1972–73 Boston Celtics season

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
1972–73 Boston Celtics season
Division champions
Head coachTom Heinsohn
General managerRed Auerbach
ArenaBoston Garden
Results
Record68–14 (.829)
PlaceDivision: 1st (Atlantic)
Playoff finishConference Finals
(Lost to Knicks 3–4)
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
TelevisionWSMW
RadioWBZ
< 1971–72 1973–74 >

The 1972–73 Boston Celtics season was their 27th in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Celtics finished the season with the best record in the league, and currently in franchise history, at 68–14. Third-year forward Dave Cowens won the NBA Most Valuable Player Award ahead of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tiny Archibald. They also won the Atlantic Division for the second consecutive season.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, the Celtics lost to the eventual NBA champion New York Knicks.

Draft picks[]

Main article: 1972 NBA draft

This table only displays picks through the second round.

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 10 Paul Westphal PG/SG  United States Southern California
2 27 Dennis Wuycik SF  United States North Carolina

Roster[]

Boston Celtics roster
  • v
  • t
Players Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY-MM-DD) From
G 12 United States Chaney, Don 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Houston
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
F 19 United States Nelson, Don 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Iowa
F 16 United States Sanders, Tom 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) New York
F 35 United States Silas, Paul 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Creighton
G 44 United States Westphal, Paul 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Southern California
G 10 United States White, Jo Jo 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Kansas
G 7 United States Williams, Art 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Cal Poly Pomona
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured Injured

Regular season[]

Season standings[]

Atlantic Division
W L PCT GB Home Road Neutral Div
y-Boston Celtics 68 14 .829 – 33–6 32–8 3–0 18–4
x-New York Knicks 57 25 .695 11 35–6 21–18 1–1 16–6
Buffalo Braves 21 61 .256 47 14–27 6–31 1–3 8–14
Philadelphia 76ers 9 73 .110 59 5–26 2–36 2–11 2–20
# Eastern Conference
Team W L PCT
1 z-Boston Celtics 68 14 .829
2 x-New York Knicks 57 25 .695
3 y-Baltimore Bullets 52 30 .634
4 x-Atlanta Hawks 46 36 .561
5 Houston Rockets 33 49 .402
6 Cleveland Cavaliers 32 50 .390
7 Buffalo Braves 21 61 .256
8 Philadelphia 76ers 9 73 .110

Record vs. opponents[]

