2009–10 Cleveland Cavaliers season

2009–10 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Division Champions
Head coach	Mike Brown
Arena	Quicken Loans Arena
Results
Record	61–21 (.744)
Place	Division: 1st (Central) Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Lost Eastern Conference Semifinals
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Ohio · WUAB
Radio	WTAM

The 2009–10 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 40th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Cavaliers bested the season with a 61-21 record, earning them first place. The season saw LeBron James win his second MVP award.

After defeating the Derrick Rose-led Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Cavs couldn't go any further as they lost to the Boston Celtics in six games. Following the season, head coach Mike Brown was fired and LeBron James signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat, but would return to the Cavaliers in 2014.

Key dates

LeBron James in a game against the Wizards. James was the 2009-10 MVP.

• June 25 - The 2009 NBA Draft took place in New York City. The Cavs also acquire Shaquille O'Neal, in a trade with the Phoenix Suns.
• July 8 - The free agency period started.
• July 13 - The Cavs sign with Anthony Parker.
• July 19 - Jamario Moon signs with the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• August 12 - The Cavaliers sign with Leon Powe.
• October 6 - The Cavs open the Pre-Season, with a victory over the Charlotte Bobcats, in The Q.
• October 21 - The Cavs close the Pre-Season, losing for the Boston Celtics, in the Value City Arena.
• October 27 - The Cleveland Cavaliers open the Regular Season, and are defeated by the Boston Celtics, in Quicken Loans Arena.
• February 17 - The Cavs acquire Antawn Jamison and Sebastian Telfair, in a three-team trade, with the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Clippers.
• March 17 - The Cavaliers clinched the Central Division title for the second straight year, and the third time in franchise history.
• March 23 - The Cavs waive Darnell Jackson and sign with Žydrūnas Ilgauskas.
• April 2 - The Cavaliers clinched best record in the Eastern Conference for the second straight year, and the second time in franchise history.
• April 4 - The Cavaliers clinched the best record in the league, and thus home court advantage throughout the playoffs for the second straight year, and the second time in franchise history.
• April 14 - The Cavs close the Regular Season, with a loss against the Atlanta Hawks and a 61-21 record.
• April 17 - The Cleveland Cavaliers open the First Round of the Playoffs, with a 96-83 victory, over the Chicago Bulls, in The Q.
• April 27 - The Cavaliers close the First Round Series at 4-1, with a 96-94 victory over the Bulls, in The Q.
• May 1 - The Cavs open the Eastern Conference Semifinals, with a 101-93 victory, over the Celtics, in the Quicken Loans Arena.
• May 13- The Cavaliers lose in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, at 4-2 to the underdog Boston Celtics.
• May 24 - Head Coach Mike Brown was fired.

Draft picks

Main article: 2009 NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Club Team
1	30	Christian Eyenga	G/F	DR Congo	CB Prat
2	46	Danny Green	G/F	United States	North Carolina

Roster

Cleveland Cavaliers roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 1 Gibson, Daniel 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1986-02-27 Texas G 14 Green, Danny 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1987-06-22 North Carolina F/C 21 Hickson, J. J. 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 242 lb (110 kg) 1988-09-04 North Carolina State C 11 Ilgauskas, Žydrūnas 7 ft 3 in (2.21 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1975-06-05 Lithuania F 23 James, LeBron (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1984-12-30 St. Vincent – St. Mary High School F 4 Jamison, Antawn 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1976-06-12 North Carolina F 15 Moon, Jamario 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1980-06-13 Meridian CC C 33 O'Neal, Shaquille 7 ft 1 in (2.16 m) 325 lb (147 kg) 1972-03-06 LSU G/F 18 Parker, Anthony 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1975-06-19 Bradley F 44 Powe, Leon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1984-01-22 California G 3 Telfair, Sebastian 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1985-06-09 Abraham Lincoln High School C 17 Varejão, Anderson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1982-09-28 Brazil G 13 West, Delonte 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1983-07-26 Saint Joseph's F 31 Williams, Jawad 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1983-02-19 North Carolina G 2 Williams, Mo 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1982-12-19 Alabama	Head coach Mike Brown (San Diego) Assistant coach(es) Hank Egan (Navy) Melvin Hunt (Baylor) Chris Jent (Ohio State) Michael Malone (Loyola (MD)) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Shaquille O'Neal	Žydrūnas Ilgauskas	Anderson Varejão
PF	Antawn Jamison	J.J. Hickson	Leon Powe
SF	LeBron James	Jamario Moon	Jawad Williams
SG	Anthony Parker	Delonte West	Danny Green
PG	Mo Williams	Daniel Gibson	Sebastian Telfair

