1983–84 Boston Celtics season

1983–84 Boston Celtics season
Head coach	K. C. Jones
General manager	Red Auerbach
Owners	Don Gaston, Alan N. Cohen, Paul Dupee
Arena	Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record	62–20 (.756)
Place	Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finish	NBA Champions
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	SportsChannel New England, WBZ, WTXX
Radio	WRKO, WTIC

The 1983–84 Boston Celtics were champions of the National Basketball Association (NBA) led by regular season and finals MVP Larry Bird.

Offseason

NBA Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	School/Club Team
1	21	Greg Kite	Center	United States	BYU

Roster

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Robert Parish	Kevin McHale	Greg Kite
PF	Larry Bird	Scott Wedman
SF	Cedric Maxwell	M. L. Carr
SG	Dennis Johnson	Danny Ainge	Carlos Clark
PG	Gerald Henderson	Quinn Buckner

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	62	20	.756	–	33–8	29–12	13–11
x-Philadelphia 76ers	52	30	.634	10	32–9	20–21	15–9
x-New York Knicks	47	35	.573	15	29–12	18–23	12–12
x-New Jersey Nets	45	37	.549	17	29–12	16–25	12–12
x-Washington Bullets	35	47	.427	27	25–16	10–31	8–16

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Boston Celtics	62	20	.756	–
2	y-Milwaukee Bucks	50	32	.610	12
3	x-Philadelphia 76ers	52	30	.634	10
4	x-Detroit Pistons	49	33	.598	13
5	x-New York Knicks	47	35	.573	15
6	x-New Jersey Nets	45	37	.549	17
7	x-Atlanta Hawks	40	42	.488	22
8	x-Washington Bullets	35	47	.427	27
9	Cleveland Cavaliers	28	54	.341	34
10	Chicago Bulls	27	55	.329	35
11	Indiana Pacers	26	56	.317	36

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Player stats

Note: GP= Games played; REB= Rebounds; AST= Assists; STL = Steals; BLK = Blocks; PTS = Points; AVG = Scoring Average

Player	GP	REB	AST	STL	BLK	PTS	AVG
Larry Bird	79	796	520	144	69	1908	24.2
Robert Parish	80	857	139	55	116	1520	19.0
Kevin McHale	82	610	104	23	126	1511	18.4
Dennis Johnson	80	280	338	93	57	1053	13.2
Cedric Maxwell	80	461	205	63	24	955	11.9
Gerald Henderson	78	147	300	117	14	908	11.6
Danny Ainge	71	116	162	41	4	384	5.4
Scott Wedman	68	139	67	27	7	327	4.8
Quinn Buckner	79	137	214	84	3	324	4.1
M.L. Carr	60	75	49	17	4	185	3.1
Greg Kite	35	62	7	1	5	65	1.9
Carlos Clark	31	17	17	8	1	54	1.7

Playoffs

Eastern Conference First Round

Boston defeats the Washington Bullets three games to one (3-1) in a best of five series.

Eastern Conference SemiFinals

Boston defeats the New York Knicks four games to three (4-3) in a best of seven series.

Eastern Conference Finals

Boston defeats the Milwaukee Bucks four games to one (4-1) in a best of seven series.

NBA finals

Game One

The Lakers opened the series with a 115-109 victory at Boston Garden.

Game Two

In Game 2, the Lakers led 113-111 with 18 seconds left when Gerald Henderson stole a James Worthy pass to score a game tying layup and the Celtics eventually prevailed in overtime 124-121.

Game Three

In Game 3, the Lakers raced to an easy 137-104 victory as Magic Johnson dished out 21 assists. After the game, Larry Bird said his team played like "sissies" in an attempt to light a fire under his teammates.

Game Four

In Game 4, the Lakers had a five point game lead with less than a minute to play, but made several execution errors as the Celtics tied the game and then came away with a 129-125 victory in overtime. The game was also marked by Celtic forward Kevin McHale's takedown of Laker forward Kurt Rambis on a breakaway layup which triggered the physical aspect of the rivalry. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar would go after Larry Bird later on in the third quarter, and 1981 Finals MVP Cedric Maxwell further antagonized the Lakers by following a missed James Worthy free throw by crossing the lane with his hands around his own neck, symbolizing that Worthy was "choking" under pressure. Also, Bird pushed Michael Cooper to the baseline following the inbound play during the second quarter.

Game Five

In Game 5, the Celtics took a 3-2 series lead as Larry Bird scored 34 points. The game was known as the "Heat Game", as it was played under 97-degree heat, and without any air conditioning, at Boston Garden. The Celtics did not warm up with their sweat pants on because of extreme heat, and oxygen tanks were provided to give air to exhausted players.

Game Six

In Game 6, the Lakers evened the series with a 119-108 victory. In the game the Lakers answered the Celtics' rough tactics when Laker forward James Worthy shoved Cedric Maxwell into a basket support. After the game a Laker fan threw a beer at Celtics guard M.L. Carr as he left the floor, causing him to label the series "all-out-war."

Game Seven

In Game 7, the heat that was an issue in Game 5 was not so bad (indoor temperatures hovered around 91 degrees during the game, due to additional fans being brought in to try to cool the air). The Celtics were led by Cedric Maxwell who had 24 points, eight rebounds and eight assists as they came away with a 111-102 victory. In the game the Lakers rallied from a 14-point-deficit to three with one minute remaining when Cedric Maxwell knocked the ball away from Magic Johnson. Dennis Johnson responded by sinking two free throws to seal the victory. Larry Bird was named MVP of the series.

The series was the eighth time in NBA history that the Celtics and Lakers met in the NBA finals, with Boston winning each time.

Award winners

• Larry Bird, NBA Free Throw Percentage Leader (88.8%)
• Larry Bird, NBA Most Valuable Player
• Larry Bird, NBA Finals Most Valuable Player
• Larry Bird, All-NBA First Team
• Kevin McHale, Sixth Man of the Year Award

References

• Celtics on Database Basketball
• Celtics on Basketball Reference