2001–02 Boston Celtics season

2001–02 Boston Celtics season
Head coach	Jim O'Brien
Arena	Fleet Center
Results
Record	49–33 (.598)
Place	Division: 2nd (Atlantic) Conference: 3rd (Eastern)
Playoff finish	East Finals (eliminated 2-4)
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	Fox Sports Net New England
Radio	WWZN

The 2001–02 Boston Celtics season was the 56th season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Celtics finished second in the Atlantic Division with a 49-33 record. This season featured the team's first playoff appearance since the 1994-95 season. Paul Pierce and Antoine Walker were selected for the 2002 NBA All-Star Game. In the first round of the playoffs, the Celtics defeated the Philadelphia 76ers in five games. Then they defeated the second seed Detroit Pistons four games to one in the semifinals. However, they would lose in six games to the New Jersey Nets in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	10	Joe Johnson	SG	United States	Arkansas
1	11	Kedrick Brown	SF/SG	United States	Okaloosa-Walton
1	21	Joseph Forte	SG	United States	North Carolina

Roster

Boston Celtics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From G 7 Anderson, Kenny 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 168 lb (76 kg) Georgia Tech F/C 4 Battie, Tony 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Texas Tech C 30 Blount, Mark 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Pittsburgh G 42 Brown, Kedrick 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 222 lb (101 kg) Okaloosa-Walton Community College G 28 Delk, Tony 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 189 lb (86 kg) Kentucky G 40 Forte, Joseph 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 194 lb (88 kg) North Carolina F/C 0 McCarty, Walter 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Kentucky G/F 34 Pierce, Paul (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Kansas C 52 Potapenko, Vitaly 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) Wright State University F 54 Rogers, Rodney 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Wake Forest G 20 Strickland, Erick 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 210 lb (95 kg) University of Nebraska F 8 Walker, Antoine (C) 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 224 lb (102 kg) Kentucky F 55 Williams, Eric 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 220 lb (100 kg) Providence	Head coach Jim O'Brien (Saint Joseph's) Assistant coach(es) Dick Harter (Pennsylvania) Lester Conner (Oregon State) John Carroll (Dickinson College) Frank Vogel (Kentucky) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster

^[1]

Depth chart

C - Tony Battie

PF - Antoine Walker

SF - Eric Williams

SG - Paul Pierce

PG - Kenny Anderson

Bench:

SF/PF - Rodney Rogers PG/SG - Tony Delk SF - Walter McCarty PG - Erick Strickland C - Mark Blount C - Vitaly Potapenko SF - Kedrick Brown SG - Joe Forte ^[2]

Regular season

Standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-New Jersey Nets	52	30	.634	–	33–8	19–22	16–8
x-Boston Celtics	49	33	.598	3	27–14	22–19	17–7
x-Orlando Magic	44	38	.537	8	27–14	17–24	12–12
x-Philadelphia 76ers	43	39	.524	9	22–19	21–20	14–11
Washington Wizards	37	45	.451	15	22–19	15–26	12–13
Miami Heat	36	46	.439	16	18–23	18–23	10–14
New York Knicks	30	52	.366	22	19–22	11–30	4–20

