1989–90 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1989–90 NBA season was the 20th season for the Cleveland Cavaliers in the National Basketball Association. During the off-season, the Cavaliers acquired second-year guard Steve Kerr from the Phoenix Suns.^[2][3] The Cavaliers got off to a slow start losing their first four games, on their way to a mediocre 10–16 start to the regular season.

1989–90 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coach	Lenny Wilkens
General manager	Wayne Embry
Owners	Gordon Gund George Gund III
Arena	Richfield Coliseum
Results
Record	42–40 (.512)
Place	Division: 4th (Central) Conference: 7th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to 76ers 2–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WOIO SportsChannel Ohio
Radio	WRMR[1]
< 1988–89 1990–91 >

Early into the season, the team traded Ron Harper to the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for rookie power forward, and top draft pick Danny Ferry and Reggie Williams;^[4][5][6] Ferry was selected by the Clippers out of Duke University with the second overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft,^{[7][8][9][10]} but refused to play for them as he went to play overseas in Italy.^[11][12] At mid-season, the team traded Chris Dudley to the New Jersey Nets,^[13][14] and released Williams to free agency.

The Cavaliers struggled playing below .500 basketball for the first half of the season, holding a 21–25 record at the All-Star break,^[15] but finished it on a strong note by winning their final six games. The team finished in fourth place in the Central Division with a mediocre 42–40 record, and earned the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.^[16]

Mark Price averaged 19.6 points, 9.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game, while Brad Daugherty averaged 16.8 points and 9.1 rebounds per game, and Larry Nance provided the team with 16.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game. In addition, sixth man Hot Rod Williams provided with 16.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game, while Craig Ehlo contributed 13.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Meanwhile, rookie small forward Chucky Brown averaged 7.3 points per game, Kerr contributed 6.7 points and 3.2 assists per game, and Winston Bennett provided with 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.^[17]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Cavaliers lost in five games to the Philadelphia 76ers.^{[18][19][20][21]} For the season, the team slightly changed their road uniforms, replacing the team nickname "Cavs" with the city name "Cleveland" on their jerseys.^[22]

The team's season roster is featured in the video games NBA 2K16^[23] and NBA 2K17.

Draft picks

Main article: 1989 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	25	John Morton	Guard	United States	Seton Hall
2	43	Chucky Brown	Forward	United States	NC State

Roster

1989–90 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From F 20 Winston Bennett 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1965–02–09 Kentucky F 52 Chucky Brown 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 214 lb (97 kg) 1968–02–29 NC State F 33 Derrick Chievous 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1967–07–03 Missouri C 43 Brad Daugherty 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 245 lb (111 kg) 1965–10–19 North Carolina G 3 Craig Ehlo 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–08–11 Washington State G 5 Steve Kerr 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1965–09–27 Arizona C 44 Paul Mokeski 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1957–01–03 Kansas G 23 John Morton 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1967–05–18 Seton Hall F 22 Larry Nance 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 205 lb (93 kg) 1959–02–12 Clemson G 25 Mark Price 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 170 lb (77 kg) 1964–02–15 Georgia Tech C 30 Tree Rollins 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1955–06–16 Clemson F/C 18 Hot Rod Williams 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1962–08–09 Tulane

Head coach Lenny Wilkens Assistant(s) Dick Helm Brian Winters Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster Updated: February 26, 1990

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Detroit Pistons	59	23	.720	–	35–6	24–17	22–8
x-Chicago Bulls	55	27	.671	4	36–5	19–22	20–10
x-Milwaukee Bucks	44	38	.537	15	27–14	17–24	14–16
x-Cleveland Cavaliers	42	40	.512	17	27–14	15–26	14–16
x-Indiana Pacers	42	40	.512	17	28–13	14–27	16–14
Atlanta Hawks	41	41	.500	18	25–16	16–25	15–15
Orlando Magic	18	64	.220	41	12–29	6–35	4–26

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Detroit Pistons	59	23	.720	–
2	y-Philadelphia 76ers	53	29	.646	6
3	x-Chicago Bulls	55	27	.671	4
4	x-Boston Celtics	52	30	.634	7
5	x-New York Knicks	45	37	.549	14
6	x-Milwaukee Bucks	44	38	.537	15
7	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	42	40	.512	17
8	x-Indiana Pacers	42	40	.512	17
9	Atlanta Hawks	41	41	.500	18
10	Washington Bullets	31	51	.378	28
11	Miami Heat	18	64	.220	41
12	Orlando Magic	18	64	.220	41
13	New Jersey Nets	17	65	.207	42

