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 finishEast Conference 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.

Draft picks[]

Main article: 1971 NBA draft

This table only displays picks through the second round.

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

Roster[]

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

Regular season[]

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[]

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 —

Playoffs[]

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[]

  • John Havlicek, All-NBA First Team
  • John Havlicek, NBA All-Defensive First Team
  • Don Chaney, NBA All-Defensive Second Team

References[]

  1. ^ 1971–72 Boston Celtics
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