1987–88 Cleveland Cavaliers season

1987–88 Cleveland Cavaliers season
1987–88 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: 5th (Central); Conference: 6th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round; (Lost to Bulls 2–3)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WOIO
Radio	WWWE
< 1986–87	1988–89 >

The 1987-88 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 18th season of NBA basketball in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers acquired Larry Nance from the Phoenix Suns in exchange for top draft pick Kevin Johnson in a midseason trade, and finished 4th in the Central Division with a 42–40 record. Second-year star Brad Daugherty was selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game. Second-year guard Ron Harper played just 57 games due to injury. In the first round of the playoffs, the Cavaliers lost in five games to the Chicago Bulls.

Key Dates:

Draft picks[]

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	7	Kevin Johnson	Guard	United States	California
2	41^*	Kannard Johnson	Forward	United States	Western Kentucky
3	52	Donald Royal	Forward	United States	Notre Dame
4	75	Chris Dudley	Center	United States	Yale
4	80^**	Carven Holcombe	Guard	United States	TCU
5	98	Carl Lott	Guard	United States	TCU
6	121	Harold Jensen	Guard	United States	Villanova
7	144	Michael Foster	Guard	United States	South Carolina

2nd round pick (#29) traded to Portland in Linton Townes deal.^[2] Used to draft Lester Fonville.

^*2nd round pick acquired from Milwaukee in Paul Thompson deal.^[3]

^**5th round pick acquired from Indiana in Ron Anderson deal.^[4]

Roster[]

1987–88 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Name	Height	Weight	DOB (YYYY-MM-DD)	From
C	54	Benson, Kent	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1954-12-27	Indiana
SG	30	Curry, Dell	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	1964-06-25	Virginia Tech
C	43	Daugherty, Brad (C)	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	245 lb (111 kg)	1965-10-19	North Carolina
C	22	Dudley, Chris	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	1965-02-22	Yale
SG	3	Ehlo, Craig	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	1961-08-11	Washington State
SG	4	Harper, Ron	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	1964-01-20	Miami (OH)
SG	12	Henderson, Kevin	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	1964-03-22	Cal State Fullerton
SF	35	Hubbard, Phil	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1956-12-13	Michigan
PF	6	Nance, Larry	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	1959-02-12	Clemson
PG	25	Price, Mark	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	1964-02-15	Georgia Tech
PF	32	Rogers, Johnny	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	1963-12-30	UC Irvine
SF	11	Sanders, Mike	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	1960-05-07	UCLA
PF	18	Williams, Hot Rod	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	1962-08-09	Tulane

Head coach

Lenny Wilkens

Assistant coach(es)

Dick Helm
Brian Winters

Legend

(C) Team captain
(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Roster
Last transaction: March 29, 1988

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

Central Division v t	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

#	Eastern Conference v t
#	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

Notes

z, y – division champions
x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents[]

