by The Cavs did manage to make the playoffs that year despite the injuries. They finished with a 42-40 record, good enough for fourth place in the Eastern Conference Central Division. They ran into Charles Barkley and the Philadelphia 76ers in the first round of the playoffs. Sir Charles and his teammates eliminated the Cavs in five games.
The 1990 – 1991 season got off to a horrible start because the Cavs did not have their full complement of draft picks because of the Danny Ferry trade. Things went from bad to worse as All Star point guard, Mark Price, suffered multiple injuries and only appeared in 16 games all season. Power forward, John “Hot Rod” Williams, suffered season-long injuries as well and the Cavs finished with their worst record in years at 33 -49.
The 1991 – 1992 season would be remembered as one of the best in Cleveland Cavalier history. It was a perfect mix of players in their prime, young players improving daily, and veterans playing with the energy of rookies, blended together with a Hall of Fame head coach. With a full roster all season and confidence growing daily, the Cavs cruised to an impressive 57-25 record. They finished in second place in the Eastern Conference Central Division with high hopes to go far into the playoffs.
The Cavs promptly disposed of Drazen Petrovic, Derrick Coleman and the New Jersey Nets in the first round of the playoffs, earning a matchup with the perennial powerhouse, Boston Celtics. The matchup with Boston proved to be a classic as it was a back and forth battle that went all seven games. Early on, the Cavs fell behind in the series 2 -1. Then, pivotal game four went to overtime at the Boston Garden. Behind a 32 point performance from Larry Nance, the Cavs left Boston with the win.
Game five at the Richfield Coliseum was a tight one throughout the first half, as neither team could pull away. The Cavs, behind the half time adjustments from Wilkens, came out in the second half with full guns blazing. They outscored the Celtics by 11 in the third quarter and never looked back, winning the game and taking a 3-2 lead in the series.
Craig Ehlo describes how it felt to advance so far so quickly in the playoffs after early exits in previous years, “The final game of Larry Bird’s career was in the old Richfield Coliseum and it was very loud. It was a rough go for me because I had torn my MCL about six weeks prior. So when we got into the playoffs, I was still reeling and had to guard Petrovic in the first round. Then in the second round, I had to guard Reggie Lewis in the second round who had been averaging 35 points a game against us. In the finals, we had to face Chicago again and even with Gerald Wilkins it was a nightmare. I thought we had finally reached the pinnacle of all those years that we had put together, before losing in six games to the Bulls.”
Unfortunately after a great fifth game, many Cleveland fans would like to forget game six as the Cavs got crushed 122-91. Larry Nance reflects on reaching the Eastern Conference championship by beating Boston, and the overall atmosphere in the Coliseum that day, “Derrick Coleman wore me out in the first round, he was very tough. Then it was incredible to beat Boston with it being Larry Bird’s last ride. I thought that if another team played together as well as we did, it was Boston because they really did play as a team. That series was two great teams out there playing great team ball which made it very enjoyable. Then we ran into “the man” again.”
A loud crowd packed the Richfield Coliseum on May 17, 1992, to see the final game of the exciting series. The Cavs ended Larry Bird’s Hall of Fame career on a losing note as they defeated the Celtics 122-104. Just like many times that season, the win was a total team effort with all five starters scoring in double digits. John “Hot Rod” Williams, who was coming off the bench in that series, also managed to have 20 points. The Cavs were off to the Eastern Conference Championship round for the first time since the “miracle season”.
Waiting for the Cavs in the 1992 Eastern Conference Championship round was their old friend, Michael Jordan, and his Chicago Bulls. The Cavs managed to make the series interesting by winning a couple of games, but in the end, the developing dynasty of the Bulls was too much to overcome.
The following season they would reach the playoffs yet again, this time making it to the second round before getting swept by Chicago. The addition of superstar, Gerald Wilkens, from the New York Knicks proved to be helpful, but still not enough to get past the Bulls. Sadly, that series marked the last Wilkens would spend in Cleveland as head coach. The Cavs made the decision after the playoffs to go with Mike Fratello, a former coach from the Atlanta Hawks turned analyst. It was a move that brought to a close one of the brightest eras in Cleveland basketball history.
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