Pre-season

2009 pre-season game log
October: 4–4 (Home: 3–2; Road: 1–2) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 October 6 Charlotte Bobcats 87 – 92 Quicken Loans Arena 20,403 1-0 recap 2 October 10 @Charlotte Bobcats 102 – 96 North Charleston Coliseum 11,489 2-0 recap 3 October 12 Olympiacos Piraeus (Greece) 94 – 111 Quicken Loans Arena 19,791 3-0 recap 4 October 14 Washington Wizards 109 – 104 Quicken Loans Arena 19,672 3-1 recap 5 October 16 @San Antonio Spurs 98 – 105 AT&T Center 17,186 3-2 recap 6 October 17 @Dallas Mavericks 82 – 93 American Airlines Center 18,525 3-3 recap 7 October 20 Dallas Mavericks 66 – 96 Petersen Events Center 10,011 4-3 recap 8 October 21 Boston Celtics 96 – 82 Value City Arena 18,021 4-4 recap
2009–10 pre-season schedule

Regular season

Standings

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
z-Cleveland Cavaliers	61	21	.744	–	35–6	26–15	12–4
x-Milwaukee Bucks	46	36	.561	17	28–13	18–23	10–6
x-Chicago Bulls	41	41	.500	22	24–17	17–24	10–6
Indiana Pacers	32	50	.390	29	23–18	9–32	6–10
Detroit Pistons	27	55	.329	34	17–24	10–31	2–14

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Cleveland Cavaliers	61	21	.744	–
2	y-Orlando Magic	59	23	.720	2
3	x-Atlanta Hawks	53	29	.646	8
4	y-Boston Celtics	50	32	.610	11
5	x-Miami Heat	47	35	.573	14
6	x-Milwaukee Bucks	46	36	.561	15
7	x-Charlotte Bobcats	44	38	.537	17
8	x-Chicago Bulls	41	41	.500	20
9	Toronto Raptors	40	42	.488	21
10	Indiana Pacers	32	50	.390	29
11	New York Knicks	29	53	.354	32
12	Detroit Pistons	27	55	.329	34
13	Philadelphia 76ers	27	55	.329	34
14	Washington Wizards	26	56	.317	35
15	New Jersey Nets	12	70	.146	49

Playoffs

First Round

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (8) Chicago Bulls

ABC

April 17 3:00 pm

Recap

Chicago Bulls 83, Cleveland Cavaliers 96
Scoring by quarter: 18–32, 23–24, 19–17, 23–23
Pts: Derrick Rose 28 Rebs: Hinrich, Noah 8 each Asts: Derrick Rose 10		Pts: LeBron James 24 Rebs: Anderson Varejão 15 Asts: Mo Williams 10

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Eddie Rush, Bob Delaney, John Goble

TNT

April 19 8:00 pm

Recap

Chicago Bulls 102, Cleveland Cavaliers 112
Scoring by quarter: 22–28, 28–24, 27–25, 25–35
Pts: Joakim Noah 25 Rebs: Joakim Noah 13 Asts: Derrick Rose 8		Pts: LeBron James 40 Rebs: LeBron James 8 Asts: LeBron James 8

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Joe Crawford, Ron Garretson, Eric Lewis

TNT

April 22 7:00 pm

Recap

Cleveland Cavaliers 106, Chicago Bulls 108
Scoring by quarter: 21–32, 24–24, 23–23, 38–29
Pts: LeBron James 39 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 11 Asts: LeBron James 8		Pts: Derrick Rose 31 Rebs: Joakim Noah 15 Asts: Derrick Rose 7

United Center, Chicago, Illinois Attendance: 22,991 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Jason Phillips, Tony Brothers