1987-88 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	LAC	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAC	SAS	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	–	2–4	2–3	5–1	2–0	1–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	0–2	3–3	5–0	3–3	6–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	3–3
Boston	4–2	–	3–3	2–3	2–0	0–2	3–3	2–0	1–1	5–0	2–0	0–2	3–3	5–1	5–1	4–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	5–1
Chicago	3–2	3–3	–	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–4	2–0	2–0	3–3	2–0	1–1	5–1	5–1	3–2	4–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3
Cleveland	1–5	3–2	3–3	–	1–1	1–1	1–5	0–2	1–1	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	5–1	2–4	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	6–0
Dallas	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	–	3–3	1–1	4–1	4–2	2–0	5–0	1–4	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–0	3–2	5–1	5–1	3–2	3–3	1–1
Denver	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–3	–	1–1	4–1	4–2	1–1	5–0	3–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–3	4–2	5–1	4–1	2–4	2–0
Detroit	4–2	3–3	4–2	5–1	1–1	1–1	–	2–0	1–1	3–3	1–1	0–2	4–2	5–1	4–2	4–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2
Golden State	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–4	1–4	0–2	–	0–5	0–2	3–3	0–6	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–5	2–3	3–2	1–5	1–4	0–2
Houston	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–4	2–4	1–1	5–0	–	2–0	3–2	1–4	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1	4–1	4–2	2–4	3–2	3–3	2–0
Indiana	2–4	0–5	3–3	2–4	0–2	1–1	3–3	2–0	0–2	–	1–1	1–1	3–3	6–0	2–3	2–4	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–4
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–5	0–5	1–1	3–3	2–3	1–1	–	1–5	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–4	0–6	3–2	0–5	1–5	1–4	0–2
L.A. Lakers	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–3	2–0	6–0	4–1	1–1	5–1	–	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–1	3–3	4–1	5–0	4–2	4–1	1–1
Milwaukee	3–3	3–3	1–5	4–2	0–2	1–1	2–4	2–0	0–2	3–3	2–0	2–0	–	3–2	3–3	2–4	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1
New Jersey	0–5	1–5	1–5	1–5	1–1	0–2	1–5	0–2	1–1	0–6	2–0	0–2	2–3	–	3–3	2–4	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–6
New York	3–3	1–5	2–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	–	3–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–3
Philadelphia	0–6	2–4	2–4	2–3	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–1	0–2	4–2	4–2	3–3	–	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3
Phoenix	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–5	2–3	0–2	4–2	1–4	0–2	4–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	–	0–6	3–2	2–3	2–4	2–3	0–2
Portland	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	1–1	5–1	1–4	2–0	6–0	3–3	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	6–0	–	4–1	5–0	3–3	1–4	2–0
Sacramento	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	2–4	0–2	3–2	2–4	0–2	2–3	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–4	–	3–3	1–4	1–5	0–2
San Antonio	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	1–5	1–1	2–3	4–2	0–2	5–0	0–5	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–2	0–5	3–3	–	3–2	3–3	0–2
Seattle	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	1–4	1–1	5–1	2–3	1–1	5–1	2–4	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	4–2	3–3	4–1	2–3	–	1–4	2–0
Utah	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	3–3	4–2	0–2	4–1	3–3	1–1	4–1	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–2	4–1	5–1	3–3	4–1	–	2–0
Washington	3–3	1–5	3–3	0–6	1–1	0–2	2–3	2–0	0–2	4–2	2–0	1–1	1–4	6–0	3–3	3–3	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	0–2	0–2	—

Game log[]

November[]

Record: ; Home: ; Road:

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Leading scorer	Attendance	Record
1

December[]

Record: ; Home: ; Road:

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Leading scorer	Attendance	Record

January[]

Record: ; Home: ; Road:

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Leading scorer	Attendance	Record

February[]

Record: ; Home: ; Road:

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Leading scorer	Attendance	Record

March[]

Record: ; Home: ; Road:

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Leading scorer	Attendance	Record

April[]

Record: ; Home: ; Road:

#	Date	Visitor	Score	Home	OT	Leading scorer	Attendance	Record

Playoffs[]

1988 playoff game log

show

First round: 2–3 (Home: 2–0; Road: 0–3)

1988 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

Regular season[]

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Brad Daugherty	79	78	37.4	51.0	0.0	71.6	8.4	4.2	0.6	0.7	18.7
Larry Nance	27	26	33.6	52.6	0.0	83.0	7.9	3.1	0.7	2.3	16.2
Mark Price	80	79	32.8	50.6	48.6	87.7	2.3	6.0	1.2	0.2	16.0
Ron Harper	57	52	32.1	46.4	15.0	70.5	3.9	4.9	2.1	0.9	15.4
Hot Rod Williams	77	50	27.4	47.7	0.0	75.6	6.6	1.3	0.8	1.9	10.9
Dell Curry	79	8	19.0	45.8	34.6	78.2	2.1	1.9	1.2	0.3	10.0
Mark West	54	12	21.9	57.6	0.0	62.1	5.2	0.9	0.5	1.5	8.5
Phil Hubbard	78	59	20.9	48.9	0.0	74.9	3.6	1.0	0.6	0.1	8.4
Tyrone Corbin	54	4	21.3	49.1	0.0	78.6	4.1	1.0	0.8	0.3	7.3
Kevin Johnson	52	3	20.1	46.0	22.2	82.1	1.4	3.7	1.2	0.3	7.3
Craig Ehlo	79	27	21.6	46.6	34.4	67.4	3.5	2.6	1.0	0.4	7.1
Mike Sanders	24	11	17.4	53.8	0.0	87.0	2.0	1.1	0.5	0.2	6.8
Chris Dudley	55	1	9.3	47.4	0.0	56.3	2.6	0.4	0.2	0.3	3.1
Johnny Rogers	24	0	7.0	42.6	0.0	76.9	1.1	0.1	0.2	0.1	2.6
Kent Benson	2	0	6.0	100.0	0.0	50.0	0.5	0.0	0.5	0.5	2.5
Kevin Henderson	5	0	4.0	40.0	0.0	41.7	0.8	0.4	0.0	0.0	1.8
Kannard Johnson	4	0	3.0	33.3	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.3	0.0	0.5

