers roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
C 43 Daugherty, Brad (C) 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1965–10–19 North Carolina
C 24 Dudley, Chris 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1965–02–22 Yale
G/F 3 Ehlo, Craig 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–08–11 Washington State
G 4 Harper, Ron 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1964–01–20 Miami (OH)
F 35 Hubbard, Phil 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1956–12–13 Michigan
F 31 Keys, Randolph 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1966–04–19 Southern Miss
F 22 Nance, Larry (C) 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1959–02–12 Clemson
G 25 Price, Mark (C) 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1964–02–15 Georgia Tech
C 30 Rollins, Tree 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1955–06–16 Clemson
F 11 Sanders, Mike 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1960–05–07 UCLA
G 1 Valentine, Darnell 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 183 lb (83 kg) 1959–02–03 Kansas
F/C 18 Williams, Hot Rod 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962–08–09 Tulane
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Roster
Last transaction: August 2, 1988

Regular season

Season standings

  • v
  • t
  • e
 W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Detroit Pistons 63 19 .768 – 37–4 26–15 20–10
x-Cleveland Cavaliers 57 25 .695 6 37–4 20–21 19–11
x-Atlanta Hawks 52 30 .634 11 33–8 19–22 20–10
x-Milwaukee Bucks 49 33 .598 14 31–10 18–23 11–19
x-Chicago Bulls 47 35 .573 16 30–11 17–24 12–18
Indiana Pacers 28 54 .341 35 20–21 8–33 8–22
#
Eastern Conference
  • v
  • t
  • e
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Detroit Pistons 63 19 .768 –
2 y-New York Knicks 52 30 .634 11
3 x-Cleveland Cavaliers 57 25 .695 6
4 x-Atlanta Hawks 52 30 .634 11
5 x-Milwaukee Bucks 49 33 .598 14
6 x-Chicago Bulls 47 35 .573 16
7 x-Philadelphia 76ers 46 36 .561 17
8 x-Boston Celtics 42 40 .512 21
9 Washington Bullets 40 42 .488 23
10 Indiana Pacers 28 54 .341 35
11 New Jersey Nets 26 56 .317 37
12 Charlotte Hornets 20 62 .244 43