Notes

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

^[24]

Record vs. opponents

1989-90 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHA	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIA	MIL	MIN	NJN	NYK	ORL	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	1–3	2–0	0–5	2–3	0–2	1–1	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–3	1–1	0–2	4–0	3–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	5–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	3–1	–	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	5–0	2–2	1–1	5–1	4–1	4–0	3–2	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3
Charlotte	0–2	0–2	–	0–2	1–1	1–3	3–2	0–2	2–2	1–4	1–1	2–2	0–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	0–5	0–2
Chicago	5–0	2–2	2–0	–	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–4	2–0	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–1	2–0	3–1	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–1
Cleveland	3–2	1–3	1–1	0–5	–	0–2	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	3–2	1–1	1–1	4–0	3–2	1–1	4–0	2–2	4–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Dallas	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–2	2–0	–	2–3	1–1	3–1	4–1	2–0	3–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	0–4	3–1	3–2	2–2	1–3	1–1
Denver	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	2–0	3–2	–	0–2	2–2	4–1	0–2	2–2	0–4	2–0	1–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	4–0	1–3	2–2	0–4	1–1
Detroit	2–3	2–2	2–0	4–1	4–1	1–1	2–0	–	1–1	1–1	4–1	1–1	1–1	3–1	3–2	2–0	4–0	4–0	5–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0
Golden State	0–2	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	–	2–2	1–1	3–1	1–4	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	2–2	3–2	1–3	2–3	2–2	1–1
Houston	0–2	0–2	4–1	1–1	2–0	1–4	1–4	1–1	2–2	–	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–3	4–0	2–2	2–2	3–2	1–1
Indiana	3–2	3–1	1–1	3–2	2–3	0–2	2–0	1–4	1–1	1–1	–	0–2	0–2	3–1	3–2	1–1	4–0	1–3	4–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
L.A. Clippers	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–0	–	1–4	0–2	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	0–4	0–5	2–3	0–4	3–2	0–4	1–1
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	4–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	2–0	4–1	–	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–3	5–0	2–2	4–0	2–2	1–1
Miami	0–4	0–5	1–1	0–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	1–3	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	0–2	–	2–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	3–1	0–5	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–3
Milwaukee	2–3	2–2	2–0	1–4	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–2	–	2–0	4–0	2–2	5–0	1–3	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–1
Minnesota	1–1	1–1	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–4	0–5	0–2	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–3	0–4	1–1	0–2	–	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–4	1–3	0–5	1–1
New Jersey	2–2	1–5	1–1	1–3	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	4–1	0–4	1–1	–	1–4	1–3	1–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3
New York	3–1	1–4	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–4	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	0–2	5–1	2–2	1–1	4–1	–	2–2	2–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–0
Orlando	0–5	0–4	1–1	2–3	1–4	0–2	0–2	0–5	0–2	0–2	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–3	0–5	1–1	3–1	2–2	–	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–4
Philadelphia	2–2	2–3	2–0	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	5–0	3–1	1–1	4–1	3–2	2–2	–	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–1
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	3–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	0–2	5–0	2–2	1–1	4–0	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	–	2–3	5–0	0–4	3–2	3–1	2–0
Portland	1–1	2–0	4–0	1–1	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–2	3–1	1–1	5–0	3–2	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–2	–	4–0	3–1	3–2	2–2	1–1
Sacramento	1–1	0–2	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–4	0–2	2–3	0–4	1–1	3–2	0–5	1–1	1–1	2–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–5	0–4	–	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–1
San Antonio	1–1	1–1	5–0	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–1	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	4–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–0	1–3	4–0	–	3–1	3–2	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	4–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–2	1–1	2–3	0–4	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–3	2–3	2–2	1–3	–	1–3	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	5–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	4–0	1–1	2–2	2–3	1–1	4–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	2–3	3–1	–	2–0
Washington	2–2	3–2	2–0	1–3	1–3	1–1	1–1	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–3	1–1	3–2	0–5	4–0	1–5	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

