1989–90 Boston Celtics season

The 1989–90 NBA season was the 44th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.[1] With Larry Bird returning after only playing just six games in the 1988–89 season due to heel injuries,[2] and with last year's first round draft pick Brian Shaw leaving the team to play in Italy,[3] the Celtics struggled around .500 during the first month of the season, but would win 11 of their next 15 games, finishing second in the Atlantic Division with a solid 52–30 record.[4] The Celtics also qualified for the playoffs for the eleventh consecutive season.[5]

1989–90 Boston Celtics season
Head coachJim Rodgers
OwnersDon Gaston
Alan N. Cohen
Paul Dupee
ArenaBoston Garden
Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record52–30 (.634)
PlaceDivision: 2nd (Atlantic)
Conference: 4th (Eastern)
Playoff finishEast First Round
(Lost to Knicks 2–3)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWLVI
(Mike Crispino, Bob Cousy)
SportsChannel New England
(Mike Gorman, Tom Heinsohn)
RadioWEEI
(Johnny Most, Glenn Ordway, Doug Brown)

Bird led the way averaging 24.3 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game, while being named to the All-NBA Second Team, while sixth man Kevin McHale averaged 20.9 points, 8.3 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game, while being named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, and Robert Parish provided the team with 15.7 points and 10.1 rebounds per game. Bird, McHale and Parish were all selected for the 1990 NBA All-Star Game.[6] In addition, Reggie Lewis contributed 17.0 points per game, and Dennis Johnson provided with 7.1 points and 6.5 assists per game.[7]

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the playoffs, the Celtics looked ready to make a serious run as they jumped out to a 2–0 series lead over the 5th-seeded New York Knicks, with a 157–128 home win in Game 2, which was a playoff record of the most points scored in a game.[8] However, they would collapse as they lost three straight games, losing 3–2 to the Knicks.[9] Following the season, Johnson retired,[10] and head coach Jim Rodgers was fired after coaching the Celtics for two seasons.[11]

Draft picks
Main article: 1989 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 13 Michael Smith SF/PF  United States Brigham Young
2 40 Dino Rađa PF  Croatia KK Jugoplastika

Roster
1989–90 Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 5 Bagley, John 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1960–04–23 Boston College
F 33 Bird, Larry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1956–12–07 Indiana State
G/F 34 Gamble, Kevin 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1965–11–13 Iowa
G 3 Johnson, Dennis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1954–09–18 Pepperdine
C 53 Kleine, Joe 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 255 lb (116 kg) 1962–01–04 Arkansas
G 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) 1953–08–30 Centenary College of Louisiana
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
G 13 Smith, Charles 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) 1967–11–29 Georgetown
F 11 Smith, Michael 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 225 lb (102 kg) 1965–05–19 BYU
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Larry Bird, the Celtics star player, was coming back after surgery to both heels the previous season and later said he never felt the same. Despite the injury, the Celtics were able to rise to 2nd place in the Atlantic Division.[12] By the end of the regular season, the Celtics had scored an average of 110 points per a game, and allowed an average of 106 points per game. During the playoffs against the Knicks that year, the Celtics quickly took the first 2 games of the series, but the New York Knicks would come back and rally to win 3 games in a row, sending the Celtics home.[4]

Season standings
Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Philadelphia 76ers 5329.646–34–719–2219–7
x-Boston Celtics 5230.634130–1122–1919–7
x-New York Knicks 4537.549829–1216–2517–9
Washington Bullets 3151.3782220–2111–3010–16
Miami Heat 1864.2203511–307–344–22
New Jersey Nets 1765.2073613–284–379–17
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Detroit Pistons5923.720–
2 y-Philadelphia 76ers5329.6466
3 x-Chicago Bulls5527.6714
4 x-Boston Celtics5230.6347
5 x-New York Knicks4537.54914
6 x-Milwaukee Bucks4438.53715
7 x-Cleveland Cavaliers4240.51217
8 x-Indiana Pacers4240.51217
9 Atlanta Hawks4141.50018
10 Washington Bullets3151.37828
11 Miami Heat1864.22041
12 Orlando Magic1864.22041
13 New Jersey Nets1765.20742

