2014–15 Cleveland Cavaliers season explained

Team:	Cleveland Cavaliers
Divisionwin:	yes
Conferencewin:	yes
End Year:	2015
Wins:	53
Losses:	29
Division:	Central
Division Place:	1
Conf Place:	2
Coach:	David Blatt
Gm:	David Griffin
Owner:	Dan Gilbert
Arena:	Quicken Loans Arena
Playoffs:	NBA Finals (lost to Warriors 2–4)
Bbr Team:	CLE
Television:	Fox Sports Ohio WUAB
Radio:	WTAM WMMS

The 2014–15 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 45th season of the franchise in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The season was marked by the publicity the team received by signing free agent forward LeBron James and trading for forward Kevin Love. These All-Star players, added with All-Star guard Kyrie Irving, were dubbed nationally as the "Big Three".^[1] With these acquisitions, this formed a new superteam of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love in the East.^[2] ^[3] ^[4] ^[5] ^[6]

A sub-.500 team the previous four seasons, the Cavaliers won the Central division with a 53–29 record. After a slow 19–20 start, including a stretch of 2–10 in 12 games, a number of trades turned the season around, and they finished 34–9 the rest of the way. Despite losing key players to injuries, their run continued deep in the NBA Playoffs, starting with a sweep of the Boston Celtics in four games in the first round, then defeating the Chicago Bulls in six games in the Semi-finals, before sweeping the top-seeded Atlanta Hawks in four games in the conference finals, making it to the NBA Finals, their second appearance since 2007. However, the Cavaliers' season ended with a 2–4 series loss to the Golden State Warriors in the NBA Finals, who won their fourth NBA championship, their first NBA Championship in 40 years.

Offseason

In July 2014, LeBron James signed with the Cavaliers and Kevin Love was acquired through a 3-team trade in August. With these acquisitions, this formed a new superteam of LeBron James, Kyrie Irving, and Kevin Love in the East.^[7] ^[8] ^[9] ^[10] ^[11]

Draft picks

See main article: 2014 NBA draft.

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College/Club team
1	1	Andrew Wiggins	SG/SF		Kansas
2	33	Joe Harris	SG		Virginia

Roster

Roster Notes

Center Anderson Varejão played 26 games (his last game being on December 23, 2014) but missed the majority of the season and the playoffs due to tearing his left Achilles tendon. He underwent successful surgery at the Cleveland Clinic on December 26, 2014.^[12] ^[13]

Preseason

Regular season

Game log

Detailed records

Opponent	Home	Away	Total	Points scored	Points against
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Boston Celtics
Brooklyn Nets
New York Knicks
Philadelphia 76ers
Toronto Raptors

Central Division
Chicago Bulls
Cleveland Cavaliers	–	–	–	–	–
Detroit Pistons
Indiana Pacers
Milwaukee Bucks

Southeast Division
	1–1	0–2	1–3	423	436
Charlotte Hornets
Miami Heat
Orlando Magic
Washington Wizards

Opponent	Home	Away	Total	Points scored	Points against
Western Conference
Northwest Division
Denver Nuggets
Minnesota Timberwolves
Oklahoma City Thunder
Portland Trail Blazers
Utah Jazz

Pacific Division
Golden State Warriors
Los Angeles Clippers
Los Angeles Lakers
Phoenix Suns
Sacramento Kings

Southwest Division
Dallas Mavericks
Houston Rockets
Memphis Grizzlies
New Orleans Pelicans
San Antonio Spurs

