2005–06 Cleveland Cavaliers season

NBA season

team = Cleveland Cavaliers
end_year = 2006
wins = 50
losses = 32
division = central
division_place = 2
conf_place = 4
coach = Mike Brown
arena = Quicken Loans Arena
playoffs = 7–6, Eastern Conference Semifinals

The 2005-06 Cleveland Cavaliers season was the 36th season of NBA basketball in Cleveland, Ohio. The Cavaliers finished the season with a 50–32 record, a second place finish in the Central Division, and reached the semifinals of the Eastern Conference. LeBron James was the team's leading scorer and was named to the All-NBA first team.

Key Dates:

*On June 2, owner Dan Gilbert named Mike Brown the 17th head coach in team history.
*On June 27, Gilbert named Danny Ferry the 8th general manager in team history.
*On June 28, the 2005 NBA Draft took place in New York City, New York.
*In July, the free agency period began.
*On October 10, the Cavaliers' preseason began with a 116–94 win over Washington.
*On November 2, the Cavaliers' season began with a 109–87 win over New Orleans.
*On February 13, the Cavaliers defeated the NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs.
*On March 29, the Cavaliers clinched their first playoff berth in seven years.
*On April 9, the Cavaliers clinched home court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
*On May 5, the Cavs advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the first time in 12 years.
*On May 21, the Cavaliers' season ended in a second-round loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Offseason

Free Agents

Trades

Regular season

eason standings

December

Record: 8–6; Home: 6–2; Road: 2–4

March

Record: 10–4; Home: 7–1; Road: 3–3

Playoffs

Free Agents

^*Waived by team mid-season and later re-signed to two 10-day contracts.
^**Signed to two successive 10-day contracts and then the remainder of the season.
^***Traded for and then immediately waived before playing in a game.

Development League

*On January 22, Martynas Andriuskevicius was assigned to the NBDL's Arkansas Rimrockers.
*On February 1, Martynas Andriuskevicius was recalled from the Rimrockers.
*On March 2, Martynas Andriuskevicius was re-assigned to the Rimrockers.
*On March 6, Martynas Andriuskevicius was recalled from the Rimrockers.
*On March 16, Martynas Andriuskevicius was re-assigned to the Rimrockers.
*On April 12, Martynas Andriuskevicius was recalled from the Rimrockers.

Playoffs

First Round

(4) Cleveland Cavaliers vs. (5) Washington Wizards*Required overtime

Eastern Semifinals

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (4) Cleveland Cavaliers"'2006 marked the first time LeBron James made the playoffs in his career, and the first time the Cavaliers had made the playoffs since 1998 with Shawn Kemp. They came off a playoff series win vs the Wizards, while the Pistons came in off a 4–1 win vs the 8th seeded Bucks. Detroit was expected to win the series, and took a commanding two games to none lead with two wins at the Palace of Auburn Hills. James and the Cavaliers would not be intimidated however, and won their two games at home to tie the series 2–2. Coming into game 5, both teams were confident, but the Pistons were expected to pull out the win easily. The game was low scoring throughout as usual in this series, with Cleveland holding a 68 to 66 lead throughout 3 quarters. With the game tied at 84 with 26 seconds left in regulation, Drew Gooden came through and hit a layup to give Cleveland the lead that they would never squander. James led the Cavs with 32 and this brought the series to Cleveland up 3–2, quite shockingly. Detroit held on to a 2 point win to win game 6, and won game 7 at home to seal the deal, but this was the coming out party for the Cavaliers in the playoffs, scaring the 2004 champs.

References

* [http://www.databasebasketball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?yr=2005&tm=CLE&lg=N Cleveland Cavaliers on Database Basketball]
* [http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CLE/2006.html Cleveland Cavaliers on Basketball Reference]
* [http://www.nba.com/media/cavaliers/200607_200506_season.pdf 2005-06 Season Media Guide]