1987–88 Boston Celtics season

The 1987–88 Boston Celtics season was the 42nd season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Coming from an NBA Finals defeat to their rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers in six games, the Celtics finished first place in the Eastern Conference with 57 wins and 25 losses, with Larry Bird being selected to the All-NBA First Team. Bird, Kevin McHale and Danny Ainge were all selected for the 1988 NBA All-Star Game. In the first round of the playoffs, they defeated the New York Knicks in four games. In the semifinals, the Celtics trailed 3–2 to Dominique Wilkins and the Atlanta Hawks, but won the final two games. They advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the fifth consecutive time, becoming the first team to do so since the 1968–69 Boston Celtics (which reached the previous thirteen). However, they would lose to Isiah Thomas and the 2nd-seeded Detroit Pistons in six games.

1987–88 Boston Celtics season
Division champions
Head coachK.C. Jones
OwnersDon Gaston
Alan N. Cohen
Paul Dupee
ArenaBoston Garden
Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record57–25 (.695)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Conference: 1st (Eastern)
Playoff finishEast Conference Finals
(Lost to Pistons 2–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionSportsChannel New England, WLVI, WTXX, WTIC-TV
RadioWEEI, WTIC Radio

Draft picks
Main article: 1987 NBA draft
Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 22 Reggie Lewis SF  United States Northeastern
2 45 Brad Lohaus C/PF  United States Iowa
4 70 Tom Sheehey  United States Virginia
4 91 Darryl Kennedy  United States Oklahoma
5 114 David Butler  United States California
6 137 Tim Naegeli  United States Wisconsin–Stevens Point
7 160 Jerry Corcoran  United States Northeastern

Roster
Roster listing
Boston Celtics roster
Players Coaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
F/C 42 Acres, Mark 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1962–11–15 Oral Roberts
G/F 44 Ainge, Danny 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 175 lb (79 kg) 1959–03–17 BYU
F 33 Bird, Larry (C) 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1956–12–07 Indiana State
G/F 20 Daye, Darren (waived) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) 1960–11–30 UCLA
C 53 Gilmore, Artis 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 240 lb (109 kg) 1949–09–21 Jacksonville
G 43 Henry, Conner (waived) 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1963–07–21 UC Santa Barbara
G 3 Johnson, Dennis 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 185 lb (84 kg) 1954–09–18 Pepperdine
C 50 Kite, Greg (waived) 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 250 lb (113 kg) 1961–08–05 BYU
G/F 35 Lewis, Reggie 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 195 lb (88 kg) 1965–11–21 Northeastern
F/C 54 Lohaus, Brad 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1964–09–29 Iowa
F/C 32 McHale, Kevin 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 210 lb (95 kg) 1957–12–19 Minnesota
G 11 Minniefield, Dirk 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) 1961–01–17 Kentucky
C 00 Parish, Robert 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) 1953–08–30 Centenary College of Louisiana
G/F 4 Paxson, Jim (from POR) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) 1957–07–09 Dayton
F/C 31 Roberts, Fred 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 218 lb (99 kg) 1960–08–10 BYU
G 12 Sichting, Jerry (to POR) 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 168 lb (76 kg) 1956–11–29 Purdue
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Roster

[1]

Depth chart
  • PG-3 Dennis Johnson
  • SG-44 Danny Ainge
  • SF-33 Larry Bird
  • PF-32 Kevin McHale
  • C-00 Robert Parish

Regular season

Season standings
Atlantic Division W L PCT GB Home Road Div
y-Boston Celtics 5725.695–36–521–2019–5
x-Washington Bullets 3844.4631925–1613–2813–11
x-New York Knicks 3844.4631929–129–3210–14
Philadelphia 76ers 3646.4392127–149–3212–12
New Jersey Nets 1963.2323816–253–386–18
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT GB
1 c-Boston Celtics5725.695–
2 y-Detroit Pistons5428.6593
3 x-Chicago Bulls5032.6107
4 x-Atlanta Hawks5032.6107
5 x-Milwaukee Bucks4240.51215
6 x-Cleveland Cavaliers4240.51215
7 x-Washington Bullets3844.46319
8 x-New York Knicks3844.46319
9 Indiana Pacers3844.46319
10 Philadelphia 76ers3646.43921
11 New Jersey Nets1963.23238