1972–73 NBA Records
Team ATL BAL BOS BUF CHI CLE DET GSW HOU KCO LAL MIL NYK PHI PHO POR SEA
Atlanta — 3–4 1–5 5–1 2–2 3–4 2–2 1–3 4–4 2–2 3–1 1–3 3–3 6–0 3–1 4–0 3–1
Baltimore 4–3 — 1–5 5–1 0–4 8–0 2–2 3–1 5–2 3–1 1–3 2–2 3–3 5–1 2–2 4–0 4–0
Boston 5–1 5–1 — 7–0 3–1 5–1 3–1 3–1 5–1 3–1 4–0 2–2 4–4 7–0 4–0 4–0 4–0
Buffalo 1–5 1–5 0–7 — 2–2 1–5 1–3 0–4 1–5 1–3 0–4 0–4 1–6 7–1 1–3 2–2 2–2
Chicago 2–2 4–0 1–3 2–2 — 3–1 3–4 3–3 4–0 5–2 1–5 2–4 3–1 4–0 4–2 5–1 5–1
Cleveland 4–3 0–8 1–5 5–1 1–3 — 1–3 1–3 4–3 2–2 1–3 1–3 0–6 6–0 1–3 1–3 3–1
Detroit 2–2 2–2 1–3 3–1 4–3 3–1 — 2–4 1–3 3–3 1–5 2–5 1–3 3–1 4–2 6–0 2–4
Golden State 3–1 1–3 1–3 4–0 3–3 3–1 4–2 — 3–1 4–2 3–4 1–5 2–2 4–0 2–4 5–1 4–3
Houston 4–4 2–5 1–5 5–1 0–4 3–4 3–1 1–3 — 0–4 1–3 1–3 1–5 5–1 2–2 2–2 2–2
Kansas City-Omaha 2–2 1–3 1–3 3–1 2–5 2–2 3–3 2–4 4–0 — 1–5 1–6 0–4 3–1 3–3 4–2 4–2
Los Angeles 1–3 3–1 0–4 4–0 5–1 3–1 5–1 4–3 3–1 5–1 — 3–3 2–2 4–0 6–1 6–0 6–0
Milwaukee 3–1 2–2 2–2 4–0 4–2 3–1 5–2 5–1 3–1 6–1 3–3 — 2–2 3–1 5–1 5–1 5–1
New York 3–3 3–3 4–4 6–1 1–3 6–0 3–1 2–2 5–1 4–0 2–2 2–2 — 6–1 3–1 3–1 4–0
Philadelphia 0–6 1–5 0–7 1–7 0–4 0–6 1–3 0–4 1–5 1–3 0–4 1–3 1–6 — 0–4 1–3 1–3
Phoenix 1–3 2–2 0–4 3–1 2–4 3–1 2–4 4–2 2–2 3–3 1–6 1–5 1–3 4–0 — 5–2 4–2
Portland 0–4 0–4 0–4 2–2 1–5 3–1 0–6 1–5 2–2 2–4 0–6 1–5 1–3 3–1 2–5 — 3–4
Seattle 1–3 0–4 0–4 2–2 1–5 1–3 4–2 3–4 2–2 2–4 0–6 1–5 0–4 3–1 2–4 4–3 —

Playoffs[]

1973 playoff game log
Conference Semifinals: 4–2 (Home: 2–1; Road: 2–1)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 1 Atlanta W 134–109 John Havlicek (54) Dave Cowens (17) Art Williams (12) Boston Garden
11,907 		1–0
2 April 4 @ Atlanta W 126–113 John Havlicek (29) Dave Cowens (25) Jo Jo White (11) Omni Coliseum
11,588 		2–0
3 April 6 Atlanta L 105–118 Jo Jo White (23) Dave Cowens (18) Jo Jo White (10) Boston Garden
15,320 		2–1
4 April 8 @ Atlanta L 94–97 John Havlicek (21) Paul Silas (22) John Havlicek (5) Omni Coliseum
11,675 		2–2
5 April 11 Atlanta W 108–101 John Havlicek (32) Dave Cowens (20) John Havlicek (11) Boston Garden
12,525 		3–2
6 April 13 @ Atlanta W 121–103 Jo Jo White (33) Paul Silas (17) Jo Jo White (7) Omni Coliseum
16,181 		4–2
Conference Finals: 3–4 (Home: 2–2; Road: 1–2)
Game Date Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location
Attendance		 Series
1 April 15 New York W 134–108 Jo Jo White (30) Dave Cowens (15) John Havlicek (11) Boston Garden
15,320 		1–0
2 April 18 @ New York L 96–129 John Havlicek (21) Dave Cowens (13) John Havlicek (11) Madison Square Garden
19,694 		1–1
3 April 20 New York L 91–98 John Havlicek (29) Paul Silas (14) John Havlicek (6) Boston Garden
15,320 		1–2
4 April 22 @ New York L 110–117 (2OT) Jo Jo White (34) Paul Silas (23) Jo Jo White (6) Madison Square Garden
19,694 		1–3
5 April 25 New York W 98–97 Dave Cowens (32) Paul Silas (20) Jo Jo White (7) Boston Garden
15,320 		2–3
6 April 27 @ New York W 110–100 Dave Cowens (26) Dave Cowens (14) Jo Jo White (7) Madison Square Garden
19,694 		3–3
7 April 29 New York L 78–94 Dave Cowens (24) Paul Silas (16) Dave Cowens (5) Boston Garden
15,320 		3–4
1973 schedule

Awards, records and milestones[]

References[]

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