1988–89 Boston Celtics season

The 1988–89 NBA season was the 43rd season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] This was the first season for Jimmy Rodgers as head coach; Rodgers had been a Celtics assistant coach prior to this season.^[2][3][4] The Celtics had the 24th overall pick in the 1988 NBA draft, and selected shooting guard Brian Shaw from the University of California, Santa Barbara.^[5][6][7]

1988–89 Boston Celtics season
Head coach	Jimmy Rodgers
President	Red Auerbach
General manager	Jan Volk
Owners	Don Gaston Alan N. Cohen Paul Dupee
Arena	Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record	42–40 (.512)
Place	Division: 3rd (Atlantic) Conference: 8th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	First round (lost to Pistons 0–3)
Stats at Basketball Reference
Local media
Television	WLVI (Gil Santos, Bob Cousy) SportsChannel New England (Mike Gorman, Tom Heinsohn)
Radio	WEEI (Johnny Most, Glenn Ordway)
< 1987–88 1989–90 >

This season was severely hindered by the loss of All-Star forward Larry Bird to a heel injury, which required surgery to have bone spurs removed from both heels; Bird only played just six early-regular season games for the Celtics before being lost to injury, averaging 19.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game, without any three-point field goal attempts.^[8][9][10] Initially, Bird was expected to be back in March, but it was delayed and ultimately became a season-ending injury.^[11][12][13]

Without Bird, the Celtics struggled and played .500 basketball, holding a 23–23 record at the All-Star break.^[14] At mid-season, the team traded Danny Ainge, and second-year forward Brad Lohaus to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Ed Pinckney, and Joe Kleine.^[15][16][17] The results were dramatic as the Celtics, who had averaged over 60 wins per season thus far in the 1980s, finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a mediocre 42–40 record.^[18] Coming into the season, the Celtics had been the Eastern Conference's first seed for five consecutive seasons; this season, they were the eighth seed, clinching an NBA playoff spot in the final game of the regular season.

Kevin McHale averaged 22.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game in Houston, Texas,^[19][20][21] while Robert Parish averaged 18.6 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and second-year guard Reggie Lewis showed improvement becoming the Celtics' starting small forward in Bird's absence, as he provided the team with 18.5 points and 1.5 steals per game. In addition, Dennis Johnson contributed 10.0 points, 6.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game, while Shaw provided with 8.6 points and 5.8 assists per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and Jim Paxson also contributed 8.6 points per game off the bench.^[22]

Parish also finished tied in eleventh place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[23][24] and Lewis finished in second place in Most Improved Player voting.^[25][24] The Celtics were still dangerous at the Boston Garden, posting a 32–9 home record, but struggled on the road, failing to record a road win over a team above .500 in winning percentage.

In the 1989 NBA playoffs, the Celtics faced off against the Detroit Pistons for the fourth time in five seasons, but this time much earlier, in the Eastern Conference 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.^[26][27][28] This was the first time since 1956 that the Celtics lost their opening round playoff series; the Celtics had won their previous 28 opening round playoff series dating back to 1957.

The Pistons would reach the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year, and defeat the 2-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in four straight games, winning their first ever NBA championship.^[29][30][31]

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

1988–89 Boston Celtics roster

Players

Coaches

Pos. No. Player Height Weight DOB From C 42 Mark Acres 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1962–11–15 Oral Roberts F 33 Larry Bird 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1956–12–07 Indiana State G 12 Otis Birdsong 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1955–12–09 Houston G/F 34 Kevin Gamble 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1965–11–13 Iowa PF 31 Ron Grandison 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 215 lb (98 kg) 1964–07–06 New Orleans G 3 Dennis Johnson 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1954–09–08 Pepperdine C 53 Joe Kleine 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1962–01–04 Arkansas G/F 35 Reggie Lewis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1965–11–21 Northeastern F 32 Kevin McHale 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957–12–19 Minnesota C 00 Robert Parish 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1953–09–30 Centenary G 4 Jim Paxson 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1957–07–09 Dayton F 54 Ed Pinckney 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1963–03–27 Villanova C 45 Ramón Rivas 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 260 lb (118 kg) 1966–06–03 Temple G 20 Brian Shaw 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–03–22 UC Santa Barbara G 7 Kelvin Upshaw 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1963–01–12 Utah

Head coach Jimmy Rodgers Assistant(s) Chris Ford Lanny Van Eman Legend (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 v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-New York Knicks	52	30	.634	–	35–6	17–24	18–12
x-Philadelphia 76ers	46	36	.561	6	30–11	16–25	19–11
x-Boston Celtics	42	40	.512	10	32–9	10–31	19–11
Washington Bullets	40	42	.488	12	30–11	10–31	17–13
New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	26	17–24	9–32	9–21
Charlotte Hornets	20	62	.244	32	12–29	8–33	8–22

#	Eastern Conference v t e
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Detroit Pistons	63	19	.768	–
2	y-New York Knicks	52	30	.634	11
3	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	57	25	.695	6
4	x-Atlanta Hawks	52	30	.634	11
5	x-Milwaukee Bucks	49	33	.598	14
6	x-Chicago Bulls	47	35	.573	16
7	x-Philadelphia 76ers	46	36	.561	17
8	x-Boston Celtics	42	40	.512	21
9	Washington Bullets	40	42	.488	23
10	Indiana Pacers	28	54	.341	35
11	New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	37
12	Charlotte Hornets	20	62	.244	43

