1988–89 Indiana Pacers season
NBA professional basketball team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1988–89 Indiana Pacers season was the 13th season for the Indiana Pacers in the National Basketball Association, and their 22nd season as a franchise.[1]
- Jack Ramsay (resigned)
- Mel Daniels (interim)
- George Irvine (interim)
- Dick Versace
| 1988–89 Indiana Pacers season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach |
|
| General manager | Donnie Walsh |
| Owner | Herbert Simon |
| Arena | Market Square Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 28–54 (.341) |
| Place | Division: 6th (Central) Conference: 10th (Eastern) |
| Playoff finish | Did not qualify |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | WXIN (Bill Hazen, Clark Kellogg) |
| Radio | WNDE (Mark Boyle, Bobby "Slick" Leonard) |
Season summary
Off-season
Despite finishing with a 38–44 record the previous season, the Pacers received the second overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft, and selected 7' 4" Dutch center Rik Smits out of Marist College.[2][3][4] Before the regular season began, center Steve Stipanovich was out due a left knee injury, and would be sidelined for the entire season after undergoing knee surgery.[5][6][7]
Regular season
Despite the addition of Smits, the Pacers struggled losing their first nine games of the regular season, posted another nine-game losing streak between December and January, and later on held an 11–35 record at the All-Star break.[8] The Pacers went through four different head coaches this season; head coach Jack Ramsay resigned after an 0–7 start to the season,[9][10][11] then after two games under interim coach Mel Daniels, and 20 games under interim coach George Irvine, the team hired Dick Versace as their new head coach.[12][13] At mid-season, the team traded Wayman Tisdale to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for LaSalle Thompson and Randy Wittman,[14][15][16] and traded Herb Williams to the Dallas Mavericks in exchange for German small forward Detlef Schrempf.[17][18][19] The Pacers suffered a 12-game losing streak between January and February, but played around .500 in winning percentage by posting an 8–8 in March, and won six of their final nine games of the season, finishing in last place in the Central Division with a 28–54 record.[20]
Chuck Person averaged 21.6 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game, while second-year star Reggie Miller showed improvement becoming the team's starting shooting guard, averaging 16.0 points and 1.3 steals per game, plus leading the Pacers with 98 three-point field goals, and Schrempf provided the team with 14.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game in 32 games after the trade. In addition, Vern Fleming contributed 14.3 points and 6.5 assists per game, while Thompson provided with 12.5 points and 9.9 rebounds per game in 33 games, and Smits averaged 11.7 points, 6.1 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. Meanwhile, Scott Skiles contributed 6.8 points and 4.9 assists per game, and Wittman provided with 5.2 points and 2.4 assists per game in 33 games.[21]
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas, Miller participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout.[22][23] The Pacers finished 22nd in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 335,298 at the Market Square Arena during the regular season, which was the fourth-lowest in the league.[21][24]
Aftermath
Following the season, Stipanovich retired after only five seasons in the NBA with the Pacers; Stipanovich had gone through two knee operations, and doctors discovered he had a "dead spot" in the bone of his left knee.[25][26][27] Meanwhile, Skiles was left unprotected in the 1989 NBA expansion draft, where he was selected by the Orlando Magic expansion team.[28][29][30]
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Rik Smits | C |  Netherlands | Marist |
| 3 | 61 | Herbert Crook | F |  United States | Louisville |
| 3 | 73 | Michael Anderson | United States | Drexel |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
Roster |
Roster notes
- Center Steve Stipanovich was on the injured reserve list due to a left knee injury, and missed the entire regular season.[5][6][7]
Regular season
Season standings
| 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 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 |
- z - clinched division title
- y - clinched division title
- x - clinched playoff spot
Game log
Player statistics
Regular season
| Player | POS | GP | GS | MP | REB | AST | STL | BLK | PTS | MPG | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rik Smits | C | 82 | 71 | 2,041 | 500 | 70 | 37 | 151 | 956 | 24.9 | 6.1 | .9 | .5 | 1.8 | 11.7 |
| Chuck Person | SF | 80 | 79 | 3,012 | 516 | 289 | 83 | 18 | 1,728 | 37.7 | 6.5 | 3.6 | 1.0 | .2 | 21.6 |
| Scott Skiles | PG | 80 | 13 | 1,571 | 149 | 390 | 64 | 2 | 546 | 19.6 | 1.9 | 4.9 | .8 | .0 | 6.8 |
| Vern Fleming | PG | 76 | 69 | 2,552 | 310 | 494 | 77 | 12 | 1,084 | 33.6 | 4.1 | 6.5 | 1.0 | .2 | 14.3 |
| Reggie Miller | SG | 74 | 70 | 2,536 | 292 | 227 | 93 | 29 | 1,181 | 34.3 | 3.9 | 3.1 | 1.3 | .4 | 16.0 |
| Stuart Gray | C | 72 | 0 | 783 | 245 | 29 | 11 | 21 | 188 | 10.9 | 3.4 | .4 | .2 | .3 | 2.6 |
| Greg Dreiling | C | 53 | 4 | 396 | 92 | 18 | 5 | 11 | 129 | 7.5 | 1.7 | .3 | .1 | .2 | 2.4 |
| Wayman Tisdale† | PF | 48 | 5 | 1,326 | 310 | 75 | 35 | 32 | 768 | 27.6 | 6.5 | 1.6 | .7 | .7 | 16.0 |
| Herb Williams† | C | 46 | 46 | 1,567 | 396 | 88 | 31 | 80 | 578 | 34.1 | 8.6 | 1.9 | .7 | 1.7 | 12.6 |
| Anthony Frederick | SF | 46 | 0 | 313 | 52 | 20 | 14 | 6 | 152 | 6.8 | 1.1 | .4 | .3 | .1 | 3.3 |
| John Long† | SG | 44 | 1 | 767 | 66 | 65 | 29 | 1 | 323 | 17.4 | 1.5 | 1.5 | .7 | .0 | 7.3 |
| Everette Stephens | PG | 35 | 0 | 209 | 23 | 37 | 9 | 4 | 65 | 6.0 | .7 | 1.1 | .3 | .1 | 1.9 |
| LaSalle Thompson† | C | 33 | 29 | 1,053 | 326 | 37 | 33 | 39 | 413 | 31.9 | 9.9 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 1.2 | 12.5 |
| Randy Wittman† | SF | 33 | 11 | 704 | 54 | 79 | 13 | 2 | 173 | 21.3 | 1.6 | 2.4 | .4 | .1 | 5.2 |
| Detlef Schrempf† | PF | 32 | 12 | 1,005 | 229 | 93 | 29 | 10 | 475 | 31.4 | 7.2 | 2.9 | .9 | .3 | 14.8 |
| Richard Morton | PG | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 5.5 | .0 | .5 | .0 | .0 | 3.0 |
| Sedric Toney | PG | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 4.5 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .0 | 1.0 |
- † Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Pacers only.
Awards and records
- Rik Smits, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team