1989–90 Denver Nuggets season
NBA professional basketball team season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1989–90 Denver Nuggets season was the 14th season for the Denver Nuggets in the National Basketball Association, and their 23rd season as a franchise.[1]
| 1989–90 Denver Nuggets season | |
|---|---|
| Head coach | Doug Moe |
| Arena | McNichols Sports Arena |
| Results | |
| Record | 43–39 (.524) |
| Place | Division: 4th (Midwest) Conference: 7th (Western) |
| Playoff finish | West First Round (lost to Spurs 0–3) |
Stats at Basketball Reference | |
| Local media | |
| Television | KTVD KMGH-TV Prime Sports Rocky Mountain |
| Radio | KOA |
Season summary
Off-season
The Nuggets had the 15th overall pick in the 1989 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Todd Lichti out of Stanford University.[2]
Regular season
The Nuggets got off to a fast start by winning 11 of their first 15 games of the regular season, which included a seven-game winning streak between November and December. The team got off to a solid 19–9 start to the season, but then lost 10 of their next 14 games, and held a 26–20 record at the All-Star break.[3] At mid-season, the team acquired former All-Star center Joe Barry Carroll from the New Jersey Nets.[4][5] The Nuggets played below .500 in winning percentage for the remainder of the season, and finished in fourth place in the Midwest Division with a 43–39 record, earning the seventh seed in the Western Conference;[6] the team qualified for the NBA playoffs for the ninth consecutive year.[1]
Fat Lever averaged 18.3 points, 9.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game, while Alex English averaged 17.9 points per game, and sixth man Walter Davis provided the team with 17.5 points per game off the bench. In addition, Michael Adams contributed 15.5 points, 6.3 assists and 1.5 steals per game, and led the league with 158 three-point field goals, while Blair Rasmussen provided with 12.4 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game, and Danny Schayes averaged 10.4 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. Meanwhile, Lichti contributed 8.0 points per game, Bill Hanzlik averaged 6.2 points per game, Tim Kempton provided with 5.4 points and 3.1 rebounds per game, and second-year forward Jerome Lane averaged 5.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game.[7]
During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Miami Arena in Miami, Florida, Lever was selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Western Conference All-Star team; it was his final All-Star appearance.[8][9][10] English was not selected for the NBA All-Star Game this season, as his statistics had decreased compared to the previous season; he also clashed with head coach Doug Moe over his reduced role during the regular season.[11][12]
The Nuggets finished 24th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 484,288 at the McNichols Sports Arena during the regular season, which was the fourth-lowest in the league.[7][13]
NBA playoffs
In the Western Conference First Round of the 1990 NBA playoffs, the Nuggets faced off against the 2nd–seeded, and Midwest Division champion San Antonio Spurs, who were led by All-Star center, and Rookie of the Year, David Robinson, All-Star forward Terry Cummings, and second-year star Willie Anderson. The Nuggets lost the first two games to the Spurs on the road at the HemisFair Arena, before losing Game 3 at home, 131–120 at the McNichols Sports Arena, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.[14][15][16]
Aftermath
Following the season, an era came to an end as Moe was fired as head coach,[17][18] while English signed as a free agent with the Dallas Mavericks,[19][20][21] Lever was traded to the Mavericks,[22][23][24] Schayes was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks,[25][26] and Barry Carroll was released to free agency.
Draft picks
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | School/Club team |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 15 | Todd Lichti | SG |  United States | Stanford |
| 2 | 42 | Michael Cutright | SG | United States | McNeese State |
| 2 | 47 | Reginald Turner | SF | United States | Alabama-Birmingham |
Roster
| Players | Coaches | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Head coach
Assistant(s)
Legend
|
Roster notes
- Point guard Eddie Hughes was waived on March 22, 1990.