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	–	3–1	4–1	4–2	4–2	1–1	0–2	1–5	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	6–0	4–1	2–2	2–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Boston	1–3	–	6–0	1–3	1–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	1–1	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	5–1	3–3	3–3	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–4
Charlotte	1–4	0–6	–	1–4	0–4	0–2	0–2	0–4	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–4	2–4	2–4	3–3	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–5
Chicago	2–4	3–1	4–1	–	0–6	2–0	1–1	0–6	1–1	1–1	4–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	6–0	2–2	3–2	1–3	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	0–2	3–1
Cleveland	2–4	4–1	4–0	6–0	–	2–0	2–0	3–3	1–1	1–1	5–1	1–1	0–2	2–0	3–3	4–0	2–2	3–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2
Dallas	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	–	3–3	0–2	1–3	1–5	1–1	3–1	0–4	6–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–2	2–2	5–1	2–2	4–2	1–1
Denver	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–3	–	1–1	3–1	4–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	5–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	3–1	3–3	2–2	3–3	1–1
Detroit	5–1	3–1	4–0	6–0	3–3	2–0	1–1	–	1–1	1–1	4–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–4	4–0	0–4	5–0	2–0	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	2–0	5–0
Golden State	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–3	1–1	–	1–3	1–1	5–1	2–3	4–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	1–1	2–4	2–4	2–3	3–1	2–4	2–2	1–1
Houston	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	5–1	2–4	1–1	3–1	–	2–0	2–2	1–3	4–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	1–3	3–1	2–2	6–0	2–2	2–4	0–2
Indiana	1–5	3–2	2–2	2–4	1–5	1–1	1–1	2–4	1–1	0–2	–	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–4	1–3	0–5	0–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–3
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–5	2–2	1–1	–	1–5	1–3	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–5	1–5	2–3	3–1	1–4	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	4–0	3–1	0–2	3–2	3–1	2–0	5–1	–	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–3	5–0	5–1	3–1	4–2	1–3	1–1
Miami	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–6	1–5	0–2	0–4	2–4	1–1	3–1	0–4	–	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–4	0–4	1–3	2–4	0–4	1–5	0–2
Milwaukee	0–6	2–2	4–0	0–6	3–3	2–0	2–0	4–2	2–0	1–1	4–2	2–0	1–1	2–0	–	4–1	1–3	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–1
New Jersey	1–4	1–5	4–2	2–2	0–4	1–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	0–2	3–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–4	–	2–4	1–5	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–5
New York	2–2	3–3	4–2	2–3	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	0–2	2–0	5–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	3–1	4–2	–	2–4	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	5–1
Philadelphia	2–2	3–3	3–3	3–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	0–5	1–1	2–0	4–0	2–0	0–2	2–0	1–3	5–1	4–2	–	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	4–2
Phoenix	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	0–2	3–1	3–1	0–2	4–2	3–1	1–1	5–1	3–3	4–0	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	–	2–3	5–1	3–1	4–1	2–2	2–0
Portland	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–2	1–1	4–2	1–3	0–2	5–1	0–5	4–0	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	3–2	–	3–3	4–0	2–4	0–4	1–1
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	1–3	0–2	3–2	2–2	1–1	3–2	1–5	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–5	3–3	–	2–2	1–5	1–3	0–2
San Antonio	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–5	3–3	0–2	1–3	0–6	0–2	1–3	1–3	4–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–3	0–4	2–2	–	0–4	1–5	1–1
Seattle	1–1	2–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	2–2	2–2	0–2	4–2	2–2	1–1	4–1	2–4	4–0	1–1	0–2	1–1	1–1	1–4	4–2	5–1	4–0	–	3–1	1–1
Utah	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–4	3–3	0–2	2–2	4–2	1–1	3–1	3–1	5–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	3–1	5–1	1–3	–	2–0
Washington	1–3	4–2	5–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	1–1	0–5	1–1	2–0	3–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–4	5–1	1–5	2–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	0–2	—

Game log

Regular season

1988–89 game log Total: 42–40 (home: 32–9; Away: 10–31)
November: 8–7 (home: 6–3; road: 2–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
December: 5–7 (home: 4–2; road: 1–5) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
January: 7–8 (home: 6–2; road: 1–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
February: 6–7 (home: 3–1; road: 3–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
March: 11–4 (home: 10–0; road: 1–4) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
April: 5–7 (home: 3–1; road: 2–6) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record
1988–89 schedule

Playoffs

1989 playoff game log
First round: 0–3 (home: 0–1; road: 0–2) Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Series 1 April 28 @ Detroit L 91–101 Kevin McHale (27) Robert Parish (12) Brian Shaw (8) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 0–1 2 April 30 @ Detroit L 95–102 Reggie Lewis (21) Kevin McHale (11) Lewis, Johnson (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454 0–2 3 May 2 Detroit L 85–100 Reggie Lewis (20) Joe Kleine (11) Brian Shaw (7) Boston Garden 14,890 0–3
1989 schedule

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

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

• The Celtics would win the 1988 McDonald's Open after winning games against the Yugoslavia national basketball team and Spain's Real Madrid Baloncesto.

Season

• Robert Parish was named to the All-NBA Third Team
• Kevin McHale was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Brian Shaw was named to the NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team

Transactions

February 23, 1989: Danny Ainge was traded with Brad Lohaus to Sacramento Kings for Joe Kleine & Ed Pinckney

See also

• 1988–89 NBA season