2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season
2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season | |
---|---|
NBA champions | |
Conference champions | |
Division champions | |
Head coach | David Blatt (fired) Tyronn Lue |
General manager | David Griffin |
Owner(s) | Dan Gilbert |
Arena | Quicken Loans Arena |
Results | |
Record | 57–25 (.695) |
Place | Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 1st (Eastern) |
Playoff finish | NBA Champions (Defeated Warriors 4–3) |
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com | |
Local media | |
Television | Fox Sports Ohio |
Radio |
|
The 2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 46th season of the Cleveland Cavaliers franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).
In the playoffs, the Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons in four games in the First Round, then swept the Atlanta Hawks in four games in the Semifinals, before finally defeating the Toronto Raptors in six games in the Conference Finals to reach the NBA Finals for a second consecutive year. There, the Cavaliers faced off against the defending NBA champion Golden State Warriors, the team that defeated them in last year's NBA Finals in six games, and were coming off of a record-breaking regular season, where the team posted a league-best 73-9 record.
The Cavaliers would go on to defeat the Golden State Warriors in the 2016 NBA Finals in seven games, coming back from a 3–1 series deficit to avenge their NBA Finals loss from the year before and winning their first NBA championship. The Cavaliers became the first team in NBA Finals history to recover from a 3–1 series deficit and win. [1] The Cavaliers' victory also marked the first championship win by a major professional sports team from Cleveland since 1964, ending a 52–year championship drought dating back to the 1964 NFL title won by the Cleveland Browns.
Contents
1 Regular season summary
2 Postseason summary
3 Draft picks
4 Roster
5 Player statistics
5.1 Regular season
6 Standings
7 Preseason
8 Regular season game log
9 Playoffs
9.1 Game log
10 Transactions
10.1 Trades
10.2 Free agents
10.3 Re-signed
10.3.1 Additions
10.3.2 Subtractions
11 References
12 Notes
13 External links
Regular season summary
The Cavaliers started the season strong and rose to the top of the Eastern Conference. However, despite having the best record in their conference, the team fired head coach David Blatt on January 22, 2016.[2] Assistant coach Tyronn Lue took over for the remainder of the season.[3] The Cavaliers finished the regular season with a 57–25 record and obtained the number one seed in the Eastern Conference for the first time since 2010.[4]
Postseason summary
In the first two rounds of the 2016 NBA playoffs, the Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons and the Atlanta Hawks, respectively.[5][6] In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Cavaliers beat the Toronto Raptors in six games.[7]
The Cavaliers lost three of the first four games of the 2016 NBA Finals to the Golden State Warriors, who had defeated Cleveland in the finals the year before.[8] In turn, the Cavaliers won Games 5 and 6 of the series to bring about a climactic Game 7 at Oracle Arena.[9]
With Game 7 tied at 89–89, LeBron James chased down and blocked Andre Iguodala's attempted lay-up in a play that became known as "The Block."[10][11] The Cavaliers ultimately won Game 7, 93–89, for the first NBA championship in franchise history.[9] No team had ever before recovered from a 3–1 deficit in an NBA Finals series.[1] James was named the unanimous NBA Finals MVP, receiving the award for the third time in his career.[10]
Draft picks
Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College/Club team |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 | Tyus Jones | PG | United States | Duke |
2 | 53 | Sir'Dominic Pointer | SG / SF | United States | St. John's |
