2006–07 Boston Celtics season

2006–07 Boston Celtics season
Head coach	Doc Rivers
General manager	Danny Ainge
Arena	TD Banknorth Garden
Results
Record	24–58 (.293)
Place	Division: 5th (Atlantic) Conference: 15th (Eastern)
Playoff finish	DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television	FSN New England
Radio	WRKO

The 2006–07 Boston Celtics season was the 61st season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Celtics finished 24–58, the second-worst in franchise history after the 15–67 record in 1996–97. It was also the second-worst record in the league in 2006–07, only marginally in front of the Memphis Grizzlies. The season was overshadowed by many injuries, in particular the injury to All-Star Paul Pierce, which caused him to miss seven weeks, and the deaths of Celtic legends Red Auerbach and Dennis Johnson.

Key dates

• June 28: The 2006 NBA Draft took place in New York City, New York.
• July 1: The free agency period started.
• October 10: The pre-season started with a win against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
• October 28: Red Auerbach died at the age of 89.
• November 1: The regular season started with a loss to the New Orleans Hornets.
• December 20: Paul Pierce was injured in a loss to the Golden State Warriors.
• January 10: Tony Allen was injured in a loss to the Indiana Pacers, which caused him to miss the rest of the season.
• February 9: Paul Pierce returned from his injury in a loss to the New Jersey Nets.
• February 14: The Celtics ended a franchise record 18-game losing streak with a win against the Milwaukee Bucks.
• February 22: Dennis Johnson died at the age of 52 due to a heart attack.
• April 18: The season concluded with a loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Summary

Just days before the start of the season, the Celtics were dealt an emotional blow when their patriarch Red Auerbach died at the age of 89. When the season started, the days of Auerbach seemed like a distant memory as the Celtics lost six of their first seven games en route to a 5–13 start. In December, the Celtics improved their play as they embarked on a 5-game winning streak. However, after losing All-Star Paul Pierce to a stress reaction in his left foot on December 20, the Celtics crumbled, winning just 3 of their next 42 games, including a franchise record 18-game losing streak that lasted from January 5 to February 14, and plunging into last place. In between the losing streak, the Celtics lost Tony Allen for the remainder of the season,^[1] who tore both the ACL and MCL on January 10.^[2]

Adding to the pain was the death of another Celtics legend, Dennis Johnson, who suffered a heart attack on February 22 at the age of 52 while coaching the Celtics NBDL affiliate, the Austin Toros. After Pierce had returned in early February after spending 7 weeks on the injured list, the Celtics played better and won 5 of 6 games in late February and early March. A few weeks later on St. Patrick's Day, the Celtics stunned the eventual NBA champions San Antonio Spurs 91-85 on the road, making it the first time the Celtics won against Tim Duncan, whom they missed out on during the 1997 Draft Lottery.

But nagging injuries would continue to hamper Pierce, who sat out all of April, as the Celtics finished with a horrible 24-58 record that earned them the worst record in the Eastern Conference and 2nd worst record in the league, only marginally in front of the Memphis Grizzlies. Afterwards, the Celtics turned their focus to the draft lottery, where they had good chances of landing a Top 2 pick, allowing them to select either Greg Oden or Kevin Durant. However, even the draft lottery came out all wrong for the Celtics as they were assigned the 5th overall selection, which seemed to guarantee another disappointing season.

Draft picks

Round	Pick	Player	Position	Nationality	College
1	7	Randy Foye (traded to Denver)	SG	United States	Villanova