Record vs. opponents
1987-88 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DAL DEN DET GSW HOU IND LAC LAL MIL NJN NYK PHI PHO POR SAC SAS SEA UTA WAS
Atlanta —2–42–35–12–01–12–42–01–14–22–00–23–35–03–36–01–10–21–12–02–01–13–3
Boston 4–2—3–32–32–00–23–32–01–15–02–00–23–35–15–14–22–02–02–02–01–12–05–1
Chicago 3–23–3—3–30–21–12–42–02–03–32–01–15–15–13–24–22–01–11–11–11–12–03–3
Cleveland 1–53–23–3—1–11–11–50–21–14–21–11–12–45–12–43–21–11–12–02–01–10–26–0
Dallas 0–20–22–01–1—3–31–14–14–22–05–01–42–01–11–11–15–03–25–15–13–23–31–1
Denver 1–12–01–11–13–3—1–14–14–21–15–03–21–12–01–12–03–22–34–25–14–12–42–0
Detroit 4–23–34–25–11–11–1—2–01–13–31–10–24–25–14–24–12–01–12–01–11–12–03–2
Golden State 0–20–20–22–01–41–40–2—0–50–23–30–60–22–00–21–12–41–52–33–21–51–40–2
Houston 1–11–10–21–12–42–41–15–0—2–03–21–42–01–11–11–14–14–14–22–43–23–32–0
Indiana 2–40–53–32–40–21–13–32–00–2—1–11–13–36–02–32–42–00–22–02–01–11–12–4
L.A. Clippers 0–20–20–21–10–50–51–13–32–31–1—1–50–20–20–21–12–40–63–20–51–51–40–2
L.A. Lakers 2–02–01–11–14–12–32–06–04–11–15–1—0–22–02–02–05–13–34–15–04–24–11–1
Milwaukee 3–33–31–54–20–21–12–42–00–23–32–02–0—3–23–32–41–11–12–01–11–11–14–1
New Jersey 0–51–51–51–51–10–21–50–21–10–62–00–22–3—3–32–41–10–21–11–10–21–10–6
New York 3–31–52–34–21–11–12–42–01–13–22–00–23–33–3—3–30–21–11–11–10–21–13–3
Philadelphia 0–62–42–42–31–10–21–41–11–14–21–10–24–24–23–3—1–11–11–11–11–12–03–3
Phoenix 1–10–20–21–10–52–30–24–21–40–24–21–51–11–12–01–1—0–63–22–32–42–30–2
Portland 2–00–21–11–12–33–21–15–11–42–06–03–31–12–01–11–16–0—4–15–03–31–42–0
Sacramento 1–10–21–10–21–52–40–23–22–40–22–31–40–21–11–11–12–31–4—3–31–41–50–2
San Antonio 0–20–21–10–21–51–51–12–34–20–25–00–51–11–11–11–13–20–53–3—3–23–30–2
Seattle 0–21–11–11–12–31–41–15–12–31–15–12–41–12–02–01–14–23–34–12–3—1–42–0
Utah 1–10–20–22–03–34–20–24–13–31–14–11–41–11–11–10–23–24–15–13–34–1—2–0
Washington 3–31–53–30–61–10–22–32–00–24–22–01–11–46–03–33–32–00–22–02–00–20–2—

Game log

Regular season
1987–88 game log
Total: 57-25 (Home: 36-5; Away: 21-20)
November: 10–4 (Home: 6–1; Road: 4–3)
December: 7–5 (Home: 3–2; Road: 4–3)
January: 14–3 (Home: 9–0; Road: 5–3)
February: 9–5 (Home: 5–0; Road: 4–5)
March: 11–4 (Home: 8–2; Road: 3–2)
April: 7–4 (Home: 6–0; Road: 1–4)
1987–88 schedule

Playoffs
1988 playoff game log
Eastern Conference First Round: 3–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1April 29, 1988New York W 112-92 Boston Garden 1-0
2May 1, 1988New York W 128-102 Boston Garden 2-0
3May 4, 1988@ New York L 100-109 Madison Square Garden 2-1
4May 6, 1988@ New York W 102-94 Madison Square Garden 3-1
Eastern Conference Semifinals: 4–3 (Home: 3–1; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1May 11, 1988Atlanta W 110-101 Boston Garden 1-0
2May 13, 1988Atlanta W 108-97 Boston Garden 2-0
3May 15, 1988@ Atlanta L 92-110 The Omni 2-1
4May 16, 1988@ Atlanta L 109-118 The Omni 2-2
5May 18, 1988Atlanta L 104-112 Boston Garden 2-3
6May 20, 1988@ Atlanta W 102-100 The Omni 3-3
7May 22, 1988Atlanta W 118-116 Boston Garden 4-3
Eastern Conference Finals: 2–4 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–2)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation
Attendance		Series
1May 25, 1988Detroit L 96-104 Boston Garden 0-1
2May 26, 1988Detroit W 119-115 (2OT) Boston Garden 1-1
3May 28, 1988@ Detroit L 94-98 Pontiac Silverdome 1-2
4May 30, 1988@ Detroit W 79-78 Pontiac Silverdome 2-2
5June 1, 1988Detroit L 96-102 (OT) Boston Garden 2-3
6June 3, 1988@ Detroit L 90-95 Pontiac Silverdome 2-4
1987–88 schedule

Playoffs

East First Round

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (8) New York Knicks: Celtics win series 3-1

Last Playoff Meeting: 1984 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Boston won 4-3)

East Conference Semifinals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (4) Atlanta Hawks: Celtics win series 4-3

  • Game 1 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 11): Boston 110, Atlanta 101
  • Game 2 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 13): Boston 108, Atlanta 97
  • Game 3 @ The Omni, Atlanta (May 15): Atlanta 110, Boston 92
  • Game 4 @ The Omni, Atlanta (May 16): Atlanta 118, Boston 109
  • Game 5 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 18): Atlanta 112, Boston 104
  • Game 6 @ The Omni, Atlanta (May 20): Boston 102, Atlanta 100
  • Game 7 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 22): Boston 118, Atlanta 116

Last Playoff Meeting: 1986 Eastern Conference Semifinals (Boston won 4-1)

East Conference Finals

(1) Boston Celtics vs. (2) Detroit Pistons: Pistons win series 4-2

Last Playoff Meeting: 1987 Eastern Conference Finals (Boston won 4-3)

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

Playoffs

The Celtics would end up losing to the Detroit Pistons in the conference finals as an aging Celtics team was beginning to falter against a younger and fresher pistons team. This would be the first time in 5 years that the Celtics would not make it to the finals and would not return to another finals until 2008.

Awards and records

Transactions
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References
  1. https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/1988.html

See also
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