2009–10 Cleveland Cavaliers season

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

2009–10 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Division champions
Head coachMike Brown
ArenaQuicken Loans Arena
Results
Record61–21 (.744)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Central)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishConference Semifinals
(Lost to Celtics 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionFox Sports Ohio · WUAB
RadioWTAM
Commemorative logo celebrating the Cavaliers' 40th season

After defeating the Derrick Rose-led Chicago Bulls in the first round, the Cavs couldn't go any further as they lost to the 4th-seeded Boston Celtics in six games in the Semifinals. Following the season, head coach Mike Brown was fired, James signed as a free agent with the Miami Heat, but would return to the Cavaliers in 2014, Shaquille O'Neal signed as a free agent with the Boston Celtics, which turned out to be O'Neal's final season as a player, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas also left the team to join the Miami Heat.

After LeBron's departure, the Cavaliers struggled greatly without him for four seasons, and entered a state of rebuilding. The Cavaliers would not make the playoffs again until 2015, when LeBron returned to the Cavaliers, who drafted All-Star Kyrie Irving and traded for All-Star Kevin Love.

As of 2020, this was the last time the Cavaliers have won 60 or more games.

Key dates
LeBron James in a game against the Wizards. James was the 2009–10 MVP.

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
Roster listing
Cleveland Cavaliers roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
PG 1 Gibson, Daniel 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1986-02-27 Texas
SG 14 Green, Danny 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1987-06-22 North Carolina
PF 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
SF 23 James, LeBron (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1984-12-30 St. Vincent – St. Mary HS
PF 4 Jamison, Antawn 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) 1976-06-12 North Carolina
SF 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
SG 18 Parker, Anthony 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1975-06-19 Bradley
PF 44 Powe, Leon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1984-01-22 California
PG 3 Telfair, Sebastian 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1985-06-09 Abraham Lincoln HS (Brooklyn)
PF 17 Varejão, Anderson 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1982-09-28 Brazil
PG 13 West, Delonte 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1983-07-26 Saint Joseph's
SF 31 Williams, Jawad 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1983-02-19 North Carolina
PG 2 Williams, Mo 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1982-12-19 Alabama
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

Pre-season
2009 pre-season game log
October: 4–4 (Home: 3–2; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Record
1October 6Charlotte Bobcats87 – 92Quicken Loans Arena
20,403		1-0 recap
2October 10@Charlotte Bobcats102 – 96North Charleston Coliseum
11,489		2-0 recap
3October 12Olympiacos Piraeus (Greece)94 – 111Quicken Loans Arena
19,791		3-0 recap
4October 14Washington Wizards109 – 104Quicken Loans Arena
19,672		3-1 recap
5October 16@San Antonio Spurs98 – 105AT&T Center
17,186		3-2 recap
6October 17@Dallas Mavericks82 – 93American Airlines Center
18,525		3-3 recap
7October 20Dallas Mavericks66 – 96Petersen Events Center
10,011		4-3 recap
8October 21Boston Celtics96 – 82Value 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 Cavaliers6121.744–35–626–1512–4
x-Milwaukee Bucks4636.5611728–1318–2310–6
x-Chicago Bulls4141.5002224–1717–2410–6
Indiana Pacers3250.3902923–189–326–10
Detroit Pistons2755.3293417–2410–312–14
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Cleveland Cavaliers6121.744–
2 y-Orlando Magic5923.7202
3 x-Atlanta Hawks5329.6468
4 y-Boston Celtics5032.61011
5 x-Miami Heat4735.57314
6 x-Milwaukee Bucks4636.56115
7 x-Charlotte Bobcats4438.53717
8 x-Chicago Bulls4141.50020
9 Toronto Raptors4042.48821
10 Indiana Pacers3250.39029
11 New York Knicks2953.35432
12 Detroit Pistons2755.32934
13 Philadelphia 76ers2755.32934
14 Washington Wizards2656.31735
15 New Jersey Nets1270.14649