Roster

Boston Celtics roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Height Weight DOB (YYYY–MM–DD) From SG 42 Allen, Tony 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 213 lb (97 kg) Oklahoma State PF 4 Gomes, Ryan 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 250 lb (113 kg) Providence SG 5 Green, Gerald 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Gulf Shores Academy (TX) C 7 Jefferson, Al 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 256 lb (116 kg) Prentiss HS C 41 Olowokandi, Michael 7 ft 0 in (2.13 m) 270 lb (122 kg) Pacific C 43 Perkins, Kendrick 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 280 lb (127 kg) CJOHS SF 34 Pierce, Paul (C) 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Kansas PF 0 Powe, Leon 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 240 lb (109 kg) California C 50 Ratliff, Theo 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Wyoming SG 12 Ray, Allan 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Villanova PG 9 Rondo, Rajon 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 171 lb (78 kg) Kentucky PF 44 Scalabrine, Brian 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 235 lb (107 kg) Southern California PF 55 Szczerbiak, Wally 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 244 lb (111 kg) Miami (OH) PG 30 Telfair, Sebastian 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 160 lb (73 kg) Abraham Lincoln PG 13 West, Delonte 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Saint Joseph's	Head coach Doc Rivers (Marquette) Assistant coach(es) Tony Brown (Arkansas) Dave Wohl (Pennsylvania) Armond Hill (Princeton) Kevin Eastman (Richmond) Clifford Ray (Oklahoma) Legend (C) Team captain (DP) Unsigned draft pick (FA) Free agent (S) Suspended Injured Roster • Transactions Last transaction: 2007-04-14

Depth chart

Pos.	Starter	Bench	Reserve	Inactive
C	Kendrick Perkins	Brian Scalabrine		Michael Olowokandi
PF	Al Jefferson	Ryan Gomes	Leon Powe	Theo Ratliff
SF	Paul Pierce	Gerald Green
SG	Wally Szczerbiak	Delonte West	Allan Ray	Tony Allen
PG	Sebsastian Telfair	Rajon Rondo

Regular season

Standings

Atlantic Division	W	L	PCT	GB	Home	Road	Div
y-Toronto Raptors	47	35	.573	-	30–11	17–24	11–5
x-New Jersey Nets	41	41	.500	6	24–17	17–24	10–6
Philadelphia 76ers	35	47	.427	12	21–20	14–27	9–7
New York Knicks	33	49	.402	14	19–22	14–27	3–13
Boston Celtics	24	58	.293	23	12–29	12–29	7–9

#	Eastern Conference
	Team	W	L	PCT	GB
1	c-Detroit Pistons	53	29	.646	–
2	x-Cleveland Cavaliers	50	32	.610	3
3	y-Toronto Raptors	47	35	.573	6
4	y-Miami Heat	44	38	.537	9
5	x-Chicago Bulls	49	33	.598	4
6	x-New Jersey Nets	41	41	.500	12
7	x-Washington Wizards	41	41	.500	12
8	x-Orlando Magic	40	42	.488	13
9	Philadelphia 76ers	35	47	.427	18
10	Indiana Pacers	35	47	.427	18
11	New York Knicks	33	49	.402	20
12	Charlotte Bobcats	33	49	.402	20
13	Atlanta Hawks	30	52	.366	23
14	Milwaukee Bucks	28	54	.341	25
15	Boston Celtics	24	58	.293	29

Transactions

Trades

June 28, 2006	To New Orleans Hornets Theo Ratliff, and 2008 2nd round pick	To Portland Trail Blazers Dan Dickau, Raef LaFrentz, and the 7th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft (Randy Foye)

June 28, 2006	To Boston Celtics Brian Grant, and the 21st pick in the 2006 NBA Draft (Rajon Rondo)	To Phoenix Suns Future 1st round pick

June 28, 2006	To Detroit Pistons The 49th pick in the 2006 NBA Draft (Leon Powe)	To Denver Nuggets Future 2nd round pick

October 13, 2006	To Oklahoma City Thunder Luke Jackson, and cash considerations	To Indiana Pacers Dwayne Jones

Free agents

Additions Player Signed Former team Allan Ray July 6 Miami Heat Kevin Pittsnogle July 26 West Virginia Mountaineers Michael Olowokandi October 2 Houston Rockets Kevinn Pinkney April 4 Bakersfield Jam

Subtractions Player Left New team Orien Greene June 30 Boston Celtics Kevin Pittsnogle October 20 Pittsburgh Xplosion Luke Jackson October 26 Oklahoma City Thunder Brian Grant October 26 Chicago Bulls Kevinn Pinkney April 18 Pallacanestro Biella

See also

• 2006–07 NBA season

References

1. Celtics guard Allen out for season with knee injury
2. Tony Allen Interview, May 14, 2007

External links

• 2006–07 Boston Celtics season at Basketball Reference