1978–79 Boston Celtics season

1978–79 Boston Celtics season
Head coach Satch Sanders
Dave Cowens
General manager Red Auerbach
Arena Boston Garden
Hartford Civic Center
Results
Record 29–53 (.354)
Place Division: 5th (Atlantic)
Conference: 10th (Eastern)
Playoff finish DNQ
Stats @ Basketball-Reference.com
Local media
Television WBZ-TV
Radio WBZ

The 1978–79 Boston Celtics season was the 33rd season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). It was the worst record of any Celtics team that played between 1950 and 1996.

Prior to the season, owner Irv Levin swapped franchises with the Buffalo Braves ownership group led by John Y. Brown, Jr.. Levin had wanted to have a team in his native California, but knew the other league owners would not consider a move of the Celtics. He therefore brokered a deal with Brown to swap franchises, and then moved the Braves to San Diego to become the Clippers. In the meantime, a deal was brokered, without consulting team president Red Auerbach, to trade three players (Freeman Williams, Kevin Kunnert and Kermit Washington) to the Braves for Tiny Archibald, Billy Knight and Marvin Barnes. The move created a media firestorm for the team, as Kunnert & Washington were viewed as keys to future improvement, and Auerbach publicly stated that he was not consulted about the move. Brown would then trade three first-round draft picks for former Brave Bob McAdoo. Auerbach again was not consulted, and he almost took a job with the rival New York Knicks because of it. By the start of the season, between trades and the retirement of team captain John Havlicek, only six players remained from the 1977–78 team, including the starting front three of Dave Cowens, Cedric Maxwell and Curtis Rowe, shooting guard Jo Jo White and backup point guards Don Chaney and Kevin Stacom. Team depth issues were worsened when first round draft pick Larry Bird decided to remain in college for the season.

Following the season, Brown would sell his portion of the team to partner Harry T. Mangurian, Jr..

Draft picks

Round Pick Player Position Nationality College
1 6 Larry Bird SF/PF  United States Indiana State

Roster

Boston Celtics roster
PlayersCoaches
Pos.No.NameHeightWeightDOB (YYYY-MM-DD)From
G 7 United States Archibald, Nate 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 150 lb (68 kg) UTEP
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
G 42 United States Ford, Chris 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Villanova
F 32 United States Judkins, Jeff 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Utah
F 31 United States Maxwell, Cedric 6 ft 8 in (2.03 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Charlotte
F/C 11 United States McAdoo, Bob 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 210 lb (95 kg) North Carolina
C 53 United States Robey, Rick 6 ft 11 in (2.11 m) 230 lb (104 kg) Kentucky
F 41 United States Rowe, Curtis 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) 225 lb (102 kg) UCLA
F 45 United States Sanders, Frankie 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Southern
G 27 United States Stacom, Kevin 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 185 lb (84 kg) Providence
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (DP) Unsigned draft pick
  • (FA) Free agent
  • (S) Suspended
  • Injured

Regular season

Season standings

Atlantic Division
TeamWLPCT.GB
Washington Bullets5428.659-
Philadelphia 76ers4735.5737
New Jersey Nets3745.45117
New York Knicks3151.37823
Boston Celtics2953.35425

Record vs. opponents

1978-79 NBA Records
Team ATL BOS CHI CLE DEN DET GSW HOU IND KCK LAL MIL NJN NOJ NYK PHI PHO POR SAS SDC SEA WAS
Atlanta —2–23–13–13–13–11–33–11–32–21–33–02–22–22–22–22–12–23–13–11–32–2
Boston 2–2—1–22–21–32–22–11–33–11–31–31–31–32–23–12–20–41–30–41–32–20–4
Chicago 1–32–1—1–32–22–23–12–22–20–41–31–32–22–23–11–31–34–00–30–40–41–3
Cleveland 1–32–23–1—1–21–32–12–21–31–32–21–33–12–22–22–20–40–40–42–22–20–4
Denver 1–33–12–22–1—2–24–01–33–11–33–12–24–03–13–10–33–11–33–12–23–11–3
Detroit 1–32–22–23–12–2—1–32–22–22–22–22–10–42–21–31–30–41–31–32–20–31–3
Golden State 3–11–21–31–20–43–1—2–22–22–21–32–21–33–13–13–11–32–21–31–33–12–2
Houston 1–33–12–22–23–12–22–2—0–43–12–12–23–14–04–00–42–23–13–12–12–22–2
Indiana 3–11–32–23–11–32–22–24–0—1–30–42–21–22–12–22–22–23–13–11–30–41–3
Kansas City 2–23–14–03–13–12–22–21–33–1—2–22–23–13–12–12–22–21–31–32–22–23–0
Los Angeles 3–13–13–12–21–32–23–11–24–02–2—3–12–22–23–01–32–22–22–22–22–22–2
Milwaukee 0–33–13–13–12–21–22–22–22–22–21–3—2–23–11–32–22–22–21–31–32–21–3
New Jersey 2–23–12–21–30–44–03–11–32–11–32–22–2—3–11–32–23–02–20–42–20–41–3
New Orleans 2–22–22–22–21–32–21–30–41–21–32–21–31–3—2–22–21–31–32–20–40–30–4
New York 2–21–31–32–21–33–11–30–42–21–20–33–13–12–2—2–20–41–31–32–22–21–3
Philadelphia 2–22–23–12–23–03–11–34–02–22–23–12–22–22–22–2—1–31–23–13–11–33–1
Phoenix 1–24–03–14–01–34–03–12–22–22–22–22–20–33–14–03–1—3–13–12–21–31–3
Portland 2–23–10–44–03–13–12–21–31–33–12–22–22–23–13–12–11–3—2–12–21–33–1
San Antonio 1–34–03–04–01–33–13–11–31–33–12–23–14–02–23–11–31–31–2—4–02–21–3
San Diego 1–33–14–02–22–22–23–11–23–12–22–23–12–24–02–21–32–22–20–4—2–20–3
Seattle 3–12–24–02–21–33–01–32–24–02–22–22–24–03–02–23–13–13–12–22–2—2–2
Washington 2–24–03–14–03–13–12–22–23–10–32–23–13–14–03–11–33–11–33–13–02–2—

References

    This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.