Playoffs

|- style="background:#bfb;"| 1| April 193:00 pm| Boston| | Kyrie Irving (30)| Kevin Love (12)| LeBron James (7)| Quicken Loans Arena
20,562| 1–0|- style="background:#bfb;"| 2| April 217:00 pm| Boston| | LeBron James (30)| Tristan Thompson (11)| LeBron James (7)| Quicken Loans Arena
20,562| 2–0|- style="background:#bfb;"| 3| April 237:00 pm| @ Boston| | LeBron James (31)| LeBron James (11)| Kyrie Irving (6)| TD Garden
18,624| 3–0|- style="background:#bfb;"| 4| April 261:00 pm| @ Boston| | LeBron James (27)| Mozgov & Irving (11)| LeBron James (8)| TD Garden
18,624| 4–0|- style="background:#fbb;"| 1| May 47:00 pm| Chicago| | Kyrie Irving (30)| LeBron James (15)| Kyrie Irving (6)| Quicken Loans Arena
20,562| 0–1|- style="background:#bfb;"| 2| May 67:00 pm| Chicago| | LeBron James (33)| Tristan Thompson (12)| Matthew Dellavedova (9)| Quicken Loans Arena
20,562| 1–1|- style="background:#fbb;"| 3| May 88:00 pm| @ Chicago| | LeBron James (27)| Tristan Thompson (13)| LeBron James (14)| United Center
22,246| 1–2|- style="background:#bfb;"| 4| May 103:30 pm| @ Chicago| | LeBron James (25)| LeBron James (14)| LeBron James (8)| United Center
22,256| 2–2|- style="background:#bfb;"| 5| May 127:00 pm| Chicago| | LeBron James (38)| LeBron James (12)| LeBron James (6)| Quicken Loans Arena
20,562| 3–2|- style="background:#bfb;"| 6| May 148:00 pm| @ Chicago| | Matthew Dellavedova (19)| Tristan Thompson (17)| LeBron James (11)| United Center
22,695| 4–2|- style="background:#bfb;"| 1| May 208:30 pm| @ Atlanta| | LeBron James (31)| Timofey Mozgov (11)| Irving & James (6)| Philips Arena
18,489| 1–0|- style="background:#bfb;"| 2| May 228:30 pm| @ Atlanta| | LeBron James (30)| Tristan Thompson (16)| LeBron James (11)| Philips Arena
18,670| 2–0|- style="background:#bfb;"| 3| May 248:30 pm| Atlanta| | LeBron James (37)| LeBron James (18)| LeBron James (13)| Quicken Loans Arena
20,562| 3–0|- style="background:#bfb;"| 4| May 268:30 pm| Atlanta| | LeBron James (23)| Tristan Thompson (11)| LeBron James (7)| Quicken Loans Arena
20,562| 4–0|- style="background:#fbb;"| 1| June 4| @ Golden State| | LeBron James (44)| Tristan Thompson (15)| Kyrie Irving (6)
LeBron James (6)| Oracle Arena
19,596| 0–1|- style="background:#bfb;"| 2| June 7| @ Golden State| | LeBron James (39)| LeBron James (16)| LeBron James (11)| Oracle Arena
19,596| 1–1|- style="background:#bfb;"| 3| June 9| Golden State| | LeBron James (40)| Tristan Thompson (13)| LeBron James (8)| Quicken Loans Arena
20,562| 2–1|- style="background:#fbb;"| 4| June 11| Golden State| | Timofey Mozgov (28)| Tristan Thompson (13)| LeBron James (8)| Quicken Loans Arena
20,562| 2–2|- style="background:#fbb;"| 5| June 14| @ Golden State| | LeBron James (40)| LeBron James (14)| LeBron James (11)| Oracle Arena
19,596| 2–3|- style="background:#fbb;"| 6| June 16| Golden State| || LeBron James (32)| LeBron James (18)| LeBron James (9)| Quicken Loans Arena
20,562| 2–4|- style="background:#fcc;"

Player statistics

Summer League

Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
	4	4	29.8	.426	.250	.600	7.8	0.8	0.8	0.0	13.3
	5	2	25.2	.251	.235	.714	4.0	3.0	0.2	0.0	12.8
	5	4	16.0	.615	.000	.500	4.4	0.2	0.4	0.2	7.4
	3	3	32.0	.435	.273	.800	4.7	4.7	1.0	0.0	11.7
	5	0	14.8	.647	.000	.824	3.6	0.4	0.6	1.2	7.2
	5	1	14.2	.471	.444	.667	3.0	0.6	0.8	0.2	4.4
	4	0	9.3	.364	.200	.000	1.3	1.0	0.2	0.0	2.3
	4	0	13.3	.375	.313	.600	1.3	1.5	0.2	0.0	6.5
	4	4	24.8	.391	.400	.818	1.5	1.5	0.5	0.2	7.8
	1	1	14.0	.500	.500	1.000	1.0	1.0	0.0	0.0	7.0
	1	1	34.0	.444	.500	.500	4.0	3.0	1.0	0.0	11.0
	5	1	15.4	.524	.000	.667	3.4	0.4	0.6	0.4	5.2
	3	1	11.3	.500	.000	1.000	3.7	0.7	0.3	0.3	5.0
	4	4	30.0	.405	.154	.703	3.5	0.3	1.2	1.5	15.5
Totals	—	—	200	.469	.272	.725	35.8	12.0	5.8	3.6	84.6

Preseason

GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
5	0	6.7	.300	.000	.000	2.6	0.0	0.2	0.2	1.2
6	3	27.2	.433	.294	.000	3.0	4.33	0 67	0.0	5.17
5	0	6.5	.200	.000	1.000	1.4	0.2	0.2	0.0	1.0
5	0	17.5	.364	.381	1.000	2.2	2.0	0.4	0.0	7.4
3	1	10.2	.400	.000	1.000	2.33	0.33	0.33	1.00	3.67
3	2	27.3	.538	.455	1.000	2.0	5.0	1.5	1.5	19.5
5	4	22.6	.486	.462	.750	3.25	4.75	0.5	0.25	14.25
3	0	9.5	.500	.600	1.000	0.33	0.33	0.0	0.0	4.00
4	0	15.4	.412	.000	1.000	3.0	0.25	0.0	1.0	5.5
5	4	21.8	.571	.588	.772	6.5	2.25	0.25	0.0	15.75
5	1	20.1	.333	.000	.750	4.75	0.75	0.75	0.5	5.00
6	0	14.2	.263	.188	1.000	1.8	1.4	0.2	0.2	3.4
5	0	13.5	.517	.421	.750	1.4	1.0	0.0	0.0	8.2
5	2	25.1	.588	.000	.789	10.5	1.0	1.0	0.5	13.75
5	3	20.9	.542	.000	.700	7.25	1.25	1.5	0.25	8.25
6	5	27.1	.426	.385	.800	2.8	2.6	0.2	0.6	15.2