Notes

  • z, y – division champions
  • x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1988-89 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta – 3–1 4–1 4–2 4–2 1–1 0–2 1–5 1–1 1–1 5–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 6–0 4–1 2–2 2–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 3–1
Boston 1–3 – 6–0 1–3 1–4 1–1 1–1 1–3 1–1 1–1 2–3 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–2 5–1 3–3 3–3 0–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 0–2 1–1 2–4
Charlotte 1–4 0–6 – 1–4 0–4 0–2 0–2 0–4 0–2 0–2 2–2 2–0 0–2 1–1 0–4 2–4 2–4 3–3 0–2 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–5
Chicago 2–4 3–1 4–1 – 0–6 2–0 1–1 0–6 1–1 1–1 4–2 1–1 2–0 2–0 6–0 2–2 3–2 1–3 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 0–2 3–1
Cleveland 2–4 4–1 4–0 6–0 – 2–0 2–0 3–3 1–1 1–1 5–1 1–1 0–2 2–0 3–3 4–0 2–2 3–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–2
Dallas 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 – 3–3 0–2 1–3 1–5 1–1 3–1 0–4 6–0 0–2 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–3 2–2 2–2 5–1 2–2 4–2 1–1
Denver 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 3–3 – 1–1 3–1 4–2 1–1 2–2 1–3 5–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–3 2–2 3–1 3–3 2–2 3–3 1–1
Detroit 5–1 3–1 4–0 6–0 3–3 2–0 1–1 – 1–1 1–1 4–2 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–4 4–0 0–4 5–0 2–0 1–1 2–0 2–0 2–0 2–0 5–0
Golden State 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 1–3 1–1 – 1–3 1–1 5–1 2–3 4–0 0–2 2–0 2–0 1–1 2–4 2–4 2–3 3–1 2–4 2–2 1–1
Houston 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 5–1 2–4 1–1 3–1 – 2–0 2–2 1–3 4–2 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 1–3 3–1 2–2 6–0 2–2 2–4 0–2
Indiana 1–5 3–2 2–2 2–4 1–5 1–1 1–1 2–4 1–1 0–2 – 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–4 1–3 0–5 0–4 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–3
L.A. Clippers 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–3 2–2 0–2 1–5 2–2 1–1 – 1–5 1–3 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 1–5 1–5 2–3 3–1 1–4 1–3 0–2
L.A. Lakers 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 2–0 4–0 3–1 0–2 3–2 3–1 2–0 5–1 – 4–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 3–3 5–0 5–1 3–1 4–2 1–3 1–1
Miami 1–1 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–6 1–5 0–2 0–4 2–4 1–1 3–1 0–4 – 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 0–4 0–4 1–3 2–4 0–4 1–5 0–2
Milwaukee 0–6 2–2 4–0 0–6 3–3 2–0 2–0 4–2 2–0 1–1 4–2 2–0 1–1 2–0 – 4–1 1–3 3–1 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 4–1
New Jersey 1–4 1–5 4–2 2–2 0–4 1–1 1–1 0–4 0–2 0–2 3–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–4 – 2–4 1–5 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 1–5
New York 2–2 3–3 4–2 2–3 2–2 2–0 1–1 4–0 0–2 2–0 5–0 2–0 1–1 1–1 3–1 4–2 – 2–4 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 5–1
Philadelphia 2–2 3–3 3–3 3–1 2–3 1–1 1–1 0–5 1–1 2–0 4–0 2–0 0–2 2–0 1–3 5–1 4–2 – 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 4–2
Phoenix 1–1 2–0 2–0 1–1 0–2 3–1 3–1 0–2 4–2 3–1 1–1 5–1 3–3 4–0 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 – 2–3 5–1 3–1 4–1 2–2 2–0
Portland 1–1 1–1 2–0 0–2 0–2 2–2 2–2 1–1 4–2 1–3 0–2 5–1 0–5 4–0 0–2 2–0 0–2 1–1 3–2 – 3–3 4–0 2–4 0–4 1–1
Sacramento 0–2 0–2 1–1 0–2 0–2 2–2 1–3 0–2 3–2 2–2 1–1 3–2 1–5 3–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 0–2 1–5 3–3 – 2–2 1–5 1–3 0–2
San Antonio 1–1 0–2 0–2 0–2 0–2 1–5 3–3 0–2 1–3 0–6 0–2 1–3 1–3 4–2 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–1 1–3 0–4 2–2 – 0–4 1–5 1–1
Seattle 1–1 2–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 2–2 2–2 0–2 4–2 2–2 1–1 4–1 2–4 4–0 1–1 0–2 1–1 1–1 1–4 4–2 5–1 4–0 – 3–1 1–1
Utah 1–1 1–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 2–4 3–3 0–2 2–2 4–2 1–1 3–1 3–1 5–1 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 2–2 4–0 3–1 5–1 1–3 – 2–0
Washington 1–3 4–2 5–1 1–3 2–2 1–1 1–1 0–5 1–1 2–0 3–1 2–0 1–1 2–0 1–4 5–1 1–5 2–4 0–2 1–1 2–0 1–1 1–1 0–2 —

