The Whiteboard: Pour one out for the Mark Price Cavaliers

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Each episode of The Last Dance, ESPN’s epic 10-part docuseries on the Michael Jordan Bulls, has been structured to move forward and backward in time, covering both events from the 1997-98 season and the historical moments that contextualize it. Episode 3, last night, tied together Dennis Rodman and the Bulls finally making their way past the Bad Boys Pistons. In the tail to that story, we got a few minutes unpacking Jordan and The Shot, which eliminated the Cleveland Cavaliers from the 1989 playoffs.

You’ve probably seen the video hundreds of times, Jordan dribbling to his left, leaping from the free-throw line, hanging, and dropping in the teardrop jumper over Craig Ehlo. Jordan leaps into the air pumping his first as Ehlo crumples in defeat. Episode 3 added some backstory to that moment, nothing previously unknown, but pieces of the story that can’t be included in a 30-second highlight package — like the fact that Jordan thought the Cavs should have had Ron Harper guarding him. (Harper agreed).

But the most revelatory piece of information for the younger fan was that the Cavaliers were overwhelmingly favored in that series and they were considered to be an up-and-coming contender ahead of the Bulls. This, despite the fact that Chicago has also eliminated Cleveland in the first round the year before.

That 1989 defeat was the second in a string of eight playoff appearances in nine seasons for the Cavaliers, six of which ended in first-round losses. Of those eight playoff exits, five came at the hands of the Bulls — three in the first round, one in the Eastern Conference Semifinals and once in the Eastern Conference Finals (1992). By the final season of this run the roster had mostly turned over from its original core, but that core was something special that was unfortunately almost completely obscured by Jordan.

In that 1988-89 season, the Cavaliers had incredible balance with all five starters averaging double-digits and shooting better than 50 percent from the field. Mark Price (18.9), Brad Daugherty (18.9) and Ron Harper (18.6) were the leaders of that attack, posting basically indistinguishable scoring averages.

Price also averaged 8.4 assists per game and posted a 50-40-90 shooting line, becoming the first player besides Larry Bird to accomplish the feat. It would be another five seasons before anyone else finished a season at that threshold (Reggie Miller), and another 12 seasons after that before someone did it again. Price wasn’t just a stiff one-dimensional shooter either, he made 54.8 percent of his 2-point baskets showing off a dynamic pull-up game and a surprising finishing touch. He was Steve Nash before Steve Nash.

Daugherty was a mobile 7-footer who could post-up or step away from the basket as well. And Harper was a younger, more athletic version of the versatile playmaker we saw later in his career alongside Jordan. That season, Harper averaged 5.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists, 2.3 steals and 0.9. blocks per game. And, again, the core was incredibly young — Price was 24, Daugherty was 23, Harper was 25.

As foils for the Bulls, the Cavaliers were omnipresent and regrettably impotent. The reward for all their potential and toil is a place on the heaping pile of potential contenders who were ruined by Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen. So, wherever you are in your quarantine drinking schedule today — coffee, orange juice, water or happy hour — pour out a little for a great team that never got a chance to be all it could have been.

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