Record vs. opponents
2009-10 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MEM MIA MIL MIN NJN NOH NYK OKC ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS TOR UTA WAS
Atlanta —4–02–23–11–31–11–12–21–12–03–02–01–12–01–32–12–03–01–11–30–21–32–11–12–02–01–13–12–04–0
Boston 0–4—3–02–22–21–11–12–11–11–12–11–11–11–13–02–22–03–11–13–11–11–33–10–22–02–01–14–01–13–1
Charlotte 2–20–3—1–33–10–21–12–12–01–11–21–11–12–03–12–22–02–21–12–21–11–33–12–00–22–01–11–20–24–0
Chicago 1–32–23–1—2–20–20–24–01–12–03–10–20–20–21–31–32–01–22–03–11–11–23–11–11–11–12–01–20–22–1
Cleveland 3–12–21–32–2—1–10–24–02–01–13–12–02–01–13–03–12–04–02–03–02–02–23–02–02–02–01–13–11–12–1
Dallas 1–11–12–02–01–1—2–12–03–12–22–03–02–23–12–02–03–12–02–21–12–21–11–12–11–34–03–11–11–21–1
Denver 1–11–11–12–02–01–2—1–14–02–12–02–13–13–11–10–23–12–03–11–13–11–11–11–33–11–22–22–03–11–1
Detroit 2–21–21–20–40–40–21–1–1–11–10–40–20–21–11–22–22–02–11–11–30–21–33–10–20–21–11–10–40–24–0
Golden State 1–11–10–21–10–21–30–41–1–0–31–12–20–42–20–20–23–02–01–32–01–30–20–21–32–22–20–32–00–30–2
Houston 0–21–11–10–21–12–21–21–13–0—0–22–11–34–00–22–03–02–01–32–03–10–21–10–42–22–22–21–12–22–0
Indiana 0–31–22–11–31–30–20–24–01–12–0—1–10–20–20–40–41–14–00–22–21–11–32–11–10–21–10–22–21–13–1
L.A. Clippers 0–21–11–12–00–20–31–22–02–21–21–1—2–22–21–11–13–11–10–40–21–20–22–00–41–31–30–40–21–32–0
L.A. Lakers 1–11–11–12–00–22–21–32–04–03–12–02–2—2–11–12–03–02–02–12–03–11–12–03–11–24–02–21–13–12–0
Memphis 0–21–10–22–01–11–31–31–12–20–42–02–21–2—1–10–23–12–02–22–01–21–11–12–22–22–12–22–01–22–0
Miami 3–10–31–33–10–30–21–12–12–02–04–01–11–11–1—1–31–14–01–13–00–22–24–01–11–12–00–22–21–13–1
Milwaukee 1–22–22–23–11–30–22–02–22–00–24–02–00–22–03–1—2–04–01–13–01–10–32–11–11–11–10–22–11–12–2
Minnesota 0–20–20–20–20–21–31–30–20–30–31–11–30–31–31–10–2—2–00–41–10–40–21–10–40–42–20–30–22–21–1
New Jersey 0–31–32–22–10–40–20–21–20–20–20–41–10–20–20–40–40–2—1–12–20–20–30–40–20–21–11–10–40–20–4
New Orleans 1–11–11–10–20–22–21–31–13–13–12–04–01–22–21–11–14–01–1—0–21–21–10–21–31–22–10–40–21–31–1
New York 3–11–32–21–30–31–11–13–10–20–22–22–00–20–20–30–31–12–22–0—0–20–33–11–11–10–20–20–40–23–1
Oklahoma City 2–01–11–11–10–22–21–32–03–11–31–12–11–32–12–01–14–02–02–12–0–1–12–02–11–33–11–32–03–12–0
Orlando 3–13–13–12–12–21–11–13–12–02–03–12–01–11–12–23–02–03–01–13–01–1–4–01–11–12–01–13–11–12–2
Philadelphia 1–21–31–31–30–31–11–11–32–01–11–20–20–21–10–42–21–14–02–01–30–20–4–0–21–12–01–11–30–20–3
Phoenix 1–12–00–21–10–21–23–12–03–14–01–14–01–32–21–11–14–02–03–11–11–21–12–0–1–24–02–12–02–22–0
Portland 0–20–22–01–10–23–11–32–02–22–22–03–12–12–21–11–14–02–02–11–13–11–11–12–1–4–03–02–00–41–1
Sacramento 0–20–20–21–10–20–42–11–12–22–21–13–10–41–20–21–12–21–11–22–01–30–20–20–40–4–0–41–12–11–1
San Antonio 1–11–11–10–21–11–32–21–13–02–22–04–02–22–22–02–03–01–14–02–03–11–11–11–20–34–0–1–10–42–0
Toronto 1–30–42–12–11–31–10–24–00–21–12–22–01–10–22–21–22–04–02–04–00–21–33–10–20–21–11–1—0–22–1
Utah 0–21–12–02–01–12–11–32–03–02–21–13–11–32–11–11–12–22–03–12–01–31–12–02–24–01–24–02–0—2–0
Washington 0–41–30–41–21–21–11–10–42–00–21–30–20–20–21–32–21–14–01–11–30–22–23–00–21–11–10–21–20–2—

Game log
2009–10 game log
Total: 61–21 (Home: 35–6; Road: 26–15)
October: 2–2 (Home: 1–1; Road: 1–1)
November : 10–3 (Home: 5–1; Road: 5–2)
December : 14–3 (Home: 7–0; Road: 7–3)
January : 12–3 (Home: 6–1; Road: 6–2)
February : 8–3 (Home: 6–1; Road: 2–2)
March : 13–2 (Home: 8–0; Road: 5–2)
April : 2–5 (Home: 2–2; Road: 0–3)
2009–10 season schedule

