NBA: 25 Worst Individual Seasons Of The 3-Point Era
By Phil Watson
C. 1982-83 Cleveland Cavaliers. Sam Lacey. 9. player. 156. Experience: 13th year, New Mexico State
Sam Lacey had been a solid starting center for more than a decade, even earning an All-Star appearance. But those days had long since passed when he found himself signing about six weeks into the 1982-83 season with the moribund Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Cavs won 23 games, a significant improvement from a 15-67 dumpster fire the previous year, but Lacey found himself pressed into a lot more playing time than he probably should have gotten, even starting 33 games as owner Ted Stepien tried to trade everything.
His per game numbers:
| Age | Pos | G | GS | MP | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | eFG% | FT | FTA | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 34 | C | 60 | 33 | 20.5 | 1.9 | 4.4 | .420 | 0.0 | 0.2 | .222 | .424 | 0.5 | 0.6 | .784 | 3.9 | 2.0 | 0.5 | 0.4 | 1.6 | 3.5 | 4.2 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/16/2015.
And his advanced totals:
| G | MP | PER | TS% | 3PAr | FTr | ORB% | DRB% | TRB% | AST% | STL% | BLK% | TOV% | USG% | OWS | DWS | WS | WS/48 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60 | 1232 | 6.5 | .451 | .034 | .140 | 5.6 | 16.0 | 10.7 | 13.1 | 1.2 | 1.2 | 25.9 | 12.9 | -1.1 | 1.0 | -0.1 | -0.004 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 10/16/2015.
Lacey had been the fifth overall pick of the Cincinnati Royals out of New Mexico State in the 1970 NBA Draft and was an All-Star for the franchise in 1975, after it became the Kansas City-Omaha Kings.
He was traded to the New Jersey Nets in November 1981 and retired after his lone season in Cleveland.
Lacey died on March 14, 2014, at the age of 66 at his home in Kansas City.
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