ABC

April 25 3:30 pm

Recap

Cleveland Cavaliers 121, Chicago Bulls 98
Scoring by quarter: 24–21, 38–31, 37–24, 22–22
Pts: LeBron James 37 Rebs: LeBron James 12 Asts: LeBron James 11		Pts: Noah, Rose 21 each Rebs: Joakim Noah 20 Asts: Derrick Rose 5

United Center, Chicago, Illinois Attendance: 22,991 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Derrick Stafford, Mike Callahan

TNT

April 27 8:00 pm

Recap

Chicago Bulls 94, Cleveland Cavaliers 96
Scoring by quarter: 26–27, 22–28, 23–18, 23–23
Pts: Derrick Rose 31 Rebs: Taj Gibson 11 Asts: Derrick Rose 6		Pts: Antawn Jamison 25 Rebs: LeBron James 10 Asts: LeBron James 9
Cleveland wins series, 4–1

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Ken Mauer, Bill Kennedy, Zach Zarba

Conference Semifinals

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (4) Boston Celtics

TNT

May 1 8:00 pm

Recap

Boston Celtics 93, Cleveland Cavaliers 101
Scoring by quarter: 26–20, 28–23, 24–36, 15–22
Pts: Rajon Rondo 27 Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 11 Asts: Rajon Rondo 12		Pts: LeBron James 35 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 9 Asts: LeBron James 7

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Eddie F. Rush, Bill Spooner, Jason Phillips

TNT

May 3 8:00 pm

Recap

Boston Celtics 104, Cleveland Cavaliers 86
Scoring by quarter: 26–22, 26–26, 31–12, 21–26
Pts: Ray Allen 22 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 10 Asts: Rajon Rondo 19		Pts: LeBron James 24 Rebs: James, Varejão 7 each Asts: Mo Williams 7

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Dan Crawford, Dick Bavetta, Ed Malloy

ESPN

May 7 7:00 pm

Recap

Cleveland Cavaliers 124, Boston Celtics 95
Scoring by quarter: 36–17, 29–26, 31–27, 28–25
Pts: LeBron James 38 Rebs: Antawn Jamison 12 Asts: James, Williams 7 each		Pts: Kevin Garnett 19 Rebs: Rajon Rondo 5 Asts: Rajon Rondo 8

TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Ken Mauer, Zach Zarba

ABC

May 9 3:30 pm

Recap

Cleveland Cavaliers 87, Boston Celtics 97
Scoring by quarter: 22–31, 23–23, 27–20, 15–23
Pts: LeBron James 22 Rebs: LeBron James 9 Asts: LeBron James 8		Pts: Rajon Rondo 29 Rebs: Rajon Rondo 18 Asts: Rajon Rondo 13

TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Joe DeRosa, Mike Callahan, Michael Smith

TNT

May 11 8:00 pm

Recap

Boston Celtics 120, Cleveland Cavaliers 88
Scoring by quarter: 20–23, 30–21, 30–19, 40–25
Pts: Ray Allen 25 Rebs: Paul Pierce 11 Asts: Rondo, Pierce 7 each		Pts: Shaquille O'Neal 21 Rebs: Anderson Varejão 8 Asts: LeBron James 7

Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio Attendance: 20,562 Referees: Joe Crawford, Marc Davis, Greg Willard

ESPN

May 13 8:00 pm

Recap

Cleveland Cavaliers 85, Boston Celtics 94
Scoring by quarter: 22–25, 27–26, 18–25, 18–18
Pts: LeBron James 27 Rebs: LeBron James 19 Asts: LeBron James 10		Pts: Kevin Garnett 22 Rebs: Kevin Garnett 12 Asts: Rajon Rondo 12
Boston wins series, 4–2

TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts Attendance: 18,624 Referees: Monty McCutchen, Bob Delaney, Eddie F. Rush