Playoffs

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (8) Chicago Bulls
April 17
3:00 pm
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
Cleveland leads series, 1-0
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562
Referees: Eddie Rush, Bob Delaney, John Goble
April 19
8:00 pm
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
Cleveland leads series, 2-0
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562
Referees: Joe Crawford, Ron Garretson, Eric Lewis
April 22
7:00 pm
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
Cleveland leads series, 2-1
United Center, Chicago
Attendance: 22,991
Referees: Monty McCutchen, Jason Phillips, Tony Brothers
April 25
3:30 pm
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
Cleveland leads series, 3-1
United Center, Chicago
Attendance: 22,991
Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Derrick Stafford, Mike Callahan
April 27
8:00 pm
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

(1) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (4) Boston Celtics
May 1
8:00 pm
Boston Celtics 93, Cleveland Cavaliers 101
Scoring by quarter: 26–20, 28–23, 24–36, 15–22
Pts: Rajon Rondo 28
Rebs: Kendrick Perkins 11
Asts: Rajon Rondo 12		 Pts: LeBron James 35
Rebs: Antawn Jamison 9
Asts: LeBron James 7
Cleveland leads series, 1-0
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562
Referees: Eddie F. Rush, Bill Spooner, Jason Phillips
May 3
8:00 pm
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
Series tied, 1-1
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562
Referees: Dan Crawford, Dick Bavetta, Ed Malloy
May 7
7:00 pm
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
Cleveland leads series, 2-1
TD Garden, Boston
Attendance: 18,624
Referees: Bennett Salvatore, Ken Mauer, Zach Zarba
May 9
3:30 pm
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
Series tied, 2-2
TD Garden, Boston
Attendance: 18,624
Referees: Joe DeRosa, Mike Callahan, Michael Smith
May 11
8:00 pm
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
Boston leads series, 3-2
Quicken Loans Arena, Cleveland, Ohio
Attendance: 20,562
Referees: Joe Crawford, Marc Davis, Greg Willard
May 13
8:00 pm
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
Attendance: 18,624
Referees: Monty McCutchen, Bob Delaney, Eddie F. Rush

Player statistics
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
Daniel Gibson561019.1.466.477.6941.31.3.4.16.3
Danny Green2005.8.385.273.667.9.3.3.22.0
J. J. Hickson817320.9.554.000.6814.9.5.4.58.5
Žydrūnas Ilgauskas64620.9.443.478.7435.4.8.2.87.4
LeBron James767639.0.503.333.7677.38.61.61.029.7
Cedric Jackson1502.0.000.000.250.2.4.0.0.2
Darnell Jackson 2704.2.320.333.667.7.1.1.1.8
Antawn Jamison1252332.4.485.342.5067.71.31.1.515.8
Coby Karl301.7....7.0.0.0.0
Jamario Moon61217.2.462.320.8003.1.5.3.24.9
Shaquille O'Neal535323.4.566.000.4966.71.5.31.212.0
Anthony Parker818127.5.434.414.7892.91.90.8.27.3
Leon Powe20211.8.429.000.5873.0.0.3.14.0
Sebastian Telfair14019.3.457.222.8331.03.0.5.09.8
Anderson Varejão76728.5.572.200.6637.61.1.9.98.6
Delonte West 60325.0.445.325.8102.83.30.9.58.8
Jawad Williams54613.7.393.323.7111.5.6.2.14.1
Mo Williams696834.2.442.429.8943.05.31.0.315.8

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 Gibson504.6.286.2501.000.6.2.0.01.4
J. J. Hickson1107.2.626.000.688.8.1.0.03.5
Žydrūnas Ilgauskas609.0.364.000.6671.8.3.01.01.7
LeBron James111141.8.502.400.7339.37.61.71.829.1
Antawn Jamison111134.1.467.256.7327.41.3.61.015.3
Jamario Moon11010.3.583.500.6671.5.5.4.43.5
Shaquille O'Neal111122.1.516.000.6605.51.40.21.211.5
Anthony Parker111130.1.436.455.7332.41.3.8.38.3
Leon Powe303.0.250.000.750.7.0.0.01.7
Sebastian Telfair000.000.000.000.0.0.0.00
Anderson Varejão11023.2.417.000.7426.5.61.0.85.7
Delonte West11024.5.418.158.9381.92.6.8.96.7
Mo Williams111137.4.409.327.8043.15.4.6.214.4

Awards, Records and Milestones

Awards

Week/Month

All-Star

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

Transactions

Free agents
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