Cleveland Cavaliers History Online Information and NBA Betting Odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

NBA Cleveland Cavaliers History betting odds at WagerWeb Sportsbook

NBA Cleveland Cavaliers History History 1993-2003: A long rebuild Soon after, the Cavaliers entered into a period of decline. With the retirements and departures of Nance, Daugherty and Price, the team lost much of its dominance and were no longer able to contest strongly during the playoffs. After the 1992-93 season, in which the Cavs boasted a 54-28 regular-season record but suffered an early exit from the playoffs, Wilkens left to coach the Atlanta Hawks. Following the hiring of Mike Fratello as head coach starting with the 1993-94 season, the Cavs became one of the NBA's best defensive teams under the leadership of point guard Terrell Brandon.

But the offense, which was a half-court, "slow-down" tempo installed by Fratello, met with mixed success. Although the Cavaliers made regular playoff appearances, they were unable to advance beyond the first round.

In 1994, the Cavs moved back to downtown Cleveland with the opening of the 20,562-seat, state-of-the-art, Gund Arena. Known by locals as "the Gund", the venue also served as the site of the 1997 NBA All-Star Game.

Later on, players like Shawn Kemp and Žydrunas Ilgauskas added quality to the team, but without further success. Fratello was fired following the shortened 1998-99 season.

2003-present: The LeBron James era

Several losing seasons followed which saw the Cavaliers drop to the bottom of the league and become a perennial lottery draft team. After another disappointing season in 2002-03, the Cavaliers landed the number one draft pick in the NBA Lottery. The Cavaliers selected high school phenomenon LeBron James. Also in 2003 the team colors were changed from burnt orange, red and navy blue back to wine and gold along with a new primary logo.

James' status as both a local star (having played his high school basketball at St. Vincent-St. Mary High School in nearby Akron) and as one of the most highly touted prospects in NBA history led many to view his selection as a turning point in the franchise's history. The 2003-04 season offered great hope for the future, as James rose to become a dominating player, winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

Hope was even greater for the 2004-05 season. James blossomed into a superstar, increasing his points average, shooting percentage, assists average, and rebounds average. Despite the loss of Carlos Boozer under very controversial circumstances, James teamed with Žydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden to form the core of the Cavs team. After a promising start when the team seemed to be locked firmly into the Eastern Conference's fifth playoff spot, the Cavs began a downward spiral that eventually led to the firing of coach Paul Silas and general manager Jim Paxson. The Cavs failed to make the playoffs that year, tied with the resurgent New Jersey Nets for the eighth (and final) playoff spot (the Nets owned the tiebreaker over the Cavs).

The 2005 offseason was one of many changes for the Cavaliers. Under new owner Dan Gilbert, who became majority owner in March, 2005, the team hired a new coach, Mike Brown, and a new general manager, former Cavaliers forward Danny Ferry. The Cavaliers experienced success on the court in the following season, clinching their first playoff appearance since the 1997-98 season. After a first round win over the Washington Wizards, the Cavaliers rebounded from a 2-0 deficit in the second round against the Detroit Pistons, winning three consecutive games to come one game away from the conference finals. However, they lost a close Game 6 at home, and followed it with a 79-61 loss in Game 7. The Cavaliers set two records for futility deciding playoff games: least points scored in a game (61) and least points scored in a half (23). The playoff rounds were a showcase for the emergence of LeBron James, who achieved many "youngest ever to..." records considering during the run.

In 2007, the Cavs continued their success, officially clinching a playoff spot March 27th of the season. The team earned the second seed with a 50-32 record, generating a series of favorable matchups which included home court advantage until the conference finals. The Cavaliers' first-round was a rematch with the 7th-seeded Wizards, who finished 41-41 and struggled with injuries down the stretch to finish 2-8 in their last 10 games. The Cavaliers swept this series 4-0 (the first sweep in playoff history for the franchise) and faced the New Jersey Nets in the second round. They won the series 4-2 with James scoring 23 points and adding 8 rebounds and 8 assists in Game 6 as the Cavs beat the Nets 88-72.

The Cavaliers faced the Pistons for the second straight playoff year, this time in the Eastern Conference Finals. After again losing the first two games at Detroit, the Cavaliers won the next three to take a 3-2 series lead. This year the Cavaliers eliminated Detroit in Game 6, becoming only the third team in Conference Finals history to come back from a 0-2 deficit and win. The wins included a 109-107 double-overtime thriller at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Game 5, in which LeBron James scored the last 25 points for the Cavs, and a dominant 98-82 win at home in Game 6. Rookie Daniel "Boobie" Gibson scored a career-high 31 points in the series clincher, and franchise won its first ever Eastern Conference championship. The team's first trip to the NBA finals was a short one, as they were outmatched and outplayed by the very strong San Antonio Spurs, who won the series in four games.

Season-by-season records

Season	W	L	%	Playoffs	Results
Cleveland Cavaliers
1990-91	33	49	.402
1991-92	57	25	.695	Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Lost Conference Finals	Cleveland 3, New Jersey 1 Cleveland 4, Boston 3 Chicago 4, Cleveland 2
1992-93	54	28	.659	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Cleveland 3, New Jersey 2 Chicago 4, Cleveland 0
1993-94	47	35	.573	Lost First Round	Chicago 3, Cleveland 0
1994-95	43	39	.524	Lost First Round	New York 3, Cleveland 1
1995-96	47	35	.573	Lost First Round	New York 3, Cleveland 0
1996-97	42	40	.512
1997-98	47	35	.573	Lost First Round	Indiana 3, Cleveland 1
1998-99	22	28	.440
1999-2000	32	50	.390
2000-01	30	52	.366
2001-02	29	53	.354
2002-03	17	65	.207
2003-04	35	47	.427
2004-05	42	40	.512
2005-06	50	32	.610	Won First Round Lost Conference Semifinals	Cleveland 4, Washington 2 Detroit 4, Cleveland 3
2006-07	50	32	.610	Won First Round Won Conference Semifinals Won Conference Finals Lost NBA Finals	Cleveland 4, Washington 0 Cleveland 4, New Jersey 2 Cleveland 4, Detroit 2 San Antonio 4, Cleveland 0
Totals	1349	1653	.449
Playoffs	47	63	.427

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