1990–91 Boston Celtics season

1990–91 Boston Celtics season
1990–91 Boston Celtics season
Division champions
Head coach	Chris Ford
Owners	Don Gaston; Alan N. Cohen; Paul Dupee
Arena	Boston Garden; Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record	56–26 (.683)
Place	Division: 1st (Atlantic); Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Conference Semifinals; (Lost to Pistons 2-4)
	Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	WFXT; (Tom Heinsohn, Bob Cousy); SportsChannel New England; (Mike Gorman, Tom Heinsohn)
Radio	WEEI; (Glenn Ordway, Doug Brown)
< 1989–90	1991–92 >

The 1990–91 NBA season was the 45th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] After failing to advance past the first round in the two previous seasons, it appeared going into the 1990–91 season that the Celtics were fading as NBA title contenders. However, the Celtics burst to a 29–5 start reminiscent of their title years of the 1980s and once again established themselves as contenders. Besides general team improvement (and perhaps the chemistry employed by new head coach Chris Ford), the Celtics were helped by the return of 1988 first round draft pick Brian Shaw (who had played in Italy in the 89–90 season). Beginning in January, Larry Bird began to miss significant playing time due to back injuries (Bird would miss 22 regular season games) and the team struggled in his absence.^[2] The team limped to the finish, losing 6 of their final 8 games to finish at 56–26 (still good for the Atlantic Division title and #2 seed in the East). Rookie Dee Brown won the Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star Weekend in Charlotte.

In the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics survived a scare from the 7th-seeded Indiana Pacers, going the full five games before winning a classic finale (in which Bird went to the locker room during the game with injury, only to return and finish with 32 points).^[3] In the eastern semis, the Celtics held home court advantage against the 2-time defending NBA Champion Detroit Pistons, but Bird missed Game 1 with injury and the Pistons took the game at Boston Garden. Bird returned for the remainder of the series and the Celtics rallied to win Games 2 and 3 (Game 3 a blowout win in Detroit), but Detroit won 3 in a row afterwards to take the series.^[4]

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	19	Dee Brown	SG/PG	United States	Jacksonville

Roster

Players

Coaches

Pos.	No.	Height	Weight	DOB
PF	33	Bird, Larry	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	Indiana State
PG	7	Brown, Dee	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Jacksonville
SF	34	Gamble, Kevin	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Iowa
C	53	Kleine, Joe	6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)	255 lb (116 kg)	Arkansas
SG	35	Lewis, Reggie	6 ft 7 in (2.01 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Northeastern
PF	32	McHale, Kevin	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	210 lb (95 kg)	Minnesota
C	00	Parish, Robert	7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)	230 lb (104 kg)	Centenary
PF	54	Pinckney, Ed	6 ft 9 in (2.06 m)	195 lb (88 kg)	Villanova
PF	42	Popson, Dave	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	220 lb (100 kg)	North Carolina
PG	20	Shaw, Brian	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	190 lb (86 kg)	UC Santa Barbara
PG	13	Smith, Charles E.	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)	160 lb (73 kg)	Georgetown
SG	43	Smith, Derek	6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	Louisville
PF	11	Smith, Mike	6 ft 10 in (2.08 m)	225 lb (102 kg)	BYU
C	52	Vranković, Stojko	7 ft 2 in (2.18 m)	260 lb (118 kg)
PG	12	Wynder, A. J.	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)	180 lb (82 kg)	Fairfield

Head coach

Chris Ford (Villanova)

Legend

(DP) Unsigned draft pick
(FA) Free agent
(S) Suspended
Injured

Depth chart

PG-20 Brian Shaw SG-35 Reggie Lewis SF-34 Kevin Gamble PF-33 Larry Bird C-00 Robert Parrish

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division v t e	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	56	26	.683	—	35–6	21–20	20-6
x-Philadelphia 76ers	44	38	.537	12	29-12	15-26	14-12
x-New York Knicks	39	43	.476	17	21-20	18-23	17–9
Washington Bullets	30	52	.366	26	21-20	9-32	10-16
New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	30	20-21	6–35	8-18
Miami Heat	24	58	.293	32	18-23	6-35	9-17

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

#	Eastern Conference v t e
#	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Chicago Bulls	61	21	.744	–
2	y-Boston Celtics	56	26	.683	5
3	x-Detroit Pistons	50	32	.610	11
4	x-Milwaukee Bucks	48	34	.585	13
5	x-Philadelphia 76ers	44	38	.537	17
6	x-Atlanta Hawks	43	39	.524	18
7	x-Indiana Pacers	41	41	.500	20
8	x-New York Knicks	39	43	.476	22

