1982–83 Boston Celtics season

The 1982–83 Boston Celtics season was the 37th season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1]

1982–83 Boston Celtics season
Head coach	Bill Fitch
General manager	Red Auerbach
Arena	Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record	56–26 (.683)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	Conference semifinals (lost to Bucks 0–4)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	PRISM New England, WBZ, WTXX
Radio	WRKO, WTIC
< 1981–82 1983–84 >

On March 30, 1983, Larry Bird scored 53 points against the Indiana Pacers, surpassing Sam Jones's Celtics single game scoring record set in 1965.^[2] The team was swept by the Milwaukee Bucks in the conference semifinals, and coach Bill Fitch left his post as head coach following the season.

Ownership also changed hands following this season, with Harry T. Mangurian Jr. putting the team up for sale due to poor relations with the arena owners.

Draft picks

Main article: 1982 NBA draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	23	Darren Tillis	C	United States	Cleveland State
9	205	Panagiotis Giannakis	PG	Greece	Ionikos Nikaias

Roster

Boston Celtics roster

• v
• t
• e

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From G 44 Danny Ainge 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) BYU G 7 Nate Archibald 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 150 lb (68 kg) UTEP F 33 Larry Bird 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Indiana State G 35 Charles Bradley 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Wyoming G 28 Quinn Buckner 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Indiana F 30 M. L. Carr 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Guilford G 43 Gerald Henderson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 175 lb (79 kg) VCU F 31 Cedric Maxwell 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Charlotte F 32 Kevin McHale 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Minnesota C 00 Robert Parish 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Centenary C 53 Rick Robey 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Kentucky F 20 Scott Wedman 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Colorado

Head coach Bill Fitch Assistant(s) K. C. Jones Jimmy Rodgers Legend (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Philadelphia 76ers	65	17	.793	–	35–6	30–11	15–9
x-Boston Celtics	56	26	.683	9	33–8	23–18	14–10
x-New Jersey Nets	49	33	.598	16	30–11	19–22	11–13
x-New York Knicks	44	38	.537	21	26–15	18–23	10–14
Washington Bullets	42	40	.512	23	27–14	15–26	10–14

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Philadelphia 76ers	65	17	.793	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	51	31	.622	14
3	x-Boston Celtics	56	26	.683	9
4	x-New Jersey Nets	49	33	.598	16
5	x-New York Knicks	44	38	.537	21
6	x-Atlanta Hawks	43	39	.524	22
7	Washington Bullets	42	40	.512	23
8	Detroit Pistons	37	45	.451	28
9	Chicago Bulls	28	54	.341	37
10	Cleveland Cavaliers	23	59	.280	42
11	Indiana Pacers	20	62	.244	45

