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1971–72 Boston Celtics season

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1971–72 Boston Celtics season
Division champions
Head coachTom Heinsohn
General managerRed Auerbach
ArenaBoston Garden
Results
Record56–26 (.683)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishConference finals
(lost to Knicks 1–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWSMW-TV
RadioWBZ
< 1970–71 1972–73 >

The 1971–72 NBA season was the Celtics' 26th season in the NBA.[1] The Celtics qualified for the playoffs for the first time in 3 seasons, and won the Atlantic Division for the 1st time in franchise history. The Celtics had the fifth best team defensive rating and the fifth best team offensive rating in the NBA.

Tom Heinsohn, a Celtics legend as a player, led the club in his third season as head coach. The team made its first postseason without Bill Russell since 1956, and would advance to their first conference finals before falling to the eventual runners-up and rivals New York Knicks in a five-game series.

Draft picks

[edit]
Main article: 1971 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 10 Clarence Glover SF  United States Western Kentucky
2 28 Jim Rose PG/SG  United States Western Kentucky
3 44 Dave Robisch C/PF  United States Kansas
4 61 Randy Denton C  United States Duke
6 95 Thorpe Weber F  United States Vanderbilt
7 112 Skip Young G  United States Florida State
8 129 John Ribock F  United States South Carolina
9 145 Ray Greene G  United States California (Pennsylvania)
10 161 Dale Dover G  United States Harvard
11 161 Reggie Brooks F  United States Southern New Hampshire
12 189 John Dalton G  United States Suffolk
13 201 Leroy Chalk F  United States Nebraska

Roster

[edit]
Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB From
SG 12 Chaney, Don 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Houston
F/C 18 Cowens, Dave 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Florida State
C 29 Finkel, Henry 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Dayton
G/F 17 Havlicek, John 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 203 lb (92 kg) Ohio State
F/C 11 Kuberski, Steve 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Bradley
G 20 Morgan, Rex 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Jacksonville
F 19 Nelson, Don 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Iowa
C 33 Smith, Garfield 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Eastern Kentucky
G 10 White, Jo Jo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Kansas
SF 16 Sanders, Satch 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) NYU
G 7 Williams, Art 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Cal Poly Pomona
Head coach
Legend
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season

[edit]
Atlantic Division
 W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Boston Celtics 56 26 .683 – 32–9 21–16 3–1 15–3
x-New York Knicks 48 34 .585 8 27–14 20–19 1–1 11–7
Philadelphia 76ers 30 52 .366 26 14–23 14–26 2–3 6–12
Buffalo Braves 22 60 .268 34 13–27 8–31 1–2 4–14
#
Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-Boston Celtics 56 26 .683
2 y-Baltimore Bullets 38 44 .463
3 x-New York Knicks 48 34 .585
4 x-Atlanta Hawks 36 46 .439
5 Philadelphia 76ers 30 52 .366
5 Cincinnati Royals 30 52 .366
7 Cleveland Cavaliers 23 59 .280
8 Buffalo Braves 22 60 .268
z = clinched division title
y = clinched division title
x = clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

[edit]
1971–72 NBA Records
Team ATL BAL BOS BUF CHI CIN CLE DET GSW HOU LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SEA
Atlanta — 2–4 0–4 4–2 0–5 3–3 4–2 3–2 3–2 1–4 0–5 2–3 3–1 3–3 3–2 4–0 1–4
Baltimore 4–2 — 2–2 3–3 1–4 4–2 1–5 3–2 1–4 3–2 1–4 0–5 2–4 4–0 4–1 3–1 2–3
Boston 4–0 2–2 — 6–0 3–2 4–2 5–1 5–0 2–3 5–0 1–4 2–3 3–3 6–0 2–3 4–0 2–3
Buffalo 2–4 3–3 0–6 — 1–3 3–3 4–2 2–4 1–3 0–4 0–4 0–4 1–5 3–3 0–4 2–4 0–4
Chicago 5–0 4–1 2–3 3–1 — 3–1 4–0 5–1 3–3 5–1 1–3 2–4 3–2 4–1 5–1 6–0 2–3
Cincinnati 3–3 2–4 2–4 3–3 1–3 — 6–2 2–3 2–3 0–4 1–4 0–5 2–2 2–2 2–3 2–2 0–5
Cleveland 2–4 5–1 1–5 2–4 0–4 2–6 — 1–3 0–4 2–2 1–3 0–4 1–5 2–4 0–4 4–2 0–4
Detroit 2–3 2–3 0–5 4–2 1–5 3–2 3–1 — 0–5 3–3 1–4 1–5 1–4 1–4 2–4 2–2 0–4
Golden State 2–3 4–1 3–2 3–1 3–3 3–2 4–0 5–0 — 5–1 1–5 2–2 2–3 4–1 2–3 4–2 4–2
Houston 4–1 2–3 0–5 4–0 1–5 4–0 2–2 3–3 1–5 — 1–5 0–5 0–5 4–1 1–3 4–2 3–3
Los Angeles 5–0 4–1 4–1 4–0 3–1 4–1 3–1 4–1 5–1 5–1 — 4–1 4–1 5–0 4–2 6–0 5–1
Milwaukee 3–2 5–0 3–2 4–0 4–2 5–0 4–0 5–1 2–2 5–0 1–4 — 2–3 4–1 4–2 6–0 6–0
New York 1–3 4–2 3–3 5–1 2–3 2–2 5–1 4–1 3–2 5–0 1–4 3–2 — 3–3 1–4 3–1 3–2
Philadelphia 3–3 0–4 0–6 3–3 1–4 2–2 4–2 4–1 1–4 1–4 0–5 1–4 3–3 — 1–4 2–2 4–1
Phoenix 2–3 1–4 3–2 4–0 1–5 3–2 4–0 4–2 3–2 3–1 2–4 2–4 4–1 4–1 — 6–0 3–2
Portland 0–4 1–3 0–4 4–2 0–6 2–2 2–4 2–2 2–4 2–4 0–6 0–6 1–3 2–2 0–6 — 0–6
Seattle 4–1 3–2 3–2 4–0 3–2 5–0 4–0 4–0 2–4 3–3 1–5 0–6 2–3 1–4 2–3 6–0 —