Player statistics

Season

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Daniel Gibson	56	10	19.1	.466	.477	.694	1.3	1.3	.4	.1	6.3
Danny Green	20	0	5.8	.385	.273	.667	.8	.3	.3	.2	2.0
J. J. Hickson	81	73	20.9	.554	.000	.681	4.9	.5	.4	.5	8.5
Žydrūnas Ilgauskas	53	6	20.5	.452	.500	.728	5.3	.7	.2	.8	7.5
LeBron James	76	76	39.0	.503	.333	.767	7.3	8.6	1.6	1.0	29.7
Cedric Jackson1	5	0	2.0	.000	.000	.250	.2	.4	.0	.0	.2
Darnell Jackson1	27	0	4.2	.320	.333	.667	.7	.1	.1	.2	.8
Antawn Jamison1	25	23	32.4	.485	.342	.506	7.7	1.3	1.1	.5	15.8
Jamario Moon	61	2	17.2	.462	.320	.800	3.1	.5	.3	.2	4.9
Shaquille O'Neal	53	53	23.4	.566	.000	.496	6.7	1.5	.3	1.2	12.0
Anthony Parker	81	81	27.5	.434	.414	.789	2.9	1.9	0.8	.2	7.3
Leon Powe	20	2	11.8	.429	.000	.587	3.0	.0	.3	.1	4.0
Sebastian Telfair1	4	0	19.3	.457	.222	.833	1.0	3.0	.5	.0	9.8
Anderson Varejão	76	7	28.5	.572	.200	.663	7.6	1.1	.9	.9	8.6
Delonte West	60	3	25.0	.445	.325	.810	2.8	3.3	0.9	.5	8.8
Jawad Williams	54	6	13.7	.393	.323	.711	1.5	.6	.2	.1	4.1
Mo Williams	69	68	34.2	.442	.429	.894	3.0	5.3	1.0	.3	15.8

Stats with the Cavaliers
¹Did not start or finish the season with the Cavs.

Playoffs

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3FG%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Daniel Gibson	5	0	4.6	.286	.250	1.000	.6	.2	.0	.0	1.4
Danny Green	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.0	.0	.0	.0	0
J. J. Hickson	11	0	7.2	.626	.000	.688	.8	.1	.0	.0	3.5
Žydrūnas Ilgauskas	6	0	9.0	.364	.000	.667	1.8	.3	.0	1.0	1.7
LeBron James	11	11	41.8	.502	.400	.733	9.3	7.6	1.7	1.8	29.1
Antawn Jamison	11	11	34.1	.467	.256	.732	7.4	1.3	.6	1.0	15.3
Jamario Moon	11	0	10.3	.583	.500	.667	1.5	.5	.4	.4	3.5
Shaquille O'Neal	11	11	22.1	.516	.000	.660	5.5	1.4	0.2	1.2	11.5
Anthony Parker	11	11	30.1	.436	.455	.733	2.4	1.3	.8	.3	8.3
Leon Powe	3	0	3.0	.250	.000	.750	.7	.0	.0	.0	1.7
Sebastian Telfair	0	0	0	.000	.000	.000	.0	.0	.0	.0	0
Anderson Varejão	11	0	23.2	.417	.000	.742	6.5	.6	1.0	.8	5.7
Delonte West	11	0	24.5	.418	.158	.938	1.9	2.6	.8	.9	6.7
Jawad Williams	3	0	1.3	.000	.000	.000	.0	.0	.0	.0	0
Mo Williams	11	11	37.4	.409	.327	.804	3.1	5.4	.6	.2	14.4

Awards, Records and Milestones

Awards

• LeBron James - NBA Most Valuable Player (2x)
• LeBron James - All-NBA First Team (4x)
• LeBron James - NBA All-Defensive First Team (2x)
• Anderson Varejão - NBA All-Defensive Second Team (1x)

Week/Month

• LeBron James - Player of the Week (6x)
• LeBron James - Player of the Month (4x)
• Mike Brown - Coach of the Month (December)

All-Star

• LeBron James - NBA All-Star Game Selection (6x)

Records

• December 2, 2009: Zydrunas Ilgauskas set the record for most games played as a Cavalier with 771 and moved into third place on the Cavaliers' all-time scoring list behind LeBron James and Brad Daugherty.
• On March 19, 2010, LeBron James set a record as the youngest player in NBA history to record 15,000 career points.
• At the end of the season, LeBron James was the all-time scoring leader of the Cavs, with 15,251 points.

Team Records

• On May 11, the Cavaliers suffered their worst playoffs defeat, against the Boston Celtics, by a margin of 32 points.
• On December 23, the Cavaliers set a franchise record and tied with the NBA record of fewest points allowed in an OT period, against Sacramento Kings.