Game log

2001-02 Game Log Total: 49-33 (Home: 27-14; Road: 22-19)
October (Home: 0-1; Road: 1-0) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 1 Tue. Oct. 30 @ Cleveland Cavaliers 108-89 Gund Arena 1-0 2 Wed. Oct. 31 New Jersey Nets 92-95 FleetCenter 1-1
November (Home: 4-2; Road: 2-3) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 3 Fri. Nov. 2 Chicago Bulls 96-82 FleetCenter 2-1 4 Sat. Nov. 3 @ Milwaukee Bucks 99-105 Bradley Center 2-2 5 Wed. Nov. 7 Washington Wizards 104-95 FleetCenter 3-2 6 Fri. Nov. 9 Seattle SuperSonics 104-94 FleetCenter 4-2 7 Wed. Nov. 14 Indiana Pacers 101-93 FleetCenter 5-2 8 Sat. Nov. 17 @ Atlanta Hawks 103-112 Philips Arena 5-3 9 Wed. Nov. 21 Atlanta Hawks 85-92 FleetCenter 5-4 10 Fri. Nov. 23 Toronto Raptors 89-91 FleetCenter 5-5 11 Sat. Nov. 24 @ Washington Wizards 84-88 (OT) MCI Center 5-6 12 Tue. Nov. 27 @ Miami Heat 84-83 American Airlines Arena 6-6 13 Thu. Nov. 29 @ Orlando Magic 99-89 TD Waterhouse Centre 7-6
December (Home: 6-0; Road: 5-5) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 14 Sat. Dec. 1 @ New Jersey Nets 105-98 (OT) Continental Airlines Arena 8-6 15 Sun. Dec. 2 @ Toronto Raptors 85-69 Air Canada Centre 9-6 16 Wed. Dec. 5 Denver Nuggets 95-80 FleetCenter 10-6 17 Fri. Dec. 7 Phoenix Suns 109-102 (OT) FleetCenter 11-6 18 Sat. Dec. 8 @ Chicago Bulls 84-87 United Center 11-7 19 Tue. Dec. 11 @ New York Knicks 102-93 (OT) Madison Square Garden 12-7 20 Fri. Dec. 14 Chicago Bulls 107-101 FleetCenter 13-7 21 Sat. Dec. 15 @ Charlotte Hornets 106-97 Charlotte Coliseum 14-7 22 Mon. Dec. 17 @ Philadelphia 76ers 83-99 First Union Center 14-8 23 Wed. Dec. 19 Cleveland Cavaliers 104-98 FleetCenter 15-8 24 Fri. Dec. 21 Utah Jazz 98-92 FleetCenter 16-8 25 Sun. Dec. 23 Memphis Grizzlies 85-80 FleetCenter 17-8 26 Wed. Dec. 26 @ Utah Jazz 86-99 Delta Center 17-9 27 Thu. Dec. 27 @ Phoenix Suns 82-84 America West Arena 17-10 28 Sat. Dec. 29 @ Los Angeles Clippers 105-103 (OT) Staples Center 18-10 29 Sun. Dec. 30 @ Sacramento Kings 94-109 ARCO Arena 18-11
January (Home: 5-4; Road: 3-4) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 30 Wed. Jan. 2 Orlando Magic 110-94 FleetCenter 19-11 31 Fri. Jan. 4 Miami Heat 66-89 FleetCenter 19-12 32 Sat. Jan. 5 @ New York Knicks 90-81 Madison Square Garden 20-12 33 Mon. Jan. 7 @ Orlando Magic 87-98 TD Waterhouse Centre 20-13 34 Wed. Jan. 9 San Antonio Spurs 90-93 FleetCenter 20-14 35 Fri. Jan. 11 Detroit Pistons 104-90 FleetCenter 21-14 36 Sat. Jan. 12 @ Atlanta Hawks 115-91 Philips Arena 22-14 37 Wed. Jan. 16 New York Knicks 101-100 FleetCenter 23-14 38 Fri. Jan. 18 Houston Rockets 101-104 FleetCenter 23-15 39 Sat. Jan. 19 @ Detroit Pistons 91-94 The Palace of Auburn Hills 23-16 40 Mon. Jan. 21 Toronto Raptors 106-97 FleetCenter 24-16 41 Wed. Jan. 23 Indiana Pacers 98-94 FleetCenter 25-16 42 Fri. Jan. 25 Philadelphia 76ers 90-106 FleetCenter 25-17 43 Sat. Jan. 26 @ Cleveland Cavaliers 108-101 Gund Arena 26-17 44 Tue. Jan. 29 @ Milwaukee Bucks 90-109 Bradley Center 26-18 45 Thu. Jan. 31 @ Toronto Raptors 92-97 Air Canada Centre 26-19
February (Home: 1-3; Road: 4-4) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 46 Fri. Feb. 1 Minnesota Timberwolves 95-98 (OT) FleetCenter 26-20 47 Sun. Feb. 3 Los Angeles Clippers 104-91 FleetCenter 27-20 48 Tue. Feb. 5 @ Charlotte Hornets 82-79 Charlotte Coliseum 28-20 49 Wed. Feb. 6 Sacramento Kings 85-102 FleetCenter 28-21 50 Tue. Feb. 12 @ Denver Nuggets 110-93 Pepsi Center 29-21 51 Wed. Feb. 13 @ Golden State Warriors 75-92 The Arena in Oakland 29-22 52 Fri. Feb. 15 @ Portland Trail Blazers 107-104 Rose Garden 30-22 53 Sat. Feb. 16 @ Seattle SuperSonics 79-99 KeyArena 30-23 54 Tue. Feb. 19 @ Los Angeles Lakers 109-108 Staples Center 31-23 55 Thu. Feb. 21 @ Dallas Mavericks 92-98 American Airlines Center 31-24 56 Sat. Feb. 23 @ Houston Rockets 89-99 Compaq Center 31-25 57 Wed. Feb. 27 Milwaukee Bucks 92-95 FleetCenter 31-26
March (Home: 7-4; Road: 4-2) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 58 Fri. Mar. 1 Charlotte Hornets 87-100 FleetCenter 31-27 59 Mon. Mar. 4 @ Philadelphia 76ers 100-94 First Union Center 32-27 60 Wed. Mar. 6 Orlando Magic 130-110 FleetCenter 33-27 61 Fri. Mar. 8 Detroit Pistons 117-92 FleetCenter 34-27 62 Sun. Mar. 10 Washington Wizards 98-91 FleetCenter 35-27 63 Mon. Mar. 11 @ Washington Wizards 104-99 MCI Center 36-27 64 Wed. Mar. 13 New Jersey Nets 97-89 FleetCenter 37-27 65 Fri. Mar. 15 @ Memphis Grizzlies 103-97 The Pyramid 38-27 66 Sat. Mar. 16 @ San Antonio Spurs 104-111 Alamodome 38-28 67 Mon. Mar. 18 Portland Trail Blazers 91-100 FleetCenter 38-29 68 Wed. Mar. 20 Cleveland Cavaliers 96-70 FleetCenter 39-29 69 Fri. Mar. 22 Philadelphia 76ers 91-96 FleetCenter 39-30 70 Sun. Mar. 24 @ Detroit Pistons 101-109 The Palace of Auburn Hills 39-31 71 Mon. Mar. 25 @ Miami Heat 87-82 American Airlines Arena 40-31 72 Wed. Mar. 27 Golden State Warriors 102-99 FleetCenter 41-31 73 Fri. Mar. 29 Dallas Mavericks 82-108 FleetCenter 41-32 74 Sun. Mar. 31 Milwaukee Bucks 110-80 FleetCenter 42-32
April (Home: 4-0; Road: 3-1) Game Date Opponent Score Location Record 75 Tue. Apr. 2 @ Indiana Pacers 105-94 Conseco Fieldhouse 43-32 76 Fri. Apr. 5 Los Angeles Lakers 99-81 FleetCenter 44-32 77 Sun. Apr. 7 @ New Jersey Nets 102-90 Continental Airlines Arena 45-32 78 Mon. Apr. 8 @ Chicago Bulls 100-105 United Center 45-33 79 Wed. Apr. 10 Miami Heat 70-65 FleetCenter 46-33 80 Fri. Apr. 12 New York Knicks 107-92 FleetCenter 47-33 81 Mon. Apr. 15 @ Minnesota Timberwolves 93-90 Target Center 48-33 82 Wed. Apr. 17 Atlanta Hawks 89-81 FleetCenter 49-33
2001-02 Schedule