Regular season

GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
69	69	36.1	.488	.354	.710	6.0	7.4	1.6	0.7	25.3
75	75	36.4	.468	.415	.863	3.2	5.2	1.5	0.3	21.7
75	75	33.8	.434	.367	.804	9.7	2.2	0.7	0.5	16.4
46	45	31.8	.425	.390	.818	3.5	2.5	1.4	0.4	12.7
46	45	25.0	.590	.000	.787	6.9	0.8	0.4	1.2	10.6
33	3	23.8	.404	.256	.783	1.7	2.2	1.3	0.3	10.5
26	26	24.5	.555	.000	.733	6.5	1.3	1.1	0.6	9.8
82	15	26.8	.547	.000	.641	8.0	0.5	0.4	0.7	8.5
38	1	24.2	.410	.338	.667	3.8	1.5	1.3	0.3	7.2
67	13	20.6	.362	.407	.763	1.9	3.0	0.4	0	4.8
57	24	19.3	.446	.261	.765	3.5	0.9	0.5	0.5	4.8
57	2	11.7	.368	.360	.848	1.1	0.4	0.2	0.1	4.4
51	1	9.7	.400	.369	.600	0.8	0.5	0.1	0	2.7
17	0	9.8	.488	.000	.500	2.4	0.5	0.1	0.2	2.6
52	15	13.5	.325	.327	.750	1.8	0.9	0.3	0.1	2.1
11	0	7.9	.265	.000	.667	1.4	1.2	0.3	0	2.0
8	0	8.6	.263	.222	.500	0.6	1.0	0.8	0.1	1.9
22	1	5.4	.467	.000	.538	1.3	0.1	0.1	0.5	1.6
12	0	6.6	.333	.000	.600	1.7	0.4	0.1	0	0.9
5	0	2.8	.250	.000	1.000	0.2	0.2	0	0	0.8

Records

On March 12, Kyrie Irving set a Cavaliers franchise record with 57 points in an overtime victory against the San Antonio Spurs. It was also the first time in Gregg Popovich's coaching career that an opposing player has scored 50 points against his team.
On May 24, LeBron James became the first player in NBA history to put up 37+ points, 18+ rebounds, and 13+ assists in a playoff game. He achieved the feat in an overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
On May 26, LeBron James and James Jones became the first players to reach five consecutive NBA Finals since several Boston Celtics accomplished the feat in 1966. James and Jones are the first to do so with two teams (also with the Miami Heat).

External links

Notes and References

http://www.foxsports.com/ohio/story/cleveland-cavaliers-big-three-bigger-with-newcomers-012115 Big Three even bigger - Fox Sports.com
Web site: Brett Pollakoff. Report: LeBron James has reached out to Kevin Love to express interest in him playing for Cavaliers. NBC Sports. July 17, 2014. November 27, 2021.
Web site: Kurt Helin. It’s done: Kevin Love traded to Cavaliers, Andrew Wiggins headed to Minnesota in three-team deal. NBC Sports. August 23, 2014. November 27, 2021.
Web site: Michael Lee. LeBron James’s latest super team more about the game than the show. The Washington Post. October 16, 2014. November 27, 2021.
Web site: Chris Fedor. A phone call from LeBron James helped bring Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland.com. August 26, 2014. November 27, 2021.
Web site: Kevin Spain. Kevin Love says call from LeBron helped make decision. USA TODAY. August 26, 2014. November 27, 2021.
Web site: Brett Pollakoff. Report: LeBron James has reached out to Kevin Love to express interest in him playing for Cavaliers. NBC Sports. July 17, 2014. November 27, 2021.
Web site: Kurt Helin. It’s done: Kevin Love traded to Cavaliers, Andrew Wiggins headed to Minnesota in three-team deal. NBC Sports. August 23, 2014. November 27, 2021.
Web site: Michael Lee. LeBron James’s latest super team more about the game than the show. The Washington Post. October 16, 2014. November 27, 2021.
Web site: Chris Fedor. A phone call from LeBron James helped bring Kevin Love to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Cleveland.com. August 26, 2014. November 27, 2021.
Web site: Kevin Spain. Kevin Love says call from LeBron helped make decision. USA TODAY. August 26, 2014. November 27, 2021.
Web site: Cavaliers' Varejao out for season with torn tendon. Deseret News. December 24, 2014. November 27, 2021.
Web site: Sean Highkin. Anderson Varejao undergoes surgery for torn Achilles, out for the season. NBC Sports. December 26, 2014. November 27, 2021.