1989–90 game log Total: 42–40 (home: 27–14; road: 15–26)
November: 6–7 (home: 5–2; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 November 3, 1989 @ Chicago 2 November 4, 1989 @ Indiana 3 November 8, 1989 Orlando 4 November 10, 1989 @ Washington (at Baltimore, MD) 5 November 11, 1989 Boston 6 November 14, 1989 @ New Jersey 7 November 15, 1989 Golden State 8 November 17, 1989 8:00 pm EST Atlanta W 131–125 (OT) Ehlo (31) Williams (14) Price (10) Richfield Coliseum 16,135 4–4 9 November 22, 1989 New York 10 November 24, 1989 @ Detroit 11 November 25, 1989 Houston 12 November 28, 1989 Washington 13 November 29, 1989 @ Philadelphia
December: 5–9 (home: 3–4; road: 2–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 14 December 1, 1989 @ Boston 15 December 2, 1989 Minnesota 16 December 5, 1989 Utah 17 December 7, 1989 @ L.A. Clippers 18 December 9, 1989 @ Sacramento 19 December 11, 1989 @ Utah 20 December 13, 1989 Milwaukee 21 December 15, 1989 Seattle 22 December 20, 1989 Denver 23 December 22, 1989 @ Milwaukee 24 December 25, 1989 3:30 pm EST @ Atlanta L 104–115 Williams, Williams (17) Ehlo, Nance (8) Price (11) The Omni 13,357 10–14 25 December 27, 1989 Detroit 26 December 28, 1989 @ Charlotte 27 December 30, 1989 Phoenix
January: 8–7 (home: 3–3; road: 5–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 28 January 3, 1990 Chicago 29 January 5, 1990 Washington 30 January 6, 1990 @ Orlando 31 January 10, 1990 Milwaukee 32 January 12, 1990 @ Philadelphia 33 January 13, 1990 New Jersey 34 January 15, 1990 San Antonio 35 January 17, 1990 @ Houston 36 January 19, 1990 @ San Antonio 37 January 20, 1990 @ Dallas 38 January 23, 1990 Philadelphia 39 January 24, 1990 7:30 pm EST @ Atlanta L 86–103 Price (20) Keys, Nance (6) Price (7) The Omni 14,220 16–23 40 January 26, 1990 @ Minnesota 41 January 27, 1990 @ Indiana 42 January 30, 1990 @ Miami
February: 6–6 (home: 6–3; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 43 February 3, 1990 Detroit 44 February 5, 1990 L.A. Clippers 45 February 6, 1990 @ Detroit 46 February 8, 1990 Miami All-Star Break 47 February 14, 1990 Indiana 48 February 16, 1990 8:00 pm EST Atlanta W 109–101 Nance (30) Daugherty (14) Price (9) Richfield Coliseum 18,988 22–26 49 February 17, 1990 @ New York 50 February 19, 1990 Dallas 51 February 21, 1990 Portland 52 February 23, 1990 Orlando 53 February 25, 1990 Charlotte 54 February 27, 1990 @ Portland
March: 8–8 (home: 5–1; road: 3–7) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 55 March 1, 1990 @ Denver 56 March 2, 1990 @ L.A. Lakers 57 March 4, 1990 @ Phoenix 58 March 6, 1990 @ Seattle 59 March 8, 1990 @ Golden State 60 March 11, 1990 @ Milwaukee 61 March 13, 1990 Philadelphia 62 March 15, 1990 L.A. Lakers 63 March 17, 1990 Indiana 64 March 18, 1990 @ Orlando 65 March 21, 1990 @ Boston 66 March 23, 1990 @ Chicago 67 March 24, 1990 New Jersey 68 March 26, 1990 Sacramento 69 March 28, 1990 Chicago 70 March 30, 1990 @ Miami
April: 9–3 (home: 5–1; road: 4–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 71 April 1, 1990 Indiana 72 April 3, 1990 @ New York 73 April 4, 1990 7:30 pm EDT Atlanta W 101–95 Daugherty (24) Daugherty (13) Price (20) Richfield Coliseum 18,074 35–38 74 April 6, 1990 Boston 75 April 8, 1990 Detroit 76 April 11, 1990 @ Chicago 77 April 12, 1990 @ Washington 78 April 14, 1990 Miami 79 April 17, 1990 @ Milwaukee 80 April 18, 1990 @ New Jersey 81 April 20, 1990 @ Orlando 82 April 22, 1990 New York
1989–90 schedule

