1989–90 Cleveland Cavaliers season

The 1989–90 Cleveland Cavaliers 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] All-Star center Brad Daugherty was out for the first half of the regular season due to foot surgery, and only appeared in just 41 games.^[4][5][6] Without Daugherty, the Cavaliers got off to a slow start losing their first four games, on their way to a mediocre 10–16 start to the season.

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;^[7][8][9] Ferry was selected by the Clippers out of Duke University as the second overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft,^[10][11][12] but refused to play for them as he went to play overseas in Italy.^[13][14] At mid-season, the team traded Chris Dudley to the New Jersey Nets,^[15][16] and released Williams to free agency; Williams later on signed with the San Antonio Spurs. The Cavaliers struggled playing below .500 in winning percentage for the first half of the season, holding a 21–25 record at the All-Star break,^[17] but played above .500 for the remainder of the season, winning 10 of their final 13 games, included a six-game winning streak to close the season. The Cavaliers finished in fourth place in the Central Division with a mediocre 42–40 record, and earned the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference.^[18]

Mark Price averaged 19.6 points, 9.1 assists and 1.6 steals per game, and led the Cavaliers with 152 three-point field goals, while 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, along with 104 three-point field goals. Meanwhile, rookie small forward, and second-round draft pick Chucky Brown averaged 7.3 points per game, Kerr contributed 6.7 points and 3.2 assists per game, and shot .507 in three-point field-goal percentage, and Winston Bennett provided with 6.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game.^[19]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Price and Ehlo both participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout.^[20][21] Despite a stellar season, Price was not selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game.^[22] Hot Rod Williams finished tied in third place in Sixth Man of the Year voting.^[23]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Cavaliers faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Atlantic Division champion Philadelphia 76ers, who were led by All-Star forward Charles Barkley, second-year star Hersey Hawkins, and Johnny Dawkins. The Cavaliers lost the first two games to the 76ers on the road at The Spectrum, but managed to win the next two games at home, which included a Game 4 win over the 76ers at the Coliseum at Richfield, 108–96 to even the series. However, the Cavaliers lost Game 5 to the 76ers at The Spectrum, 113–97, thus losing in a hard-fought five-game series.^[24][25][26]

The Cavaliers finished eighth in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 695,710 at the Coliseum at Richfield during the regular season.^[19][27] For the season, the team slightly changed their road uniforms, replacing the team nickname "Cavs" with the city name "Cleveland" on their jerseys; these uniforms would remain in use until 1994.^[28] The team's season roster is featured in the video games NBA 2K16,^[29] and NBA 2K17.