Playoffs[]

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Mark Price	5	5	41.0	56.7	41.7	96.0	3.6	7.6	0.6	0.0	21.0
Ron Harper	4	4	33.5	47.6	0.0	68.8	5.0	3.8	2.8	1.0	17.8
Larry Nance	5	5	40.0	53.1	0.0	88.9	7.2	3.6	0.4	2.2	16.8
Brad Daugherty	5	5	40.8	46.0	0.0	67.7	9.2	3.2	0.4	1.4	15.8
Mike Sanders	5	5	26.8	53.8	0.0	80.0	5.0	1.4	0.6	0.4	12.8
Hot Rod Williams	5	0	26.6	50.0	0.0	46.2	5.8	0.8	0.6	1.4	9.2
Craig Ehlo	5	1	25.6	42.5	0.0	62.5	3.6	3.4	1.0	0.0	8.8
Chris Dudley	4	0	6.0	50.0	0.0	50.0	1.5	0.5	0.0	0.0	1.3
Dell Curry	2	0	8.5	25.0	0.0	0.0	0.5	1.0	0.0	0.5	1.0
Phil Hubbard	3	0	7.0	16.7	0.0	0.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	0.7

Player Statistics Citation:^[5]

Awards and records[]

Awards[]

Records[]

Milestones[]

All-Star[]

Transactions[]

Trades[]

Free Agents[]

Development League[]

References[]

^ Dyer, Bob (January 30, 1988). "Cavs End Contract with WWWE". Akron Beacon Journal. Beacon Journal Publishing Co. p. B8.
^ Blazers traded Linton Townes to Cavaliers for 1987 second round pick (#29-Lester Fonville) on 9/6/83 http://n-c-systems.com/hoops/DraftTrades/1987.html Archived 2007-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
^ Cavaliers traded Paul Thompson to Bucks for two-second round picks (1985 #45-John Williams) (1987 #41-Kannard Johnson) on 2/12/85 http://n-c-systems.com/hoops/DraftTrades/1987.html Archived 2007-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
^ Traded Ron Anderson to Pacers for 1987 fourth round pick (#80-Carven Holcomb) on 12/10/85 http://n-c-systems.com/hoops/DraftTrades/1987.html Archived 2007-11-07 at the Wayback Machine
^ "1987-88 Cleveland Cavaliers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-07-12.

[1] Dyer, Bob (January 30, 1988). "Cavs End Contract with WWWE". Akron Beacon Journal. Beacon Journal Publishing Co. p. B8.

[2] Blazers traded Linton Townes to Cavaliers for 1987 second round pick (#29-Lester Fonville) on 9/6/83 http://n-c-systems.com/hoops/DraftTrades/1987.html Archived 2007-11-07 at the Wayback Machine

[3] Cavaliers traded Paul Thompson to Bucks for two-second round picks (1985 #45-John Williams) (1987 #41-Kannard Johnson) on 2/12/85 http://n-c-systems.com/hoops/DraftTrades/1987.html Archived 2007-11-07 at the Wayback Machine

[4] Traded Ron Anderson to Pacers for 1987 fourth round pick (#80-Carven Holcomb) on 12/10/85 http://n-c-systems.com/hoops/DraftTrades/1987.html Archived 2007-11-07 at the Wayback Machine

[5] "1987-88 Cleveland Cavaliers Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 2021-07-12.

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