Record vs. opponents
1989-90 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHA CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIA MIL MIN NJN NYK ORL PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta –1–32–00–52–30–21–13–22–02–02–31–10–24–03–21–12–21–35–02–20–21–11–11–11–11–12–2
Boston 3–1–2–02–23–11–11–12–21–12–01–31–10–25–02–21–15–14–14–03–21–10–22–01–12–01–12–3
Charlotte 0–20–2–0–21–11–33–20–22–21–41–12–20–41–10–22–21–11–11–10–21–30–41–30–50–40–50–2
Chicago 5–02–22–0–5–02–01–11–42–01–12–31–11–14–04–12–03–13–13–22–22–01–11–11–11–10–23–1
Cleveland 3–21–31–10–5–0–20–21–41–10–23–21–11–14–03–21–14–02–24–12–21–11–12–01–11–11–13–1
Dallas 2–01–13–10–22–0–2–31–13–14–12–03–10–42–01–14–12–01–12–01–11–30–43–13–22–21–31–1
Denver 1–11–12–31–12–03–2–0–22–24–10–22–20–42–01–15–02–01–12–01–11–32–24–01–32–20–41–1
Detroit 2–32–22–04–14–11–12–0–1–11–14–11–11–13–13–22–04–04–05–01–32–01–12–01–11–11–14–0
Golden State 0–21–12–20–21–11–32–21–1–2–21–13–11–42–01–13–12–00–22–01–10–52–23–21–32–32–21–1
Houston 0–20–24–11–12–01–41–41–12–2–1–12–22–21–11–12–21–11–12–01–12–21–34–02–22–23–21–1
Indiana 3–23–11–13–22–30–22–01–41–11–1–0–20–23–13–21–14–01–34–10–41–11–11–11–11–11–13–1
L.A. Clippers 1–11–12–21–11–11–32–21–11–32–22–0–1–40–21–13–12–00–22–00–20–40–52–30–43–20–41–1
L.A. Lakers 2–02–04–01–11–14–04–01–14–12–22–04–1–2–01–14–02–02–01–11–13–12–35–02–24–02–21–1
Miami 0–40–51–10–40–40–20–21–30–21–11–32–00–2–2–21–11–41–53–10–50–20–21–10–20–21–12–3
Milwaukee 2–32–22–01–42–31–11–12–31–11–12–31–11–12–2–2–04–02–25–01–31–11–11–11–12–00–23–1
Minnesota 1–11–12–20–21–11–40–50–21–32–21–11–30–41–10–2–1–11–11–11–10–41–32–21–41–30–51–1
New Jersey 2–21–51–11–30–40–20–20–40–21–10–40–20–24–10–41–1–1–41–31–40–20–21–10–20–20–22–3
New York 3–11–41–11–32–21–11–10–42–01–13–12–00–25–12–21–14–1–2–22–31–10–22–01–11–11–15–0
Orlando 0–50–41–12–31–40–20–20–50–20–21–40–21–11–30–51–13–12–2–2–20–20–21–11–10–21–10–4
Philadelphia 2–22–32–02–22–21–11–13–11–11–14–02–01–15–03–11–14–13–22–2–1–11–11–11–11–11–15–1
Phoenix 2–01–13–10–21–13–13–10–25–02–21–14–01–32–01–14–02–01–12–01–1–2–35–00–43–23–12–0
Portland 1–12–04–01–11–14–02–21–12–23–11–15–03–22–01–13–12–02–02–01–13–2–4–03–13–22–21–1
Sacramento 1–10–23–11–10–21–30–40–22–30–41–13–20–51–11–12–21–10–21–11–10–50–4–0–42–21–31–1
San Antonio 1–11–15–01–11–12–33–11–13–12–21–14–02–22–01–14–12–01–11–11–14–01–34–0–3–13–22–0
Seattle 1–10–24–01–11–12–22–21–13–22–21–12–30–42–00–23–12–01–12–01–12–32–32–21–3–1–32–0
Utah 1–11–15–02–01–13–14–01–12–22–31–14–02–21–12–05–02–01–11–11–11–32–23–12–33–1–2–0
Washington 2–23–22–01–31–31–11–10–41–11–11–31–11–13–21–31–13–20–54–01–50–21–11–10–20–20–2—

Playoffs
1990 playoff game log
First round: 2–3 (Home: 2–1; Road: 0–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1 April 26 New York W 116–105 Larry Bird (24) Larry Bird (18) Larry Bird (10) Boston Garden
14,890		 1–0
2 April 28 New York W 157–128 Kevin McHale (31) Robert Parish (16) Larry Bird (16) Boston Garden
14,890		 2–0
3 May 2 @ New York L 99–102 Larry Bird (31) Robert Parish (10) Larry Bird (8) Madison Square Garden
18,212		 2–1
4 May 4 @ New York L 108–135 Kevin McHale (24) Larry Bird (8) Johnson, Bagley (6) Madison Square Garden
18,212		 2–2
5 May 6 New York L 114–121 Larry Bird (31) Bird, Parish (9) Dennis Johnson (10) Boston Garden
14,890		 2–3
1990 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

Larry Bird 24.5 ppg

Awards and records

See also

References
  1. "1989-90 Boston Celtics Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved Feb 9, 2021.
  2. "With Bird Walking Normally, Celtics Prepare to Walk Tall". New York Times. October 13, 1989. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  3. "SPORTS PEOPLE: BASKETBALL; Another Up-and-Comer Joins Italian Team". New York Times. August 11, 1989. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  4. "1989–90 Boston Celtics Schedule and Results". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  5. "Boston Celtics". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved January 31, 2022.
  6. "1990 NBA All-Star Game: East 130, West 113". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  7. "1989–90 Boston Celtics Roster and Stats". Basketball-Reference. Retrieved December 14, 2021.
  8. "Boston Massacre: Knicks Lose Historically". New York Times. April 29, 1990. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  9. "Breakthrough in Boston: Knicks Roll, 121-114". New York Times. May 7, 1990. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
  10. "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Johnson Not Offered Contract by Celtics". New York Times. October 2, 1990. Retrieved December 15, 2021.
  11. "Celtics Drop Rodgers as Coach After 2 Years". New York Times. May 9, 1990. Retrieved January 19, 2022.
  12. "Sports Apparel, Jerseys and Fan Gear at Fanatics.com Sports Shop". www.footballfanatics.com. Retrieved Feb 9, 2021.
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