9	Cleveland Cavaliers	33	49	.402	28
10	Washington Bullets	30	52	.366	31
11	New Jersey Nets	26	56	.317	35
12	Charlotte Hornets	26	56	.317	35
13	Miami Heat	24	58	.293	37

z – clinched division title

y – clinched division title

x – clinched playoff spot

Record vs. opponents

1990-91 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	—	3–1	1–4	1–4	3–2	2–0	1–1	0–5	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–3	1–1	3–1	3–1	1–1	0–4	0–2	1–1	2–0	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2
Boston	1–3	—	3–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	2–0	4–1	5–0	1–1	2–3	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	5–1
Charlotte	4–1	1–3	—	0–5	1–4	1–1	0–2	1–4	1–1	0–2	0–5	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	2–2	0–4	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	0–2	0–2	2–2
Chicago	4–1	2–2	5–0	—	5–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	1–1	0–2	4–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	4–1	2–0	3–1	4–0	2–0	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	2–0	2–0	3–1
Cleveland	2–3	1–3	4–1	0–5	—	2–0	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–2	1–4	1–1	1–1	3–1	2–3	1–1	2–2	3–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–3
Dallas	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	—	3–1	0–2	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–4	2–0	2–0	1–4	1–1	0–4	1–3	2–2	1–4	2–2	0–5	2–0
Denver	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	1–3	—	0–2	1–3	0–5	0–2	0–4	0–4	0–2	1–1	3–2	1–1	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–4	0–4	3–1	1–4	0–4	1–3	1–1
Detroit	5–0	2–2	4–1	2–3	3–2	2–0	2–0	—	1–1	2–0	3–2	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–3	2–0	3–1	1–3	2–0	2–2	0–2	1–1	2–0	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–1
Golden State	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	3–1	1–1	—	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–0	2–2	2–0	1–3	2–3	2–3	2–2	3–1	1–3	0–2
Houston	1–1	0–2	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	5–0	0–2	2–2	—	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	2–0	5–0	2–0	2–0	3–2	2–0	3–1	0–4	3–1	2–3	2–2	2–2	1–1
Indiana	1–4	2–2	5–0	1–4	4–1	0–2	2–0	2–3	1–1	1–1	—	1–1	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–2
L.A. Clippers	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	3–1	4–0	0–2	2–3	2–2	1–1	—	0–4	0–2	1–1	3–1	1–1	0–2	1–3	0–2	2–3	1–3	3–2	2–2	2–3	1–3	0–2
L.A. Lakers	1–1	1–1	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	3–2	3–1	2–0	4–0	—	2–0	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	3–2	2–3	4–0	3–1	3–2	2–2	2–0
Miami	0–4	1–4	2–2	0–4	1–3	2–0	2–0	1–3	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	0–2	—	0–4	0–2	3–3	1–4	1–1	1–4	0–2	0–2	1–1	0–2	0–2	1–1	3–2
Milwaukee	3–2	2–2	3–2	1–4	3–2	1–1	1–1	3–2	1–1	0–2	3–2	1–1	2–0	4–0	—	1–1	2–2	4–0	2–0	2–2	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	1–1	3–1
Minnesota	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	4–1	2–3	0–2	1–3	0–5	1–1	1–3	1–3	2–0	1–1	—	1–1	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–4	0–4	3–1	0–4	2–2	1–4	1–1
New Jersey	1–3	1–4	2–2	1–3	2–2	0–2	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–2	3–3	2–2	1–1	—	0–5	1–1	2–3	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	2–3
New York	1–3	0–5	4–0	0–4	1–3	0–2	1–1	3–1	0–2	0–2	2–2	2–0	1–1	4–1	0–4	1–1	5–0	—	0–2	5–1	0–2	0–2	2–0	1–1	1–1	2–0	3–2
Orlando	1–1	1–1	0–2	0–2	0–2	4–1	3–2	0–2	2–2	2–3	1–1	3–1	0–4	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	2–0	—	0–2	2–2	0–4	2–2	1–3	1–3	1–4	1–1
Philadelphia	4–0	3–2	2–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	2–0	2–2	0–2	0–2	3–1	2–0	1–1	4–1	2–2	0–2	3–2	1–5	2–0	—	1–1	1–1	1–1	0–2	1–1	0–2	3–2
Phoenix	2–0	1–1	2–0	1–1	2–0	4–0	4–0	2–0	3–1	1–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	1–1	2–0	2–2	1–1	—	3–2	3–1	1–3	3–2	2–2	2–0
Portland	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	2–0	3–1	4–0	1–1	3–2	4–0	2–0	3–1	3–2	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	2–0	4–0	1–1	2–3	—	3–2	2–2	4–0	3–1	2–0
Sacramento	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	0–2	3–2	1–3	0–2	2–3	0–4	1–1	1–1	1–3	1–1	0–2	2–2	1–1	1–3	2–3	—	1–3	1–4	1–3	2–0
San Antonio	0–2	1–1	1–1	2–0	2–0	4–1	4–1	2–0	2–2	3–2	1–1	2–2	1–3	2–0	1–1	4–0	2–0	1–1	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	3–1	—	3–1	2–3	2–0
Seattle	1–1	0–2	2–0	0–2	1–1	2–2	4–0	1–1	1–3	2–2	1–1	3–2	2–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	3–1	1–1	2–3	0–4	4–1	1–3	—	1–3	2–0
Utah	1–1	1–1	2–0	0–2	2–0	5–0	3–1	2–0	3–1	2–2	0–2	3–1	2–2	1–1	1–1	4–1	2–0	0–2	4–1	2–0	2–2	1–3	3–1	3–2	3–1	—	2–0
Washington	2–2	1–5	2–2	1–3	3–1	0–2	1–1	1–3	2–0	1–1	2–2	2–0	0–2	2–3	1–3	1–1	3–2	2–3	1–1	2–3	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	—