Playoffs

Main article: 1990 NBA Playoffs

1990 playoff game log
Eastern Conference First Round: 2–3 (home: 2–0; road: 0–3) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 28 @ Philadelphia L 106–111 Hot Rod Williams (23) Hot Rod Williams (10) Mark Price (12) Spectrum 15,319 0–1 2 May 1 @ Philadelphia L 101–107 Mark Price (27) Brad Daugherty (13) Craig Ehlo (8) Spectrum 18,168 0–2 3 May 3 Philadelphia W 122–95 Craig Ehlo (25) Ehlo, Daugherty (10) Ehlo, Daugherty (9) Richfield Coliseum 16,317 1–2 4 May 5 Philadelphia W 108–96 Brad Daugherty (34) Brad Daugherty (9) Mark Price (18) Richfield Coliseum 17,106 2–2 5 May 8 @ Philadelphia L 97–113 Brad Daugherty (25) Hot Rod Williams (13) Craig Ehlo (5) Spectrum 18,168 2–3
1990 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

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Ron Harper	7	7	37.4	44.2	20.0	75.6	6.9	7.0	2.0	1.3	22.0
Mark Price	73	73	37.1	45.9	40.6	88.8	3.4	9.1	1.6	0.1	19.6
Brad Daugherty	41	40	35.1	47.9	0.0	70.4	9.1	3.2	0.7	0.5	16.8
Hot Rod Williams	82	29	33.9	49.3	0.0	73.9	8.1	2.0	1.0	2.0	16.8
Larry Nance	62	53	33.3	51.1	100.0	77.8	8.3	2.6	0.9	2.0	16.3
Craig Ehlo	81	64	35.7	46.4	41.9	68.1	5.4	4.6	1.6	0.3	13.6
Randolph Keys	48	13	18.6	42.1	20.0	74.4	2.9	0.8	0.8	0.0	7.6
Chucky Brown	75	35	17.9	47.0	0.0	76.2	3.1	0.7	0.4	0.3	7.3
Reggie Williams	32	12	16.9	38.1	22.2	73.2	1.9	1.2	0.7	0.3	6.8
Steve Kerr	78	5	21.3	44.4	50.7	86.3	1.3	3.2	0.6	0.1	6.7
Winston Bennett	55	34	18.0	47.9	0.0	66.7	3.4	1.0	0.4	0.2	6.1
Chris Dudley	37	22	18.5	38.9	0.0	33.8	5.5	0.5	0.5	1.1	5.0
Paul Mokeski	38	1	11.8	42.0	0.0	69.4	2.6	0.4	0.2	0.3	4.0
John Morton	37	3	10.9	29.8	23.3	69.4	0.9	1.8	0.5	0.1	3.9
Derrick Chievous	14	0	7.1	35.7	0.0	79.2	1.1	0.3	0.2	0.1	3.5
Tree Rollins	48	19	14.0	45.6	0.0	68.8	3.2	0.5	0.3	1.1	2.6
Gary Voce	1	0	4.0	33.3	0.0	0.0	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Brad Daugherty	5	5	37.2	58.6	0.0	69.6	9.6	4.0	0.4	0.8	22.8
Mark Price	5	5	38.4	52.5	35.3	100.0	2.8	8.8	1.8	0.2	20.0
Hot Rod Williams	5	0	34.8	55.7	0.0	77.3	9.2	2.2	0.4	1.0	19.0
Craig Ehlo	5	5	39.2	41.9	33.3	63.2	6.4	6.4	1.2	0.0	13.8
Larry Nance	5	5	31.8	57.8	0.0	75.0	4.8	2.4	0.6	2.0	12.2
Winston Bennett	5	5	27.0	48.9	0.0	66.7	4.2	1.0	0.6	0.2	10.0
Derrick Chievous	3	0	9.3	60.0	0.0	77.8	1.0	0.7	0.3	0.0	6.3
John Morton	2	0	4.5	40.0	0.0	100.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	3.0
Tree Rollins	3	0	12.7	33.3	0.0	75.0	2.7	0.3	0.7	0.3	2.7
Steve Kerr	5	0	14.6	28.6	0.0	0.0	1.2	2.0	0.8	0.0	1.6
Paul Mokeski	3	0	3.3	50.0	0.0	100.0	0.7	0.0	0.3	0.3	1.3

Player Statistics Citation:^[17]

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Milestones

All-Star

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

Development league