Milestones

• Daniel Gibson reached 200 career games and 5,000 minutes.*
• Danny Green played his first season in the NBA.*
• J.J. Hickson reached 100 career games and 2,000 minutes.*
• Zydrunas Ilgauskas reached 21,000 minutes and 4,000 field goals made.*
• LeBron James reached 15,000 career points, 500 career games, 22,000 minutes, 5,000 field goals made, 11,000 field goals attempted, 2,000 three-point shots attempted, 3,000 defensives rebounds, 1,000 fouls and 2,000 Playoffs points.*
• Cedric Jackson played his first season in the NBA.*
• Antawn Jamison reached 17,000 career points and 31,000 minutes.
• Jamario Moon reached 200 career games, 5,000 minutes and 1,000 rebounds.
• Shaquille O'Neal reached 41,000 minutes, 11,000 field goals made, 19,000 field goals attempted, 11,000 free-throws attempted, 3,000 assists and 4,000 fouls.
• Anthony Parker reached 300 career games, 10,000 minutes, 1,000 three-point shots attempted, 1,000 defensives rebounds, 1,000 rebounds and 3,000 career points.
• Leon Powe reached 200 career games.
• Anderson Varejão reached 9,000 minutes, 1,000 field goals made, 2,000 field goals attempted, 1,000 free throws attempted and 1,000 fouls.*
• Delonte West reached 10,000 minutes, 3,000 field goals attempted and 1,000 rebounds.
• Mo Williams reached 14,000 minutes, 5,000 field goals attempted, 1,000 free-throws attempted, 2,000 assists, 1,000 turnovers and 6,000 points.

*Spent the entire NBA Career with the Cleveland Cavaliers, until reach these Milestones.

Team Milestones

• On December 30, the Cavs reached 3,200 regular seasons games, against the Atlanta Hawks.
• On February 4, the Cavs reached 1,500 regular seasons victories against the Miami Heat.
• On April 14, the Cavs reached 1,800 combined regular and post-seasons defeats, against the Atlanta Hawks
• On May 7, the Cavs reached 70 post-season wins, against the Boston Celtics.
• The Cavaliers reached 30 playoff series, against the Boston Celtics.

Injuries, Surgeries and Absences

• Leon Powe - Knee surgery (before arriving Cleveland)
• Jamario Moon - Abdominal Injury
• Mo Williams - Left Shoulder Injury
• Anderson Varejão - Left Hamstring Injury
• Shaquille O'Neal - Right Thumb Surgery
• LeBron James - Right Elbow Injury

Transactions

Free agents

Additions

Date	Player	Signed	Former Team
July 13, 2009	Anthony Parker	Free Agent	Toronto Raptors
July 17, 2009	Jamario Moon	Free Agent	Miami Heat
August 12, 2009	Leon Powe	Free Agent	Boston Celtics
October 22, 2009	Coby Karl	Free Agent	Joventut Badalona

Subtractions

Date	Player	Reason Left	New Team
August 25, 2009	Tarence Kinsey	Free Agent	Fenerbahçe Ülker
January 6, 2010	Coby Karl	Waived	Golden State Warriors
March 23, 2010	Darnell Jackson	Waived	Milwaukee Bucks

Trades

June 25, 2009	To Cleveland Cavaliers---- Shaquille O'Neal	To Phoenix Suns---- Aleksandar Pavlović Ben Wallace $500,000 2010 Second-Round Draft Pick
February 17, 2010	To Cleveland Cavaliers---- Antawn Jamison	To Washington Wizards---- Zydrunas Ilgauskas Emir Preldžič 2010 First-Round Draft Pick
February 17, 2010	To Cleveland Cavaliers---- Sebastian Telfair	To Los Angeles Clippers----

On February 17, the Cavaliers completed a three-team trade with the Washington Wizards and the Los Angeles Clippers, acquiring Antawn Jamison from Washington and Sebastian Telfair from L.A. The Cavs sent Zydrunas Ilgauskas to the Wizards, plus a first round draft pick in 2010 and the rights to Emir Preldžić.

On March 23, the Cavaliers re-signed Zydrunas Ilgauskas for the remainder of the season after his contract was bought out by the Washington Wizards. The Cavaliers also waived Darnell Jackson to make room on the roster.

References

External links

• Media related to at Wikimedia Commons