1991–92 Boston Celtics season

1991–92 Boston Celtics season
Larry Bird's final season Atlantic Division Champions
Head coach	Chris Ford
Owner(s)	Don Gaston, Alan N. Cohen, Paul Dupee
Arena	Boston Garden Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record	51–31 (.622)
Place	Division: 1st (Atlantic) Conference: 2nd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Conference Semifinals (eliminated 3–4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	SportsChannel New England, WFXT, WTXX, WTIC-TV
Radio	WHDH, WTIC Radio

The 1991–92 Boston Celtics season was the 46th season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA).^[1] This marked the NBA final season for Celtics forward Larry Bird who missed nearly half of the season games due to a nagging back injury.^[2] However, one of the season highlights was a 49-point performance from Bird in a nationally televised double-overtime win over eventual western conference champion Portland TrailBlazers.^[3] It was the most points for Bird since February 15, 1988, when he scored 49 at Phoenix Suns.

The Celtics trailed the New York Knicks in the Atlantic Division for much of the season, but a furious rally at the end of the season helped the Celtics finish 51–31 and claim the division title (and the #2 Eastern Conference seed, although since they finished behind #3 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in record, Cleveland would have home court in a head-to-head playoff series).

The Celtics swept the Indiana Pacers in three straight games of the first round, but succumbed to the Cavaliers in a 7-game Eastern Conference semifinal series.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	24	Rick Fox	SF	Canada	North Carolina

Roster

Boston Celtics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From PG 5 Bagley, John 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Boston College SF 8 Battle, Kenny 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 210 lb (95 kg) Illinois PF 33 Bird, Larry 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Indiana State SG 7 Brown, Dee 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Jacksonville PG 20/4 Douglas, Sherman 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Syracuse SF 44 Fox, Rick 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 230 lb (104 kg) North Carolina 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 41 Massenburg, Tony 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Maryland 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 College of Louisiana PF 54 Pinckney, Ed 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Villanova PG 12 Pritchard, Kevin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Kansas SG 4 Robinson, Larry 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Centenary College of Louisiana C 52 Vranković, Stojko 7 ft 2 in (2.18 m) 260 lb (118 kg)	Head coach Chris Ford (Villanova) Assistant coach(es) Don Casey Jon Jennings (Indiana) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured

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Depth chart

PG- 5 John Bagley SG- 35 Reggie Lewis SF- 33 Larry Bird PF- 54 Ed Pinckney C- 00 Robert Parrish

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Boston Celtics	51	31	.622	—	34–7	17–24	19–9
x-New York Knicks	51	31	.622	—	30–11	21–20	20–8
x-New Jersey Nets	40	42	.488	11	25–16	15–26	15–13
x-Miami Heat	38	44	.463	13	28–13	10–31	14–14
Philadelphia 76ers	35	47	.427	16	23–18	12–29	15–13
Washington Bullets	25	57	.305	26	14–27	11–30	7–21
Orlando Magic	21	61	.256	30	13–28	8–33	8–20

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	z-Chicago Bulls	67	15	.817	–
2	y-Boston Celtics	51	31	.622	16
3	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	57	25	.695	10
4	x-New York Knicks	51	31	.622	16
5	x-Detroit Pistons	48	34	.585	19
6	x-New Jersey Nets	40	42	.488	27
7	x-Indiana Pacers	40	42	.488	27
8	x-Miami Heat	38	44	.463	29
9	Atlanta Hawks	38	44	.463	29
10	Philadelphia 76ers	35	47	.427	32
11t	Milwaukee Bucks	31	51	.378	36
11t	Charlotte Hornets	31	51	.378	36
13	Washington Bullets	25	57	.305	42
14	Orlando Magic	21	61	.256	46

z - clinched division title

y - clinched division title

x - clinched playoff spot

Playoffs

East First Round

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (7) Indiana Pacers: Celtics win series 3–0

• Game 1 @ Boston Garden, Boston (April 23): Boston 124, Indiana 113
• Game 2 @ Boston Garden, Boston (April 25): Boston 119, Indiana 112 (OT)
• Game 3 @ Market Square Arena, Indianapolis (April 27): Boston 102, Indiana 98

Last Playoff Meeting: 1991 Eastern Conference First Round (Boston won 3–2)

East Conference Semifinals

(2) Boston Celtics vs. (3) Cleveland Cavaliers: Cavaliers win series 4–3

• Game 1 @ The Coliseum, Richfield (May 2): Cleveland 101, Boston 76
• Game 2 @ The Coliseum, Richfield (May 4): Boston 104, Cleveland 98
• Game 3 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 8): Boston 110, Cleveland 107
• Game 4 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 10): Cleveland 114, Boston 112 (OT)
• Game 5 @ The Coliseum, Richfield (May 13): Cleveland 114, Boston 98
• Game 6 @ Boston Garden, Boston (May 15): Boston 122, Cleveland 91
• Game 7 @ The Coliseum, Richfield (May 17): Cleveland 122, Boston 104

Last Playoff Meeting: 1985 Eastern Conference First Round (Boston won 3–1)

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

Awards and Records

• Rick Fox, NBA All-Rookie Team 2nd Team

References

1. 1991-92 Boston Celtics
2. "Bird Unlaces His Sneakers and Says Goodbye". New York Times. August 19, 1992.
3. "For Celtics, It's Bird, Bird and More Bird". New York Times. March 16, 1992.

See also

• 1991–92 NBA season