Roster
2015–16 Cleveland Cavaliers roster | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Players | Coaches | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Player statistics
Legend | |||||
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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 | MIN | FG% | FT% | 3FG% | STL | BLK | AST | REB | PTS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
LeBron James | 76 | 76 | 35.6 | 52.0% | 73.1% | 30.9% | 1.4 | .60 | 6.8 | 7.4 | 25.3 |
Dahntay Jones | 1 | 0 | 42.0 | 42.9% | 0% | 50.0% | 1.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 5.0 | 13.0 |
Kevin Love | 77 | 77 | 31.5 | 41.9% | 82.2% | 36.0% | .80 | .50 | 2.4 | 9.9 | 16.0 |
Kyrie Irving | 53 | 53 | 31.5 | 44.8% | 88.5% | 32.1% | 1.1 | .30 | 4.7 | 3.0 | 19.6 |
J.R. Smith | 77 | 77 | 30.7 | 41.5% | 63.4% | 40.0% | 1.1 | .30 | 1.7 | 2.8 | 12.4 |
Tristan Thompson | 82 | 34 | 27.7 | 58.8% | 61.6% | 0% | .50 | .60 | .6 | 9.0 | 7.8 |
Matthew Dellavedova | 76 | 14 | 24.6 | 40.5% | 86.4% | 41.0% | .60 | .10 | 4.4 | 2.1 | 7.5 |
Iman Shumpert | 54 | 5 | 24.4 | 37.4% | 78.4% | 29.5% | 1.0 | .40 | 1.7 | 3.8 | 5.8 |
Mo Williams | 41 | 14 | 18.2 | 43.7% | 90.5% | 35.3% | .30 | .10 | 2.4 | 1.9 | 8.2 |
Richard Jefferson | 74 | 5 | 17.9 | 45.8% | 66.7% | 38.2% | .40 | .20 | .8 | 1.7 | 5.5 |
Timofey Mozgov | 76 | 48 | 17.4 | 56.5% | 71.6% | 14.3% | .30 | .80 | .4 | 4.4 | 6.3 |
Channing Frye | 26 | 3 | 17.2 | 44.1% | 78.6% | 37.7% | .30 | .30 | 1.0 | 3.6 | 7.5 |
Anderson Varejao | 31 | 0 | 10.0 | 42.1% | 76.2% | 0% | .40 | .20 | .6 | 2.9 | 2.6 |
James Jones | 48 | 0 | 9.6 | 40.8% | 80.8% | 39.4% | .20 | .20 | .3 | 1.0 | 3.7 |
Jared Cunningham | 40 | 3 | 8.9 | 35.2% | 62.5% | 31.3% | .30 | .10 | .5 | 0.7 | 2.6 |
Jordan McRae | 15 | 1 | 7.5 | 44.2% | 69.2% | 63.6% | .00 | .10 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 4.1 |
Sasha Kaun | 25 | 0 | 3.8 | 52.9% | 45.5% | 0% | .20 | .20 | .10 | 1.0 | 0.9 |
Joe Harris | 5 | 0 | 3.0 | 25.0% | 0% | 25.0% | .00 | .00 | 0.4 | .6 | 0.6 |
[12]
Standings
Eastern Conference | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | Team | W | L | PCT | GB | GP |
1 | c – Cleveland Cavaliers * | 57 | 25 | .695 | – | 82 |
2 | y – Toronto Raptors * | 56 | 26 | .683 | 1.0 | 82 |
3 | y – Miami Heat * | 48 | 34 | .585 | 9.0 | 82 |
4 | x – Atlanta Hawks | 48 | 34 | .585 | 9.0 | 82 |
5 | x – Boston Celtics | 48 | 34 | .585 | 9.0 | 82 |
6 | x – Charlotte Hornets | 48 | 34 | .585 | 9.0 | 82 |
7 | x – Indiana Pacers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12.0 | 82 |
8 | x – Detroit Pistons | 44 | 38 | .537 | 13.0 | 82 |
9 | Chicago Bulls | 42 | 40 | .512 | 15.0 | 82 |
10 | Washington Wizards | 41 | 41 | .500 | 16.0 | 82 |
11 | Orlando Magic | 35 | 47 | .427 | 22.0 | 82 |
12 | Milwaukee Bucks | 33 | 49 | .402 | 24.0 | 82 |
13 | New York Knicks | 32 | 50 | .390 | 25.0 | 82 |
14 | Brooklyn Nets | 21 | 61 | .256 | 36.0 | 82 |
15 | Philadelphia 76ers | 10 | 72 | .122 | 47.0 | 82 |
Central Division | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div | GP |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
c – Cleveland Cavaliers | 57 | 25 | .695 | 0.0 | 33–8 | 24–17 | 8–8 | 82 |
x – Indiana Pacers | 45 | 37 | .549 | 12.0 | 26–15 | 19–22 | 8–8 | 82 |
x – Detroit Pistons | 44 | 38 | .537 | 13.0 | 26–15 | 18–23 | 10–6 | 82 |
Chicago Bulls | 42 | 40 | .512 | 15.0 | 26–15 | 16–25 | 10–6 | 82 |
Milwaukee Bucks | 33 | 49 | .402 | 24.0 | 23–18 | 10–31 | 4–12 | 82 |
Preseason
2015 pre-season game log Total: 1–6 (Home: 1–4; Road: 0–2) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pre-season: 1–6 (Home: 1–4; Road: 0–2)
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2015–16 season schedule |
Regular season game log
2015–16 game log Total: 57–25 (Home: 33–8; Road: 24–17) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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October: 2–1 (Home: 1–0; Road: 1–1)