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1982-83 NBA Records
Team	ATL	BOS	CHI	CLE	DAL	DEN	DET	GSW	HOU	IND	KCK	LAL	MIL	NJN	NYK	PHI	PHO	POR	SAS	SDC	SEA	UTA	WAS
Atlanta	—	1–5	5–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	3–3	0–2	2–0	6–0	0–2	0–2	1–4	2–4	3–2	2–4	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	4–2
Boston	5–1	—	3–2	5–1	2–0	2–0	3–3	1–1	2–0	4–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	5–1	3–3	3–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3
Chicago	1–5	2–3	—	5–1	1–1	1–1	2–4	2–0	1–1	4–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	2–4	1–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–5
Cleveland	0–6	1–5	1–5	—	2–0	0–2	1–5	2–0	2–0	5–1	1–1	0–2	1–5	0–6	1–5	0–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	3–2
Dallas	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	—	3–3	2–0	3–2	5–1	2–0	3–3	2–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	2–3	3–2	2–4	5–0	2–3	2–4	0–2
Denver	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	3–3	—	2–0	4–1	5–1	1–1	3–3	1–4	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	4–1	2–3	2–4	3–2	3–2	4–2	1–1
Detroit	3–3	3–3	4–2	5–1	0–2	0–2	—	2–0	2–0	4–2	0–2	0–2	3–3	3–2	1–5	0–6	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	3–2
Golden State	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–3	1–4	0–2	—	3–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–4	2–4	1–4	3–3	3–3	3–2	2–0
Houston	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	1–5	0–2	2–3	—	2–0	1–5	0–5	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–5	0–5	1–5	2–3	1–4	0–6	1–1
Indiana	0–6	1–4	2–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–1	0–2	—	1–1	0–2	1–5	0–6	3–3	1–4	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–5
Kansas City	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–3	3–3	2–0	4–1	5–1	1–1	—	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–4	2–3	3–3	4–1	1–4	4–2	2–0
Los Angeles	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	4–1	2–0	5–1	5–0	2–0	4–1	—	2–0	1–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	3–3	1–4	5–1	5–1	4–1	1–1
Milwaukee	4–1	3–3	5–1	5–1	2–0	0–2	3–3	1–1	2–0	5–1	1–1	0–2	—	3–2	4–2	1–5	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	3–2
New Jersey	4–2	1–5	4–2	6–0	2–0	1–1	2–3	2–0	1–1	6–0	1–1	1–1	2–3	—	4–2	3–3	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2
New York	2–3	3–3	4–1	5–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	1–1	0–2	2–4	2–4	—	1–5	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–1	4–2
Philadelphia	4–2	3–3	5–1	5–0	2–0	2–0	6–0	2–0	2–0	4–1	2–0	2–0	5–1	3–3	5–1	—	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	4–2
Phoenix	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–2	1–4	1–1	4–2	5–0	1–1	4–1	3–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	—	5–1	3–2	4–2	5–1	5–0	0–2
Portland	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–3	3–2	1–1	4–2	5–0	2–0	3–2	3–3	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–5	—	2–3	5–1	3–3	3–2	1–1
San Antonio	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	4–2	4–2	1–1	4–1	5–1	2–0	3–3	4–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–3	3–2	—	4–1	1–4	5–1	2–0
San Diego	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–5	2–3	1–1	3–3	3–2	1–1	1–4	1–5	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–4	1–5	1–4	—	0–6	2–3	0–2
Seattle	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	3–3	4–1	1–1	4–1	1–5	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	3–3	4–1	6–0	—	5–0	1–1
Utah	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	4–2	2–4	2–0	2–3	6–0	0–2	2–4	1–4	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–5	2–3	1–5	3–2	0–5	—	0–2
Washington	2–4	3–3	5–1	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–3	0–2	1–1	5–1	0–2	1–1	3–3	3–3	2–4	2–4	2–0	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	—

Game log

Regular season

1982–83 game log Total: 56–26 (home: 33–8; road: 23–18)
October: 2–0 (home: 0–0; road: 2–0) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
November: 11–3 (home: 8–2; road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
December: 9–5 (home: 5–1; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
January: 13–2 (home: 7–0; road: 6–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
February: 6–5 (home: 2–1; road: 4–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
March: 8–8 (home: 7–2; road: 1–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
April: 7–3 (home: 4–2; road: 3–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
1982–83 schedule

Playoffs

1983 playoff game log
First Round: 2–1 (home: 2–0; road: 0–1) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 19 Atlanta W 103–95 Larry Bird (26) Robert Parish (16) Tiny Archibald (11) Boston Garden 15,320 1–0 2 April 22 @ Atlanta L 93–95 Robert Parish (17) Larry Bird (16) Larry Bird (9) Omni Coliseum 10,405 1–1 3 April 24 Atlanta W 98–79 Larry Bird (26) Robert Parish (11) Larry Bird (9) Boston Garden 15,320 2–1
Conference semifinals: 0–4 (home: 0–2; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 27 Milwaukee L 95–116 Tiny Archibald (23) Parish, Maxwell (12) Tiny Archibald (7) Boston Garden 15,320 0–1 2 April 29 Milwaukee L 91–95 Danny Ainge (25) Robert Parish (10) Gerald Henderson (8) Boston Garden 15,320 0–2 3 May 1 @ Milwaukee L 99–107 Larry Bird (21) Larry Bird (14) Maxwell, Bird (6) MECCA Arena 11,052 0–3 4 May 2 @ Milwaukee L 93–107 Larry Bird (18) Larry Bird (11) Larry Bird (8) MECCA Arena 11,052 0–4
1983 schedule