Game log

1988–89 game log
Total: 57–25 (home: 37–4; road: 20–21)
November: 8–3 (home: 4–1; road: 4–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
1 November 4, 1988 @ Charlotte
2 November 5, 1988 @ Indiana
3 November 9, 1988 L.A. Clippers
4 November 12, 1988 Indiana
5 November 15, 1988
8:00 pm EST		 Atlanta L 95–97 Daugherty (22) Williams (11) Price (10) Richfield Coliseum
15,684 		4–1
6 November 18, 1988 @ New Jersey
7 November 19, 1988 Milwaukee
8 November 22, 1988 @ Boston
(at Hartford, CT)
9 November 23, 1988 @ Philadelphia
10 November 26, 1988 @ New York
11 November 27, 1988 Miami
December: 12–2 (home: 8–1; road: 4–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
12 December 1, 1988 @ Milwaukee
13 December 2, 1988 Boston
14 December 4, 1988 Denver
15 December 6, 1988 @ Houston
16 December 8, 1988 @ San Antonio
17 December 10, 1988 @ Dallas
18 December 13, 1988 L.A. Lakers
19 December 15, 1988 Detroit
20 December 17, 1988
7:30 pm EST		 Atlanta W 120–94 Price (23) Daugherty,
Harper (9) 		Price (8) Richfield Coliseum
18,815 		15–5
21 December 20, 1988 Utah
22 December 21, 1988 @ Boston
23 December 23, 1988 Seattle
24 December 27, 1988 @ Chicago
25 December 28, 1988 Charlotte
26 December 30, 1988 Washington
January: 11–4 (home: 7–0; road: 4–4)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
27 January 3, 1989 Indiana
28 January 5, 1989 Chicago
29 January 7, 1989 New York
30 January 9, 1989 @ Seattle
31 January 11, 1989 @ Phoenix
32 January 13, 1989 @ L.A. Lakers
33 January 14, 1989 @ Denver
34 January 16, 1989 Phoenix
35 January 19, 1989 @ Indiana
36 January 21, 1989 New Jersey
37 January 23, 1989 Golden State
38 January 24, 1989
7:30 pm EST		 @ Atlanta L 105–121 Nance (28) Daugherty (9) Price (9) The Omni
16,371 		30–8
39 January 27, 1989 @ Detroit
40 January 29, 1989 @ Washington
(at Baltimore, MD)
41 January 31, 1989 Philadelphia
February: 10–3 (home: 8–0; road: 2–3)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
42 February 2, 1989 @ New York
43 February 3, 1989 Sacramento
44 February 5, 1989 @ Charlotte
45 February 7, 1989 @ Milwaukee
46 February 9, 1989 Indiana
All-Star Break
47 February 14, 1989 @ Miami
48 February 15, 1989 New York
49 February 17, 1989
8:00 pm EST		 @ Atlanta L 100–108 Price (29) Daugherty (13) Harper (5) The Omni
16,371 		37–12
50 February 18, 1989 Philadelphia
51 February 20, 1989 Houston
52 February 22, 1989 New Jersey
53 February 24, 1989 Portland
54 February 28, 1989 Detroit
March: 9–8 (home: 5–1; road: 4–7)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
55 March 2, 1989 San Antonio
56 March 3, 1989 @ Detroit
57 March 5, 1989 Milwaukee
58 March 7, 1989 @ Sacramento
59 March 9, 1989 @ Golden State
60 March 10, 1989 @ L.A. Clippers
61 March 12, 1989 @ Portland
62 March 13, 1989 @ Utah
63 March 15, 1989 Chicago
64 March 19, 1989 @ New Jersey
65 March 20, 1989 Washington
66 March 22, 1989 @ Philadelphia
67 March 23, 1989 Milwaukee
68 March 25, 1989 @ Milwaukee
69 March 27, 1989 @ Indiana
70 March 28, 1989 Dallas
71 March 31, 1989 @ Chicago
April: 6–5 (home: 5–1; road: 1–4)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Record
72 April 2, 1989 Boston
73 April 4, 1989
7:30 pm EDT		 Atlanta W 105–91 Harper (32) Daugherty (17) Price (13) Richfield Coliseum
19,322 		53–20
74 April 7, 1989 @ Washington
75 April 9, 1989 Charlotte
76 April 11, 1989 Philadelphia
77 April 12, 1989 @ Detroit
78 April 14, 1989 @ Boston
79 April 16, 1989 Chicago
80 April 18, 1989 Detroit
81 April 21, 1989
7:30 pm EDT		 @ Atlanta L 89–92 Harper (18) Harper,
Rollins (8) 		Ehlo (8) The Omni
16,371 		56–25
82 April 23, 1989 @ Chicago
1988–89 schedule

Playoffs

1989 playoff game log
First round: 2–3 (home: 1–2; road: 1–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 28 Chicago L 88–95 Craig Ehlo (19) Brad Daugherty (7) Darnell Valentine (6) Richfield Coliseum
19,312 		0–1
2 April 30 Chicago W 96–88 Ron Harper (31) Ron Harper (11) Larry Nance (5) Richfield Coliseum
20,273 		1–1
3 May 3 @ Chicago L 94–101 Hot Rod Williams (22) Hot Rod Williams (11) Darnell Valentine (8) Chicago Stadium
17,721 		1–2
4 May 5 @ Chicago W 108–105 (OT) Larry Nance (27) Brad Daugherty (17) Mark Price (7) Chicago Stadium
18,264 		2–2
5 May 7 Chicago L 100–101 Craig Ehlo (24) Brad Daugherty (11) Mark Price (7) Richfield Coliseum
20,273 		2–3
1989 schedule