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November : 11–3 (Home: 8–0; Road: 3–3)
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December : 8–5 (Home: 4–1; Road: 4–4)
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January : 13–3 (Home: 6–2; Road: 7–1)
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February : 8–5 (Home: 6–2; Road: 2–3)
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March : 11–5 (Home: 6–2; Road: 5–3)
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April : 4–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–2)
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2015–16 season schedule |
Playoffs
Game log
2016 playoff game log Total: 16–5 (Home: 9–1; Road: 7–4) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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First Round: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
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Conference Semifinals: 4–0 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–0)
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Conference Finals: 4–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 1–2)
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NBA Finals: 4–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–2)
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2016 playoff schedule |
Transactions
Trades
June 25, 2015 | To Cleveland Cavaliers[13] Rakeem Christmas Cedi Osman 2019 Second Round Pick | To Minnesota Timberwolves Tyus Jones |
July 23, 2015 | To Cleveland Cavaliers[14] 2019 Second Round Pick | To Indiana Pacers Rakeem Christmas |
July 27, 2015 | To Cleveland Cavaliers[15] Two Trade Exceptions | To Portland Trailblazers Mike Miller Brendan Haywood 2019 & 2020 Second Round Pick |
January 12, 2016 | To Cleveland Cavaliers[16] 2020 Second Round Pick | To Orlando Magic Joe Harris 2017 Second Round Pick |
February 18, 2016 | To Cleveland Cavaliers[17] Second Round Pick | To Portland Trail Blazers Anderson Varejão[1] First Round Pick |
February 18, 2016 | To Cleveland Cavaliers[17] Channing Frye | To Orlando Magic Jared Cunningham Second Round Pick |
Free agents
Re-signed
Player | Signed | Former Team |
---|---|---|
Iman Shumpert[18] | Signed 4-year contract worth $40 million | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Kevin Love[19] | Signed 5-year contract worth $110 million | Cleveland Cavaliers |
LeBron James[20] | Signed 2-year contract worth $47.9 million | Cleveland Cavaliers |
James Jones[21] | Signed 1-year contract worth $1.5 million | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Matthew Dellavedova[22] | Signed 1-year contract worth $1.2 million | Cleveland Cavaliers |
J. R. Smith[23] | Signed 2-year contract worth $10 million | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Tristan Thompson[24] | Signed 5-year contract worth $82 million | Cleveland Cavaliers |
Additions
Player | Signed | Former Team |
---|---|---|
Mo Williams[25] | Signed 2-year contract worth $4 million | Charlotte Hornets |
Richard Jefferson[26] | Signed 1-year contract worth $1.5 million | Dallas Mavericks |
Sasha Kaun[27] | Signed 2-year contract | CSKA Moscow |
Jordan McRae | Signed 2-year contract | Delaware 87ers / Phoenix Suns |
Subtractions
Player | Reason Left | New Team |
---|---|---|
Shawn Marion[28] | Retired | N/A (Retired) |
Kendrick Perkins[29] | Signed 1-year contract worth $1.5 million | New Orleans Pelicans |
David Blatt (Head Coach)[30] | Fired | Darüşşafaka Doğuş |
References
^ ab "Cavaliers become first team to rally from 3–1 series deficit in NBA Finals". ESPN. June 27, 2016. Archived from the original on 2016-06-27..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ Brian Windhorst; McMenamin, Dave (2016-01-23). "David Blatt and the unwinding of his Cleveland tenure". ESPN. Archived from the original on 2018-05-02.
