1987–88 Indiana Pacers season
NBA professional basketball team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1987–88 Indiana Pacers season was the 12th season for the Indiana Pacers in the National Basketball Association, and their 21st season as a franchise.[1]
| 1987–88 Indiana Pacers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Jack Ramsay |
| General manager | Donnie Walsh |
| Owner | Herbert Simon |
| Arena | Market Square Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 38–44 (.463) |
| Place | Division: 6th (Central) Conference: 9th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | WTTV (Eddie Doucette, Dick Vitale) |
| Radio | WNDE (Mike Inglis, Clark Kellogg) |
Season summary
Off-season
This season was most memorable as the Pacers had the eleventh overall pick in the 1987 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Reggie Miller from the University of California, Los Angeles.[2][3][4] During the off-season, the team acquired second-year guard Scott Skiles from the Milwaukee Bucks.[5][6]
Regular season
With the addition of Miller, the Pacers got off to an 11–7 start to the regular season, and played around .500 in winning percentage, holding a 22–22 record at the All-Star break.[7] The team posted a seven-game winning streak in February, but then lost ten of their next twelve games, finishing in last place in the Central Division, and ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 38–44 record.[8] The Pacers lost a tie-breaker for the final NBA playoff spot to the 7th–seeded Washington Bullets, and the 8th–seeded New York Knicks, who both finished with the same record. In their final game of the regular season on April 23, 1988, the Pacers lost to the Knicks at home, 88–86 at the Market Square Arena.[9][10][11]
Second-year star Chuck Person averaged 17.0 points, 6.8 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game, while Wayman Tisdale averaged 16.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per game, and Vern Fleming provided the team with 13.9 points, 7.1 assists and 1.4 steals per game. In addition, Steve Stipanovich provided with 13.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per game, while John Long contributed 12.8 points per game. Off the bench, Miller averaged 10.0 points per game, while Herb Williams averaged 10.0 points, 6.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, Ron Anderson contributed 7.3 points per game, Skiles provided with 4.4 points and 3.5 assists per game, but only played 51 games due to a right knee injury,[12][13] and Stuart Gray averaged 3.0 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.[14]
The Pacers finished 14th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 502,244 at the Market Square Arena during the regular season.[14][15]
Aftermath
Following the season, Anderson was traded to the Philadelphia 76ers.[16][17]
Offseason
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 11 | Reggie Miller | SG |  United States | UCLA |
| 2 | 34 | Brian Rowsom | PF | United States | UNC Wilmington |
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 | – | 34–7 | 20–21 | 20–10 |
| x-Chicago Bulls | 50 | 32 | .610 | 4 | 30–11 | 20–21 | 16–13 |
| x-Atlanta Hawks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 4 | 30-11 | 20-21 | 16–13 |
| x-Milwaukee Bucks | 42 | 40 | .512 | 12 | 30–11 | 12–29 | 13–17 |
| x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 12 | 31–10 | 11–30 | 11–19 |
| Indiana Pacers | 38 | 44 | .463 | 16 | 25–16 | 13–28 | 13–17 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | c-Boston Celtics | 57 | 25 | .695 | – |
| 2 | y-Detroit Pistons | 54 | 28 | .659 | 3 |
| 3 | x-Chicago Bulls | 50 | 32 | .610 | 7 |
| 4 | x-Atlanta Hawks | 50 | 32 | .610 | 7 |
| 5 | x-Milwaukee Bucks | 42 | 40 | .512 | 15 |
| 6 | x-Cleveland Cavaliers | 42 | 40 | .512 | 15 |
| 7 | x-Washington Bullets | 38 | 44 | .463 | 19 |
| 8 | x-New York Knicks | 38 | 44 | .463 | 19 |
| 9 | Indiana Pacers | 38 | 44 | .463 | 19 |
| 10 | Philadelphia 76ers | 36 | 46 | .439 | 21 |
| 11 | New Jersey Nets | 19 | 63 | .232 | 38 |
- z - clinched division title
- y - clinched division title
- x - clinched playoff spot
Record vs. opponents
vs. Eastern Conference
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vs. Atlantic Division
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vs. Central Division
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vs. Western Conference
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vs. Midwest Division
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vs. Pacific Division
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Game log
Regular season
| 1987–88 game log Total: 38–44 (Home: 25–16; Road: 13–28) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
November: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
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December: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
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January: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
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February: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
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March: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
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April: 0–0 (home: 0–0; road: 0–0)
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| 1987–88 schedule | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
Ragular season
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reggie Miller | SG | 82 | 1 | 1,840 | 190 | 132 | 53 | 19 | 822 | 22.4 | 2.3 | 1.6 | .6 | .2 | 10.0 |
| John Long | SG | 81 | 81 | 2,022 | 229 | 173 | 84 | 11 | 1,034 | 25.0 | 2.8 | 2.1 | 1.0 | .1 | 12.8 |
| Vern Fleming | PG | 80 | 80 | 2,733 | 364 | 568 | 115 | 11 | 1,111 | 34.2 | 4.6 | 7.1 | 1.4 | .1 | 13.9 |
| Steve Stipanovich | C | 80 | 80 | 2,692 | 662 | 183 | 90 | 69 | 1,079 | 33.7 | 8.3 | 2.3 | 1.1 | .9 | 13.5 |
| Chuck Person | SF | 79 | 71 | 2,807 | 536 | 309 | 73 | 8 | 1,341 | 35.5 | 6.8 | 3.9 | .9 | .1 | 17.0 |
| Wayman Tisdale | PF | 79 | 57 | 2,378 | 491 | 103 | 54 | 34 | 1,268 | 30.1 | 6.2 | 1.3 | .7 | .4 | 16.1 |
| Herb Williams | C | 75 | 37 | 1,966 | 469 | 98 | 37 | 146 | 748 | 26.2 | 6.3 | 1.3 | .5 | 1.9 | 10.0 |
| Ron Anderson | SF | 74 | 1 | 1,097 | 216 | 78 | 41 | 6 | 542 | 14.8 | 2.9 | 1.1 | .6 | .1 | 7.3 |
| Stuart Gray | C | 74 | 0 | 807 | 250 | 44 | 11 | 32 | 224 | 10.9 | 3.4 | .6 | .1 | .4 | 3.0 |
| Clinton Wheeler | PG | 59 | 0 | 513 | 40 | 103 | 36 | 2 | 149 | 8.7 | .7 | 1.7 | .6 | .0 | 2.5 |
| Scott Skiles | PG | 51 | 2 | 760 | 66 | 180 | 22 | 3 | 223 | 14.9 | 1.3 | 3.5 | .4 | .1 | 4.4 |
| Greg Dreiling | C | 20 | 0 | 74 | 17 | 5 | 2 | 4 | 34 | 3.7 | .9 | .3 | .1 | .2 | 1.7 |
| Brian Rowsom | PF | 4 | 0 | 16 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 4.0 | 1.3 | .3 | .3 | .0 | 1.5 |