Playoffs

2002 playoff game log
First Round: 3–2 (Home: 3–0; Road: 0–2) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 April 21 Philadelphia 76ers W 92–82 P. Pierce (31) P. Pierce (11) K. Anderson (5) FleetCenter 1-0 2 April 25 Philadelphia 76ers W 93–85 P. Pierce (25) P. Pierce, A. Walker (10) A. Walker, R. Rogers, E. Strickland (4) FleetCenter 2-0 3 April 28 @ Philadelphia 76ers L 103–108 P. Pierce (29) R. Rogers (11) P. Pierce (7) First Union Center 2-1 4 May 1 @ Philadelphia 76ers L 81–83 A. Walker (25) P. Pierce (8) K. Anderson (8) First Union Center 2-2 5 May 3 Philadelphia 76ers W 120–87 P. Pierce (46) A. Walker (9) P. Pierce, A. Walker (6) FleetCenter 3-2
East Semifinals: 4–1 (Home: 2–0; Road: 2–1) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 5 @ Detroit Pistons L 84–96 A. Walker (20) P. Pierce (10) P. Pierce (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 0-1 2 May 8 @ Detroit Pistons W 85–77 P. Pierce (22) T. Battie (11) K. Anderson (5) The Palace of Auburn Hills 1-1 3 May 10 Detroit Pistons W 66–64 P. Pierce (19) T. Battie (10) P. Pierce (5) FleetCenter 2-1 4 May 12 Detroit Pistons W 90–79 A. Walker (30) P. Pierce (17) P. Pierce (6) FleetCenter 3-1 5 May 14 @ Detroit Pistons W 90–81 P. Pierce (18) A. Walker (13) K. Anderson (6) The Palace of Auburn Hills 4-1
East Finals: 2–4 (Home: 1–2; Road: 1–2) Game Date Time Team Score High points High rebounds High assists Location Attendance Record 1 May 19 @ New Jersey Nets L 97–104 P. Pierce, A. Walker (27) T. Battie (11) K. Anderson (6) Continental Airlines Arena 0-1 2 May 21 @ New Jersey Nets W 93–86 A. Walker (26) P. Pierce (14) K. Anderson (7) Continental Airlines Arena 1-1 3 May 25 New Jersey Nets W 94–90 P. Pierce (28) A. Walker (12) P. Pierce, A. Walker (4) FleetCenter 2-1 4 May 27 New Jersey Nets L 92–94 P. Pierce (31) T. Battie, P. Pierce, A. Walker (9) T. Delk, P. Pierce, R. Rogers, A. Walker (4) FleetCenter 2-2 5 May 29 @ New Jersey Nets L 92–103 P. Pierce (24) A. Walker (13) K. Anderson (6) Continental Airlines Arena 2-3 6 May 31 New Jersey Nets L 88–96 K. Anderson (18) A. Walker (9) K. Anderson (7) FleetCenter 2-4
2002 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

References

1. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2002.html
2. http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2002.html

See also

• 2001–02 NBA season