^ Golliver, Ben (2016-01-22). "LeBron James-David Blatt disconnect forced Cavs to make coaching change". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2018-05-02.
^ Vardon, Joe (2016-04-11). "LeBron James clearly coveted the No. 1 seed for the Cleveland Cavaliers". cleveland.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-02.
^ Pandian, Ananth (2016-04-25). "Cavs put away fighting Pistons by way of sweep, await their next challenger". CBS Sports. Archived from the original on 2018-05-02.
^ Haynes, Chris (2016-05-08). "Cleveland Cavaliers complete the sweep of Atlanta Hawks, 100-99, to move into Eastern Conference finals". cleveland.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-02.
^ Haynes, Chris (2016-05-27). "Cleveland Cavaliers advance to NBA Finals with 113-87 Game 6 win over Toronto". cleveland.com. Archived from the original on 2018-05-02.
^ Cacciola, Scott (2015-06-17). "Golden State Warriors End N.B.A. Title Drought With Victory Over Cavaliers". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
^ ab Cacciola, Scott (2016-06-19). "Cavaliers Defeat Warriors to Win Their First N.B.A. Title". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2018-05-12.
^ ab Arnovitz, Kevin (2016-06-20). "LeBron James named unanimous Finals MVP after Cavs' Game 7 win". ESPN. Archived from the original on 2018-05-12.
^ Sharp, Andrew; Golliver, Ben (2017-09-19). "Reliving LeBron James's Block in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2018-05-12.
^ https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CLE/2016.html
^ "Cavaliers Acquire Draft Rights to Cedi Osman and Rakeem Christmas from Minnesota". nba.com/cavaliers. June 25, 2015. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
^ "Cavs Acquire Second Round Pick from Pacers". nba.com/cavaliers. July 23, 2015. Retrieved June 23, 2015.
^ "Cavaliers Complete Trade with Portland". nba.com/cavaliers. July 27, 2015. Retrieved June 27, 2015.
^ "Cavaliers Acquire Protected Second Round Pick From Orlando". nba.com/cavaliers. January 12, 2016. Retrieved January 12, 2016.
^ ab "Cavaliers Acquire Channing Frye". nba.com/cavaliers. February 18, 2016. Retrieved September 15, 2016.
^ "Cavaliers Re-sign Guard Iman Shumpert". nba.com/cavs. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
^ "Cavaliers Re-sign Forward Kevin Love". nba.com/cavaliers. July 9, 2015. Retrieved July 9, 2015.
^ "Cavaliers Re-sign Forward LeBron James". nba.com/cavaliers. July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
^ "Cavaliers Re-sign James Jones". nba.com/cavaliers. July 25, 2015. Archived from the original on June 27, 2016. Retrieved July 25, 2015.
^ "Cavs Re-sign Guard Matthew Dellavedova". nba.com/cavaliers. July 27, 2015. Retrieved July 27, 2015.
^ "Cavs Re-sign Guard J.R. Smith". nba.com/cavaliers. September 2, 2015. Retrieved September 2, 2015.
^ "Cavs Re-Sign Forward Tristan Thompson". nba.com/cavaliers. October 22, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
^ "Cavs Sign guard Mo Williams". nba.com/cavs. July 10, 2015. Retrieved July 10, 2015.
^ "Cavs Sign Forward Richard Jefferson". nba.com/cavs. August 5, 2015. Retrieved August 5, 2015.
^ "Cavs Sign Center Sasha Kaun". nba.com/cavs. September 9, 2015. Retrieved October 22, 2015.
^ "Marion to retire at end of season". espn.com. January 21, 2015. Retrieved January 21, 2015.
^ "Pelicans Sign Kendrick Perkins". nba.com/pelicans. July 28, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2015.
^ "Warriors Sign Free Agent Center Anderson Varejao". NBA.com. February 22, 2016. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
Notes
- 1. ^ Varejão never played a single game for Portland and was almost immediately cut by Portland
External links
- What Will 2015-2016 Look Like for the Cavaliers