Game log

[edit]
1971–72 game log
# Date Opponent Score High points Record
1 October 15 Golden State 97–75 Jo Jo White (22) 0–1
2 October 19 Baltimore 114–134 Jo Jo White (26) 1–1
3 October 22 @ Atlanta 115–108 Jo Jo White (34) 2–1
4 October 23 @ Buffalo 103–98 John Havlicek (34) 3–1
5 October 25 Atlanta 116–136 Dave Cowens (27) 4–1
6 October 26 @ New York 101–106 Jo Jo White (29) 4–2
7 October 27 Houston 97–108 Jo Jo White (31) 5–2
8 October 29 Milwaukee 114–125 Dave Cowens (37) 6–2
9 November 5 Detroit 102–103 Jo Jo White (29) 7–2
10 November 6 Portland 109–124 John Havlicek (32) 8–2
11 November 8 N Cincinnati 109–120 Dave Cowens (30) 9–2
12 November 10 @ Houston 142–103 Dave Cowens (29) 10–2
13 November 12 @ Phoenix 119–128 John Havlicek (26) 10–3
14 November 13 @ Seattle 112–116 John Havlicek (30) 10–4
15 November 14 @ Los Angeles 115–128 Jo Jo White (36) 10–5
16 November 17 Phoenix 121–140 John Havlicek (32) 11–5
17 November 19 Cincinnati 110–106 John Havlicek (29) 11–6
18 November 20 @ Chicago 106–123 John Havlicek (30) 11–7
19 November 21 @ Cleveland 128–105 John Havlicek (36) 12–7
20 November 24 Buffalo 100–108 John Havlicek (33) 13–7
21 November 26 New York 104–89 John Havlicek (28) 13–8
22 November 27 N Baltimore 120–125 John Havlicek (29) 13–9
23 November 28 Atlanta 108–130 Jo Jo White (25) 14–9
24 December 1 Los Angeles 124–111 John Havlicek (36) 14–10
25 December 4 Houston 107–117 John Havlicek (38) 15–10
26 December 7 @ New York 105–97 Jo Jo White (26) 16–10
27 December 8 Cleveland 107–126 John Havlicek (28) 17–10
28 December 10 @ Milwaukee 104–120 John Havlicek (32) 17–11
29 December 11 Chicago 115–99 John Havlicek (24) 17–12
30 December 12 @ Cincinnati 96–83 John Havlicek (28) 18–12
31 December 14 @ Chicago 116–108 John Havlicek (35) 19–12
32 December 15 Seattle 100–112 Chaney, White (22) 20–12
33 December 17 @ Cleveland 115–109 John Havlicek (25) 21–12
34 December 18 Buffalo 91–124 John Havlicek (30) 22–12
35 December 22 N Milwaukee 98–104 John Havlicek (26) 23–12
36 December 25 @ Cincinnati 99–94 Jo Jo White (30) 24–12
37 December 27 Golden State 97–99 John Havlicek (28) 25–12
38 December 28 @ Philadelphia 120–116 John Havlicek (36) 26–12
39 December 31 Philadelphia 119–131 John Havlicek (30) 27–12
40 January 1 @ Phoenix 104–114 John Havlicek (24) 27–13
41 January 2 @ Los Angeles 113–122 Cowens, Havlicek (29) 27–14
42 January 5 @ Houston 113–105 Jo Jo White (30) 28–14
43 January 7 @ Portland 120–114 John Havlicek (37) 29–14
44 January 8 @ Golden State 106–128 John Havlicek (28) 29–15
45 January 9 @ Seattle 119–125 Jo Jo White (32) 29–16
46 January 12 Chicago 112–113 Jo Jo White (31) 30–16
47 January 14 Detroit 94–108 Dave Cowens (26) 31–16
48 January 15 @ Atlanta 122–106 John Havlicek (40) 32–16
49 January 21 Houston 105–110 Havlicek, White (28) 33–16
50 January 23 Portland 105–115 Dave Cowens (26) 34–16
51 January 25 @ New York 106–109 Jo Jo White (33) 34–17
52 January 26 Cleveland 112–108 John Havlicek (27) 34–18
53 January 28 New York 116–122 (OT) John Havlicek (33) 35–18
54 January 29 @ Detroit 124–112 Don Chaney (29) 36–18
55 January 30 Philadelphia 114–130 John Havlicek (33) 37–18
56 February 1 @ Baltimore 115–108 Dave Cowens (32) 38–18
57 February 2 Chicago 100–124 John Havlicek (32) 39–18
58 February 4 Cincinnati 109–122 Cowens, Nelson, White (21) 40–18
59 February 6 Seattle 123–128 John Havlicek (42) 41–18
60 February 9 Buffalo 112–139 Jo Jo White (24) 42–18
61 February 11 Los Angeles 108–121 Don Nelson (24) 43–18
62 February 13 Milwaukee 117–109 Jo Jo White (31) 43–19
63 February 15 @ Portland 111–104 John Havlicek (31) 44–19
64 February 16 @ Seattle 112–113 Dave Cowens (29) 44–20
65 February 18 @ Phoenix 115–126 John Havlicek (27) 44–21
66 February 19 @ Golden State 111–115 Havlicek, White (26) 44–22
67 February 20 @ Los Angeles 113–132 John Havlicek (27) 44–23
68 February 22 Phoenix 103–114 John Havlicek (27) 45–23
69 February 23 @ Cleveland 113–111 John Havlicek (33) 46–23
70 February 25 @ Buffalo 117–115 John Havlicek (33) 47–23
71 March 1 Cleveland 105–115 John Havlicek (31) 48–23
72 March 3 @ Detroit 125–96 Dave Cowens (22) 49–23
73 March 5 Cincinnati 125–114 John Havlicek (29) 49–24
74 March 6 @ Milwaukee 127–132 (OT) John Havlicek (34) 49–25
75 March 12 New York 109–112 John Havlicek (41) 50–25
76 March 14 Golden State 110–124 John Havlicek (38) 51–25
77 March 15 @ Philadelphia 120–115 John Havlicek (36) 52–25
78 March 17 N Philadelphia 111–127 John Havlicek (35) 53–25
79 March 19 Baltimore 125–112 John Havlicek (26) 53–26
80 March 22 Philadelphia 106–113 John Havlicek (21) 54–26
81 March 25 @ Buffalo 121–116 John Havlicek (31) 55–26
82 March 26 Detroit 120–133 John Havlicek (27) 56–26

