1988–89 Boston Celtics season

The 1988–89 Boston Celtics season was the 43rd season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA).[1] This was the first season for Jim Rodgers as head coach. Rodgers had been a Celtics assistant coach prior to this season. This year's Celtics team was severely hindered by the loss of star forward Larry Bird to a heel injury which required surgery. Bird played only six early-season games before being lost to injury. Initially, Bird was expected back in March, but it was delayed and ultimately became a season-ending injury. The results were dramatic as the Celtics, who had averaged over 60 wins per season thus far in the 1980s, fell to just 42 wins in this season. Coming into the season, the Celtics had been the Eastern Conference's #1 seed five years in a row. This season they were the #8 seed, clinching a playoff spot in the season's final game. This season included some bright spots, particularly the emergence of second-year guard Reggie Lewis, who had been only a minimal bench contributor in his rookie season of 1987-88, but averaged nearly 20 points per game as a starter in 1988-89.

1988–89 Boston Celtics season
Head coachJim Rodgers
OwnersDon Gaston
Alan N. Cohen
Paul Dupee
ArenaBoston Garden
Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record42–40 (.512)
PlaceDivision: 3rd (Atlantic)
Conference: 8th (Eastern)
Playoff finishEast First Round
(Lost to Pistons 0–3)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWLVI
(Gil Santos, Bob Cousy)
SportsChannel New England
(Mike Gorman, Tom Heinsohn)
RadioWEEI
(Johnny Most, Glenn Ordway)

The Celtics were still dangerous at Boston Garden (defeating both the Lakers and Pistons) but struggled mightily away from home, failing to record a road win over a team with a winning record.

The Celtics faced the Detroit Pistons in the postseason for the 4th time in 5 seasons, but this time much earlier, in the first round. The Pistons were heavily favored but hope arose for a competitive series when the Celtics activated Bird for their playoff roster. However, Bird never suited for a game and the Pistons easily dispatched the Celtics in a three-game sweep.

Draft picks
Main article: 1988 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 24 Brian Shaw SG  United States UCSB
3 74 Gerald Paddio SF/SG  United States UNLV

Roster
Roster listing
Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
C 42 Acres, Mark 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1962–11–15 Oral Roberts
SF 33 Bird, Larry  6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1956–12–07 Indiana State
SG 12 Birdsong, Otis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1955–12–09 Houston
SF 34 Gamble, Kevin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1965–11–13 Iowa
PF 31 Grandison, Ron 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1964–07–06 New Orleans
PG 3 Johnson, Dennis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1954–09–08 Pepperdine
C 53 Kleine, Joe 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1962–01–04 Arkansas
SF 35 Lewis, Reggie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1965–11–21 Northeastern
PF 32 McHale, Kevin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957–12–19 Minnesota
C 00 Parish, Robert 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1953-09-30 Centenary College of Louisiana
PG 4 Paxson, Jim 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1957-07-09 Dayton
PF 54 Pinckney, Ed 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1963-03-27 Villanova
C 45 Rivas, Ramón 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1966-06-03 Temple
SG 20 Shaw, Brian 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966-03-22 UC Santa Barbara
SG 7 Upshaw, Kelvin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1963-01-12 Utah
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster Notes
  • Small forward Larry Bird played 6 games but missed the majority of the season after undergoing surgery to remove bone spurs from both of his heels.

Regular season

Season standings
Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-New York Knicks 5230.634–35–617–2418–12
x-Philadelphia 76ers 4636.561630–1116–2519–11
x-Boston Celtics 4240.5121032–910–3119–11
Washington Bullets 4042.4881230–1110–3117–13
New Jersey Nets 2656.3172617–249–329–21
Charlotte Hornets 2062.2443212–298–338–22
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 z-Detroit Pistons6319.768–
2 y-New York Knicks5230.63411
3 x-Cleveland Cavaliers5725.6956
4 x-Atlanta Hawks5230.63411
5 x-Milwaukee Bucks4933.59814
6 x-Chicago Bulls4735.57316
7 x-Philadelphia 76ers4636.56117
8 x-Boston Celtics4240.51221
9 Washington Bullets4042.48823
10 Indiana Pacers2854.34135
11 New Jersey Nets2656.31737
12 Charlotte Hornets2062.24443