Game log

1990-91 Game Log

November

December

January

February

March

April

1990-91 Schedule

Playoffs

1991 playoff game log

First Round: 3–2 (home: 2–1; road: 1–1)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	April 26	Indiana Pacers	W 127-120	R. Lewis (28)	L. Bird (12)	L. Bird (12)	Boston Garden 14,890	1-0
2	April 28	Indiana Pacers	L 118-130	R. Lewis, B. Shaw (22)	R. Parish (12)	L. Bird (10)	Boston Garden 14,890	1-1
3	May 1	@ Indiana Pacers	W 112-105	K. McHale (22)	L. Bird (9)	B. Shaw (7)	Market Square Arena 16,530	2-1
4	May 3	@ Indiana Pacers	L 113-116	K. McHale (24)	R. Parish (12)	L. Bird (8)	Market Square Arena 16,530	2-2
5	May 5	Indiana Pacers	W 124-121	L. Bird (32)	L. Bird (9)	B. Shaw (9)	Boston Garden 14,890	3-2

East Semifinals: 2–4 (home: 1–2; road: 1–2)

Game	Date	Team	Score	High points	High rebounds	High assists	Location Attendance	Series
1	May 7	Detroit Pistons	L 75-86	R. Lewis (20)	K. McHale (10)	B. Shaw (5)	Boston Garden 14,890	0-1
2	May 9	Detroit Pistons	W 109-103	R. Lewis (23)	R. Parish (13)	D. Brown (8)	Boston Garden 14,890	1-1
3	May 11	@ Detroit Pistons	W 115-83	R. Lewis (21)	R. Parish (11)	D. Brown, K. McHale (6)	The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454	2-1
4	May 13	@ Detroit Pistons	L 97-104	K. McHale (28)	R. Parish (10)	B. Shaw (6)	The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454	2-2
5	May 15	Detroit Pistons	L 111-116	R. Lewis (30)	R. Lewis (11)	D. Brown (10)	Boston Garden 14,890	2-3
6	May 17	@ Detroit Pistons	L 113-117 (OT)	K. McHale (34)	E. Pinckney (9)	R. Lewis (5)	The Palace of Auburn Hills 21,454	2-4