Player stats

Legend
  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% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Mark Price 75 74 36.4 52.6 44.1 90.1 3.0 8.4 1.5 0.1 18.9
Brad Daugherty 78 78 36.2 53.8 33.3 73.7 9.2 3.7 0.8 0.5 18.9
Ron Harper 82 82 34.8 51.1 25.0 75.1 5.0 5.3 2.3 0.9 18.6
Larry Nance 73 72 34.6 53.9 0.0 79.9 8.0 2.2 0.8 2.8 17.2
Hot Rod Williams 82 10 25.9 50.9 25.0 74.8 5.8 1.3 0.9 1.6 11.6
Mike Sanders 82 82 25.6 45.3 30.0 71.9 3.7 1.6 1.1 0.4 9.3
Craig Ehlo 82 4 22.8 47.5 39.0 60.7 3.6 3.2 1.3 0.2 7.4
Darnell Valentine 77 4 14.1 42.6 21.4 81.3 1.3 2.3 0.7 0.1 4.8
Randolph Keys 42 0 7.9 43.0 10.0 69.0 1.3 0.5 0.3 0.1 4.0
Chris Dudley 61 2 8.9 43.5 0.0 36.4 2.6 0.3 0.1 0.4 3.0
Phil Hubbard 31 0 6.2 44.4 0.0 68.0 1.3 0.4 0.2 0.0 2.4
Tree Rollins 60 2 9.7 44.9 0.0 63.2 2.3 0.3 0.2 0.6 2.3

Playoffs

Player GP GS MPG FG% 3FG% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
Ron Harper 5 5 37.8 56.5 0.0 76.9 4.2 4.0 2.2 0.8 19.6
Larry Nance 5 5 39.0 55.1 0.0 65.6 7.8 3.2 0.6 2.4 19.4
Mark Price 4 4 39.5 38.6 37.5 93.3 3.3 5.5 0.8 0.0 16.0
Craig Ehlo 4 1 24.3 43.6 38.5 81.8 1.5 3.3 0.8 0.3 12.0
Brad Daugherty 5 5 33.4 36.2 0.0 60.0 9.2 2.4 1.2 1.0 11.0
Hot Rod Williams 5 2 32.2 46.7 0.0 72.2 6.8 2.0 0.4 1.4 11.0
Mike Sanders 5 3 17.4 50.0 0.0 60.0 3.2 0.8 0.4 0.2 6.6
Darnell Valentine 5 0 16.0 35.0 0.0 87.5 1.4 3.2 1.0 0.0 4.2
Tree Rollins 5 0 14.8 75.0 0.0 60.0 3.2 0.2 0.6 1.4 3.0
Randolph Keys 1 0 12.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Chris Dudley 1 0 4.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
Phil Hubbard 1 0 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Player Statistics Citation:[18]

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Milestones

All-Star

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Development league

References

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  31. ^ Coughlin, Dan (May 7, 1989). "Bulls 101, Cavaliers 100". United Press International. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  32. ^ Brown, Clifton (May 8, 1989). "Jordan Shot Gives Series to the Bulls". The New York Times. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
  33. ^ Aldridge, David (May 8, 1989). "NBA PLAYOFFS: Jordan Takes Air Out of Cavaliers, and Bulls Advance". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 6, 2022.
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  35. ^ Smith, Sam (December 8, 1989). "Walsh's Law Brings Pacers Right Order". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  36. ^ Hubbard, Jan (December 11, 1989). "Pacers Finally Make Their Move". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  37. ^ Newell, Nat (June 28, 2017). "Ranking Every Free Agent the Pacers Have Signed". IndyStar. Retrieved November 4, 2023.
  38. ^ a b Phoenix dealt Larry Nance and Mike Sanders, along with Detroit's first-round pick in 1988 to Cleveland in exchange for the Cavs' first- and second-round draft picks in 1988, and players Kevin Johnson, Mark West and Tyrone Corbin. http://www.nba.com/suns/history/00646999.html Archived 2008-02-10 at the Wayback Machine
  • Cleveland Cavaliers on Database Basketball
  • Cleveland Cavaliers on Basketball Reference