Record vs. opponents
1988-89 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —3–14–14–24–21–10–21–51–11–15–12–01–11–16–04–12–22–21–11–12–01–11–11–13–1
Boston 1–3—6–01–31–41–11–11–31–11–12–32–01–12–02–25–13–33–30–21–12–02–00–21–12–4
Charlotte 1–40–6—1–40–40–20–20–40–20–22–22–00–21–10–42–42–43–30–20–21–12–01–11–11–5
Chicago 2–43–14–1—0–62–01–10–61–11–14–21–12–02–06–02–23–21–31–12–02–02–02–00–23–1
Cleveland 2–44–14–06–0—2–02–03–31–11–15–11–10–22–03–34–02–23–22–02–02–02–01–11–12–2
Dallas 1–11–12–00–20–2—3–30–21–31–51–13–10–46–00–21–10–21–11–32–22–25–12–24–21–1
Denver 2–01–12–01–10–23–3—1–13–14–21–12–21–35–10–21–11–11–11–32–23–13–32–23–31–1
Detroit 5–13–14–06–03–32–01–1—1–11–14–22–02–02–02–44–00–45–02–01–12–02–02–02–05–0
Golden State 1–11–12–01–11–13–11–31–1—1–31–15–12–34–00–22–02–01–12–42–42–33–12–42–21–1
Houston 1–11–12–01–11–15–12–41–13–1—2–02–21–34–21–12–00–20–21–33–12–26–02–22–40–2
Indiana 1–53–22–22–41–51–11–12–41–10–2—1–10–21–12–41–30–50–41–12–01–12–01–11–11–3
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–21–11–11–32–20–21–52–21–1—1–51–30–21–10–20–21–51–52–33–11–41–30–2
L.A. Lakers 1–11–12–00–22–04–03–10–23–23–12–05–1—4–01–11–11–12–03–35–05–13–14–21–31–1
Miami 1–10–21–10–20–20–61–50–20–42–41–13–10–4—0–21–11–10–20–40–41–32–40–41–50–2
Milwaukee 0–62–24–00–63–32–02–04–22–01–14–22–01–12–0—4–11–33–11–12–02–01–11–11–14–1
New Jersey 1–41–54–22–20–41–11–10–40–20–23–11–11–11–11–4—2–41–51–10–21–11–12–00–21–5
New York 2–23–34–22–32–22–01–14–00–22–05–02–01–11–13–14–2—2–41–12–01–11–11–11–15–1
Philadelphia 2–23–33–33–12–31–11–10–51–12–04–02–00–22–01–35–14–2—0–21–12–01–11–11–14–2
Phoenix 1–12–02–01–10–23–13–10–24–23–11–15–13–34–01–11–11–12–0—2–35–13–14–12–22–0
Portland 1–11–12–00–20–22–22–21–14–21–30–25–10–54–00–22–00–21–13–2—3–34–02–40–41–1
Sacramento 0–20–21–10–20–22–21–30–23–22–21–13–21–53–10–21–11–10–21–53–3—2–21–51–30–2
San Antonio 1–10–20–20–20–21–53–30–21–30–60–21–31–34–21–11–11–11–11–30–42–2—0–41–51–1
Seattle 1–12–01–10–21–12–22–20–24–22–21–14–12–44–01–10–21–11–11–44–25–14–0—3–11–1
Utah 1–11–11–12–01–12–43–30–22–24–21–13–13–15–11–12–01–11–12–24–03–15–11–3—2–0
Washington 1–34–25–11–32–21–11–10–51–12–03–12–01–12–01–45–11–52–40–21–12–01–11–10–2—

Playoffs

East First Round

(1) Detroit Pistons vs. (8) Boston Celtics: Pistons win series 3-0

Last Playoff Meeting: 1988 Eastern Conference Finals (Detroit won 4-2)

Player statistics
Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field-goal percentage  3P%  3-point field-goal percentage  FT%  Free-throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game

Awards and records

See also

References
  1. 1988-89 Boston Celtics
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