1991 playoff 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

Boston Celtics statistics
Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Larry Bird	60	60	38.0	.454	.389	.891	8.5	7.2	1.8	1.0	19.4
Dee Brown	82	5	23.7	.464	.206	.873	2.2	4.2	1.0	0.2	8.7
Kevin Gamble	82	76	33.0	.587	.000	.815	3.3	3.1	1.2	0.4	15.6
Joe Kleine	72	1	11.8	.468	.000	.783	3.4	0.3	0.2	0.2	3.6
Reggie Lewis	79	79	36.4	.491	.077	.826	5.2	2.5	1.2	1.1	18.7
Kevin McHale	68	10	30.4	.553	.405	.829	7.1	1.9	0.4	2.1	18.4
Robert Parish	81	81	30.1	.598	.000	.767	10.6	0.8	0.8	1.3	14.9
Ed Pinckney	70	16	16.6	.539	.000	.897	4.9	0.6	0.9	0.6	5.2
Dave Popson	19	0	3.4	.406	.000	.900	0.7	0.1	0.1	0.1	1.8
Brian Shaw	79	79	35.1	.469	.111	.819	4.7	7.6	1.3	0.4	13.8
Charles E. Smith	5	0	6.0	.429	.000	.600	0.4	1.2	0.2	0.0	1.8
Derek Smith	2	0	8.0	.250	.000	.750	0.0	2.5	0.5	0.5	2.5
Michael Smith	47	3	8.3	.475	.250	.815	1.2	0.9	0.1	0.0	4.6
Stojko Vranković	31	0	5.4	.462	.000	.556	1.6	0.1	0.0	0.9	1.9
A. J. Wynder	6	0	6.5	.250	.000	.750	0.5	1.3	0.2	0.0	2.0

Playoffs

Boston Celtics statistics
Player	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
Larry Bird	10	10	39.6	.408	.143	.863	7.2	6.5	1.3	0.3	17.1
Dee Brown	11	0	25.8	.491	.000	.824	4.1	3.7	1.0	0.5	12.2
Kevin Gamble	11	11	21.6	.483	.000	.667	1.2	1.7	0.4	0.2	6.0
Joe Kleine	5	1	6.2	.444	.000	.000	2.2	0.2	0.0	0.0	1.6
Reggie Lewis	11	11	42.0	.487	.000	.824	6.2	2.9	1.1	0.5	22.4
Kevin McHale	11	1	34.2	.527	.545	.825	6.5	1.8	0.5	1.3	20.7
Robert Parish	10	10	29.6	.598	.000	.689	9.2	0.6	0.8	0.7	15.8
Ed Pinckney	11	0	15.5	.762	.000	.810	3.6	0.2	0.5	0.2	4.5
Brian Shaw	11	11	28.7	.470	.333	.867	3.5	4.6	0.9	0.1	11.0
Derek Smith	10	0	8.6	.429	.000	.786	0.9	0.5	0.3	0.1	2.9
Michael Smith	2	0	3.0	.500	.000	.000	0.0	0.5	0.0	0.0	1.0
Stojko Vranković	1	0	4.0	1.000	.000	.000	2.0	0.0	0.0	0.0	2.0

Awards and records

Dee Brown, NBA All-Rookie Team 1st Team

Transactions

Players Added

Draft

Dee Brown

Free agency

Dave Popson (August 17, 1990; re-signed December 27, 1990)
Stojko Vranković (October 2, 1990)
Derek Smith (December 22, 1990)
A. J. Wynder (April 12, 1991)

Players Lost

Released

Jim Paxson (October 6, 1990)
Dave Popson (June, 1991)

Free agency

Gerald Paddio (September 27, 1990) (to Cleveland)

References

^ 1990–91 Boston Celtics
^ "SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO BASKETBALL; Back Surgery for Bird". New York Times. June 7, 1991. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
^ "BASKETBALL; The Legend Grows For Bird and Celtics". New York Times. May 6, 1991. Retrieved July 26, 2017.
^ "BASKETBALL; Quest for Third Title Alive as Pistons Eliminate Celtics". New York Times. May 18, 1991. Retrieved July 26, 2017.

v t e Boston Celtics
Founded in 1946 Based in Boston, Massachusetts
Franchise	History All-time roster Draft history Accomplishments and records Head coaches Seasons Current season
Arenas	Boston Arena Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center TD Garden
Personnel	Owner(s) Boston Basketball Partners President Rich Gotham General manager Brad Stevens Head coach Joe Mazzulla
G League affiliate	Maine Celtics
Retired numbers	00 1 2 3 5 6 10 14 15 16 17 18 19 21 22 23 24 25 31 32 33 34 35 LOSCY MIC
NBA championships	1957 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1968 1969 1974 1976 1981 1984 1986 2008 2024
Rivalries	Detroit Pistons Los Angeles Lakers Miami Heat New York Knicks Philadelphia 76ers
Culture and lore	Broadcasters Radio network Celtic Pride Celtics/Lakers: Best of Enemies Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs Mike Gorman Johnny Most "Havlicek stole the ball" 1961 Boston Celtics boycott The Auerbach Center North Station The Sports Museum of New England Reebok Pro Summer League Newhart Uncut Gems Extended Family
Category Commons

Draft picks

Roster

Depth chart

Regular season

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Playoffs

Player statistics

Season

Playoffs

Awards and records

Transactions

References

See also