1949–50 Syracuse Nationals season

1949–50 Syracuse Nationals season
Division Champions
Head coach	Al Cervi
Arena	State Fair Coliseum
Results
Record	51–13 (.797)
Place	Division: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Finals (eliminated 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Radio	WNDR

The 1949–50 Syracuse Nationals season was the first season for the Nationals in the National Basketball Association. The Nationals had played their three previous seasons in the National Basketball League, which merged with the Basketball Association of America to form the NBA. Al Cervi, nicknamed "Digger" for his superior defensive skills, guided the team with his competitive nature while serving as a player-coach. As the Syracuse Post-Standard describes, "The Nationals shot poorly but succeeded because they played Cervi-style basketball: nasty, with an emphasis on defense."^[1] The Nationals went to the NBA Finals after beating the Philadelphia Warriors and New York Knicks, but lost to the Minneapolis Lakers in six games.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College

Roster

Syracuse Nationals 1949–50 roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. # Nat. Name Ht. Wt. From G/F 15 Cervi, Al 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) East High School (Buffalo) F 9/11 Chollet, Leroy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Canisius College G 4/9 Corley, Ray 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Georgetown G/F 7/35 Gabor, Bill 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg) Syracuse F/C 10 Hannum, Alex 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Southern California G/F 14 Levane, Andrew 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) St. John's G/F 5 Macknowsky, Johnny 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Seton Hall C 13/50 Peterson, Ed 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Cornell University F/C 6/65 Ratkovicz, George 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Lindblom High School (Chicago) F/C 4/55 Schayes, Dolph 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) New York University G/F 8/25 Seymour, Paul 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Toledo	Head coach Al Cervi (East High School (Buffalo)) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

Regular season

Standings

Eastern Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Neutral	Div
x-Syracuse Nationals	51	13	.797	–	31-1	15-12	5-0	9-1
x-New York Knicks	40	28	.588	13	19-10	18-16	3-2	20-6
x-Washington Capitols	32	36	.471	21	21-13	10-20	1-3	13-13
x-Philadelphia Warriors	26	42	.382	25	15-15	8–23	3-4	9-17
Baltimore Bullets	25	43	.368	26	16-15	8–25	1-3	8-18
Boston Celtics	22	46	.324	29	12-14	5–28	5-4	11-15

Game log

1949–50 Game Log Total: 51–13 (Home: 31–1 ; Road: 15–12 ; Neutral: 5–0)
November: 13–1 (Home: 8–0 ; Road: 3–1 ; Neutral: 2–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 1 November 3 Denver Nuggets 78–58 State Fair Coliseum 1–0 2 November 5 N Denver Nuggets 84–51 (Auburn, NY) 2–0 3 November 6 Philadelphia Warriors 82–72 State Fair Coliseum 3–0 4 November 9 Indianapolis Olympians 103–73 State Fair Coliseum 4–0 5 November 10 @ St. Louis Bombers 67–73 St. Louis Arena 4–1 6 November 12 @ Anderson Packers 84–69 Anderson High School Wigwam 5–1 7 November 13 New York Knicks 80–66 State Fair Coliseum 6–1 8 November 15 @ New York Knicks 77–74 Madison Square Garden III 7–1 9 November 17 Tri-Cities Blackhawks 79–76 State Fair Coliseum 8–1 10 November 20 Denver Nuggets 102–76 State Fair Coliseum 9–1 11 November 21 N Denver Nuggets 77–67 (Oneida, NY) 10–1 12 November 24 Anderson Packers 125–123 State Fair Coliseum 11–1 13 November 27 Waterloo Hawks 80–62 State Fair Coliseum 12–1 14 November 30 @ Boston Celtics 87–71 Boston Garden 13–1
December: 11–3 (Home: 5–0 ; Road: 5–3 ; Neutral: 1–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 15 December 4 16 December 7 17 December 8 18 December 10 19 December 11 20 December 14 21 December 15 22 December 18 23 December 20 24 December 21 25 December 22 26 December 25 27 December 28 28 December 29
January: 9–3 (Home: 7–1 ; Road: 1–2 ; Neutral: 1–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 29 January 1 30 January 5 31 January 8 32 January 10 33 January 11 34 January 12 35 January 15 36 January 19 37 January 22 38 January 26 39 January 29 40 January 30
February: 11–4 (Home: 7–0 ; Road: 3–4 ; Neutral: 1–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 41 February 1 42 February 2 43 February 3 44 February 5 45 February 8 46 February 11 47 February 12 48 February 16 49 February 19 50 February 21 51 February 23 52 February 24 53 February 26 54 February 27 55 February 28
March: 7–2 (Home: 4–0 ; Road: 3–2 ; Neutral: 0–0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 56 March 1 57 March 2 58 March 5 59 March 9 60 March 12 61 March 14 62 March 16 63 March 18 64 March 19
1949–50 Schedule

Playoffs

East Division Semifinals

• (1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (4) Philadelphia Warriors: Nationals win series 2–0
• Game 1 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 93, Philadelphia 76
• Game 2 @ Philadelphia: Syracuse 59, Philadelphia 53

East Division Finals

• Eastern Division: (1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (2) New York Knicks: Nationals win series 2–1
• Game 1 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 91, New York 83 (OT)
• Game 2 @ New York: New York 80, Syracuse 76
• Game 3 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 91, New York 80

NBA Semifinals

The Nationals had an NBA Semifinal bye.

NBA Finals

• (E1) Syracuse Nationals vs. (C1) Minneapolis Lakers: Lakers win series 4–2
• Game 1 @ Syracuse: Minneapolis 68, Syracuse 66
• Game 2 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 91, Minneapolis 85
• Game 3 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 91, Syracuse 77
• Game 4 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 77, Syracuse 69
• Game 5 @ Syracuse: Syracuse 83, Minneapolis 76
• Game 6 @ Minneapolis: Minneapolis 110, Syracuse 95

Awards and records

• Al Cervi, All-NBA Second Team
• Dolph Schayes, All-NBA Second Team

References

1. Al Cervi, Hall of Fame N.B.A. Player-Coach, Dies at 92, New York Times, November 10, 2009.