1979–80 Cleveland Cavaliers season

1979–80 Cleveland Cavaliers season
1979–80 Cleveland Cavaliers season
Head coach	Stan Albeck
Owners	Nick Mileti
Arena	Coliseum at Richfield
Results
Record	37–45 (.451)
Place	Division: 4th (Central); Conference: 8th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WJKW
Radio	WWWE

The 1979-80 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the tenth season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	School/Club team

Roster

1979–80 Cleveland Cavaliers roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Player	Height	Weight	From
SG	34	Austin Carr	6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)	200 lb (91 kg)	Notre Dame
F	2	Kenny Carr	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	NC State
F	35	Don Ford	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	UC Santa Barbara
PF	24	John Lambert	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	USC
F	30	Mike Mitchell	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Auburn
F/C	25	Dave Robisch	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	235 lb (107 kg)	Kansas
SF	21	Campy Russell	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	215 lb (98 kg)	Michigan
C	3	Elmore Smith (IN)	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	250 lb (113 kg)	Kentucky State
G	9	Randy Smith	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Buffalo State
G	11	Willie Smith	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	170 lb (77 kg)	Missouri
G/F	43	Earl Tatum	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	185 lb (84 kg)	Marquette
PG	14	Foots Walker	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)	184 lb (83 kg)	West Georgia
F	33	Bill Willoughby	6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Dwight Morrow HS (NJ)

Head coach

Stan Albeck

Assistant(s)

Morris McHone

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Central Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	–	32–9	18–23	21–9
x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	9	29–12	12–29	20–10
x-San Antonio Spurs	41	41	.500	9	27–14	14–27	14–16
Cleveland Cavaliers	37	45	.451	13	28–13	9–32	16–14
Indiana Pacers	37	45	.451	13	26–15	11–30	15–15
Detroit Pistons	16	66	.195	34	13–28	3–38	4–26

#	Eastern Conference
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	61	21	.744	–
2	y-Atlanta Hawks	50	32	.610	11
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	59	23	.720	2
4	x-Houston Rockets	41	41	.500	20
5	x-San Antonio Spurs	41	41	.500	20
6	x-Washington Bullets	39	43	.476	22

7	New York Knicks	39	43	.476	22
8	Cleveland Cavaliers	37	45	.451	24
8	Indiana Pacers	37	45	.451	24
10	New Jersey Nets	34	48	.415	27
11	Detroit Pistons	16	66	.195	44

Game log

1979–80 game log
Total: 37–45 (Home: 28–13; Road: 9–32)

October: 3–8 (home: 3–3; road: 0–5)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
7	October 23, 1979	Atlanta	L 111–121				Coliseum at Richfield 3,946	2–5
8	October 24, 1979	@ Atlanta	L 118–128				The Omni 5,729	2–6

November: 8–7 (home: 6–0; road: 2–7)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record

December: 8–5 (home: 7–1; road: 1–4)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
28	December 2, 1979	Atlanta	W 126–108				Coliseum at Richfield 4,844	12–16

January: 4–12 (home: 3–4; road: 1–8)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
44	January 9, 1980	@ Atlanta	L 107–111				The Omni 7,589	19–25

February: 3–10 (home: 2–4; road: 1–6)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
68	February 29, 1980	@ Atlanta	L 103–111 (OT)				The Omni 11,655	26–42

March: 11–3 (home: 7–1; road: 4–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Record
82	March 30, 1980	Atlanta	W 111–102				Coliseum at Richfield 7,762	37–45

1979–80 schedule

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; GS = Games started; MIN= Minutes; FG% = field goal %, FT% = free throw %, 3FG% = 3 point % STL= Steals; BLK = Blocks; AST = Assists; REB = Rebounds; PTS = Points

1979–80 Cleveland Cavaliers season

Draft picks

Roster

Regular season

Season standings

Game log

Player stats

Awards and records

Awards

Records

Milestones

All-Star

Transactions

Trades

Free agents

References