Regular season
Season standings
| W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| y-San Antonio Spurs | 56 | 26 | .683 | – | 34–7 | 22–19 | 19–9 |
| x-Utah Jazz | 55 | 27 | .671 | 1 | 36–5 | 19–22 | 21–7 |
| x-Dallas Mavericks | 47 | 35 | .573 | 9 | 30–11 | 17–24 | 17–11 |
| x-Denver Nuggets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 13 | 28–13 | 15–26 | 15–13 |
| x-Houston Rockets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 15 | 31–10 | 10–31 | 13–15 |
| Minnesota Timberwolves | 22 | 60 | .268 | 34 | 17–24 | 5–36 | 6–22 |
| Charlotte Hornets | 19 | 63 | .232 | 37 | 13–28 | 6–35 | 7–21 |
| # | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | PCT | GB | |
| 1 | z-Los Angeles Lakers | 63 | 19 | .768 | – |
| 2 | y-San Antonio Spurs | 56 | 26 | .683 | 7 |
| 3 | x-Portland Trail Blazers | 59 | 23 | .720 | 4 |
| 4 | x-Utah Jazz | 55 | 27 | .671 | 8 |
| 5 | x-Phoenix Suns | 54 | 28 | .659 | 9 |
| 6 | x-Dallas Mavericks | 47 | 35 | .573 | 16 |
| 7 | x-Denver Nuggets | 43 | 39 | .524 | 20 |
| 8 | x-Houston Rockets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 |
| 9 | Seattle SuperSonics | 41 | 41 | .500 | 22 |
| 10 | Golden State Warriors | 37 | 45 | .451 | 26 |
| 11 | Los Angeles Clippers | 30 | 52 | .366 | 33 |
| 12 | Sacramento Kings | 23 | 59 | .280 | 40 |
| 13 | Minnesota Timberwolves | 22 | 60 | .268 | 41 |
| 14 | Charlotte Hornets | 19 | 63 | .232 | 44 |
- z - clinched division title
- y - clinched division title
- x - clinched playoff spot
Game log
Playoffs
| 1990 playoff game log | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
First round: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2)
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1990 schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Player statistics
| 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% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Adams | 79 | 74 | 34.1 | .402 | .366 | .850 | 2.8 | 6.3 | 1.5 | .0 | 15.5 |
| Joe Barry Carroll† | 30 | 27 | 24.0 | .432 | .743 | 6.4 | 1.8 | .9 | 2.0 | 11.9 | |
| Walter Davis | 69 | 0 | 23.7 | .481 | .130 | .912 | 2.6 | 2.2 | .9 | .1 | 17.5 |
| T. R. Dunn | 65 | 2 | 10.1 | .454 | .000 | .667 | 2.1 | .7 | .6 | .1 | 1.8 |
| Alex English | 80 | 80 | 27.6 | .491 | .400 | .880 | 3.6 | 2.8 | .6 | .3 | 17.9 |
| Bill Hanzlik | 81 | 0 | 19.8 | .452 | .194 | .743 | 2.6 | 2.3 | 1.0 | .4 | 6.2 |
| Mike Higgins† | 5 | 0 | 6.4 | .375 | .875 | .6 | .4 | .2 | .0 | 2.6 | |
| Eddie Hughes | 60 | 7 | 14.9 | .411 | .408 | .676 | 1.2 | 1.9 | .8 | .0 | 3.5 |
| Tim Kempton | 71 | 14 | 14.9 | .490 | .000 | .675 | 3.1 | 1.7 | .4 | .1 | 5.4 |
| Jerome Lane | 67 | 46 | 14.3 | .469 | .000 | .367 | 5.4 | 1.6 | .8 | .3 | 5.0 |
| Fat Lever | 79 | 79 | 35.8 | .443 | .414 | .804 | 9.3 | 6.5 | 2.1 | .2 | 18.3 |
| Todd Lichti | 79 | 4 | 16.8 | .486 | .000 | .747 | 1.9 | 1.5 | .7 | .2 | 8.0 |
| Blair Rasmussen | 81 | 55 | 24.6 | .497 | .000 | .828 | 7.3 | 1.0 | .5 | 1.3 | 12.4 |
| Danny Schayes | 53 | 22 | 22.5 | .494 | .000 | .852 | 6.5 | 1.2 | .8 | .8 | 10.4 |
Playoffs
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3FG% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Michael Adams | 3 | 3 | 35.0 | .382 | .300 | .875 | 2.0 | 6.0 | 1.3 | .0 | 13.0 |
| Joe Barry Carroll | 3 | 3 | 15.3 | .563 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 1.0 | .3 | 1.7 | 6.7 | |
| Walter Davis | 3 | 0 | 23.3 | .400 | .000 | 1.000 | 3.0 | 2.0 | .3 | .0 | 14.0 |
| T. R. Dunn | 3 | 0 | 10.3 | 2.3 | .7 | 1.3 | .3 | .0 | |||
| Alex English | 3 | 3 | 25.3 | .568 | .818 | 3.0 | 3.0 | .7 | .3 | 19.7 | |
| Bill Hanzlik | 3 | 0 | 26.3 | .294 | .333 | 1.000 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 1.7 | .7 | 7.0 |
| Tim Kempton | 3 | 1 | 10.7 | .778 | 1.000 | 1.7 | 1.3 | .0 | .0 | 6.0 | |
| Jerome Lane | 2 | 2 | 7.0 | .000 | .500 | .5 | 1.0 | .0 | .0 | .5 | |
| Fat Lever | 3 | 3 | 37.7 | .373 | .143 | .929 | 10.7 | 7.0 | 2.7 | .3 | 17.3 |
| Todd Lichti | 3 | 0 | 23.3 | .517 | .000 | .737 | 6.0 | 3.0 | .3 | .0 | 14.7 |
| Blair Rasmussen | 3 | 0 | 28.0 | .396 | .900 | 8.7 | .3 | .7 | 1.3 | 15.7 |
Player statistics citation:[7]
Awards and records
- The Nuggets would win the 1990 McDonald's Open after winning games against Italy's Philips Milano and Yugoslavia's Jugoplastika.