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 Jimmy Rodgers as head coach; Rodgers had been a Celtics assistant coach prior to this season.^[2][3][4][5] This year's Celtics team 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-season games before being lost to injury, averaging 19.3 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game.^{[6][7][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][14]}

1988–89 Boston Celtics season
Head coach	Jimmy Rodgers
General manager	Jan Volk
President	Red Auerbach
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.com
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 >

Without Bird, the Celtics struggled and played .500 basketball, holding a 23–23 record at the All-Star break.^[15] At midseason, the team traded Danny Ainge, and second-year forward Brad Lohaus to the Sacramento Kings in exchange for Ed Pinckney, and Joe Kleine.^{[16][17][18][19]} 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 and 40 losses this season, third in the Atlantic Division.^[20] 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 only been a minimal bench contributor in his rookie season of 1987–88, but showed a lot of improvement averaging 18.5 points and 1.5 steals per game, starting in 57 out of the 81 games he played this season; Lewis finished in second place in Most Improved Player voting.^[21][22][23] In addition, 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,^{[24][25][26][27][28]} while Robert Parish provided the team with 18.6 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team, and Dennis Johnson contributed 10.0 points, 6.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game. First round draft pick Brian Shaw provided with 8.6 points and 5.8 assists per game, and was selected to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team, and Jim Paxson also contributed 8.6 points per game off the bench.^[29] The Celtics were still dangerous at the Boston Garden, posting a 32–9 home record (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 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.^{[30][31][32][33]} 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 defending champion Los Angeles Lakers in four straight games, winning their first ever championship.^{[34][35][36][37][38]}

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. Name Height Weight DOB From C 42 Acres, Mark 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1962–11–15 Oral Roberts F 33 Bird, Larry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1956–12–07 Indiana State G 12 Birdsong, Otis 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1955–12–09 Houston G/F 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 G 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 G/F 35 Lewis, Reggie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1965–11–21 Northeastern F 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 G 4 Paxson, Jim 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1957–07–09 Dayton F 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 G 20 Shaw, Brian 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 190 lb (86 kg) 1966–03–22 UC Santa Barbara G 7 Upshaw, Kelvin 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1963–01–12 Utah

Head coach Jimmy Rodgers Assistant coach(es) 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

• Robert Parish, All-NBA Third Team
• Kevin McHale, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
• Brian Shaw, 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

References

1. 1988-89 Boston Celtics
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3. "K. C. Jones to Retire as Coach". The New York Times. Associated Press. May 4, 1988. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
4. Winderman, Ira (November 13, 1988). "Top of His Profession, Celtics Coach Jimmy Rodgers Is in a Great Place to Start". Sun Sentinel. Retrieved December 28, 2022.
5. Cart, Julie (November 25, 1988). "A Celtic Crossroad: After 16 Years as an Assistant, Rodgers Lands Job He Wanted Most". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
6. "Bird Out 3 Months for Surgery". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 18, 1988. Retrieved February 12, 2022.
7. Justice, Richard (November 18, 1988). "Bird Opts for Surgery on Heels Now". The Washington Post. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
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9. "Bird's Heel Surgery Is Successful". Los Angeles Times. November 20, 1988. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
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11. "Bird's Back, But Celtic Fans Still Have a Wait". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. February 28, 1989. Retrieved December 25, 2022.
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