1988–89 Boston Celtics season

The 1988–89 Boston Celtics season was the 43rd season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] After the resignation of K.C. Jones, the Celtics hired assistant coach Jimmy Rodgers as their new head coach.^[2][3][4] The team 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]

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]

Under Rodgers and without Bird, along with the addition of Shaw, the Celtics struggled and played around .500 in winning percentage, 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 finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a mediocre 42–40 record, and earned the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference, clinching an NBA playoff spot in the final game of the regular season.^[18] Before this season, the Celtics averaged over 60 wins per season thus far in the 1980s, and had been the Eastern Conference's first seed for five consecutive seasons.

Kevin McHale averaged 22.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per game, and was named to the NBA All-Defensive Second Team, 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, Pinckney provided with 10.1 points and 5.1 rebounds per game in 29 games after the trade, while Dennis Johnson contributed 10.0 points, 6.6 assists and 1.3 steals per game, and Shaw averaged 8.6 points and 5.8 assists per game, and was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team. Meanwhile, Jim Paxson contributed 8.6 points per game, and Kleine averaged 6.1 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 28 games.^[19]

During the NBA All-Star weekend at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas, McHale was selected for the 1989 NBA All-Star Game, as a member of the Eastern Conference All-Star team,^[20][21][22] while before the mid-season trade, Ainge participated in the NBA Three-Point Shootout.^[23][24] Parish finished tied in eleventh place in Most Valuable Player voting,^[25][26] while Lewis finished in second place in Most Improved Player voting, behind Kevin Johnson of the Phoenix Suns.^[27][26] The Celtics posted a successful 32–9 home record at the Boston Garden, but struggled on the road, failing to record a road win over a team above .500 in winning percentage.

In the Eastern Conference First Round of the 1989 NBA playoffs, and for the third consecutive year, and the fourth time in five seasons, the Celtics faced off against the top–seeded, and Central Division champion Detroit Pistons, who were led by the trio of All-Star guard Isiah Thomas, Joe Dumars and Bill Laimbeer. 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 up for a game, as the Celtics lost the first two games to the Pistons on the road at The Palace of Auburn Hills, before losing Game 3 at home, 100–85 at the Boston Garden, thus losing the series in a three-game sweep.^[28][29][30] 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 advance to the NBA Finals for the second consecutive year, and defeat the 2-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers in a four-game sweep in the 1989 NBA Finals, winning their first ever NBA championship.^[31][32][33] The Celtics finished 13th in the NBA in home-game attendance, with an attendance of 611,537 at the Boston Garden during the regular season.^[19][34]