Playoffs

[edit]
1972 playoff game log
Conference semifinals: 4–2 (home: 3–0; road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 March 29 Atlanta W 126–108 John Havlicek (32) Dave Cowens (16) John Havlicek (10) Boston Garden
12,815 		1–0
2 March 31 @ Atlanta L 104–113 John Havlicek (43) Dave Cowens (12) John Havlicek (4) Alexander Memorial Coliseum
6,955 		1–1
3 April 2 Atlanta W 136–113 John Havlicek (31) Cowens, Finkel (11) Jo Jo White (11) Boston Garden
12,094 		2–1
4 April 4 @ Atlanta L 110–112 Jo Jo White (32) Steve Kuberski (13) John Havlicek (5) Alexander Memorial Coliseum
7,192 		2–2
5 April 7 Atlanta W 124–114 John Havlicek (27) Dave Cowens (12) John Havlicek (9) Boston Garden
15,315 		3–2
6 April 9 @ Atlanta W 127–118 Havlicek, Cowens (26) Dave Cowens (20) Jo Jo White (9) Alexander Memorial Coliseum
7,192 		4–2
Conference finals: 1–4 (home: 1–2; road: 0–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 13 New York L 94–116 Jo Jo White (19) Dave Cowens (15) Jo Jo White (5) Boston Garden
14,292 		0–1
2 April 16 @ New York L 105–106 John Havlicek (29) Dave Cowens (18) John Havlicek (6) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		0–2
3 April 19 New York W 115–109 Jo Jo White (29) Dave Cowens (16) John Havlicek (11) Boston Garden
15,315 		1–2
4 April 21 @ New York L 98–116 John Havlicek (27) Havlicek, Nelson (9) John Havlicek (6) Madison Square Garden
19,588 		1–3
5 April 23 New York L 103–111 John Havlicek (32) Dave Cowens (15) Jo Jo White (9) Boston Garden
15,315 		1–4
1972 schedule

Awards and records

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References

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  1. ^ 1971–72 Boston Celtics
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