Record 62–20 (.756) Radio WEEI | Period 2008 – 2009 Arena TD Garden | |
Television Comcast SportsNet New England Owners Wyc Grousbeck, Stephen Pagliuca, H. Irving Grousbeck | ||
The 2008–09 Boston Celtics season was the 63rd season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA), starting out as the defending NBA champions. The Celtics started the season 27–2, which surpassed a mark set by the 1966–67 Philadelphia 76ers for the best two-loss start in NBA history. This run also included a 19-game winning streak, which improved a Celtics franchise record set in 1981–82. However, the Celtics lost seven out of the following nine games, and eventually finished with a 62–20 record.
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They failed to defend their title as they lost Kevin Garnett to a season-ending injury. Without their All-Star, the Celtics were knocked out of the playoffs, losing to the Orlando Magic in the Conference Semifinals. The Magic would go on the NBA Finals, only to lose to the Los Angeles Lakers in five games.
Key dates
NBA Draft 2008
On June 26, the Celtics selected shooting guard J. R. Giddens with the 30th and center Semih Erden with the 60th overall picks in the 2008 NBA draft, and traded cash considerations in exchange for small forward Bill Walker, who had been selected by the Washington Wizards with the 47th overall pick. Giddens had worked out with the Celtics before the draft for three days, and received praises from head coach Doc Rivers, who thought he could fight for minutes on the team right away. He was already familiar with future teammates Leon Powe and Kendrick Perkins, who were his teammates at the 2003 McDonald's High School All-American Game. Walker was considered a lottery pick, but suffered the third knee injury in his career during a workout at the Golden State Warriors facility on June 15. However, he remained in the draft despite the injury, and was expected to have minor surgery in July that would keep him out for three to four weeks. Erden was not expected to join the roster this season, and was seen by general manager Danny Ainge as their first-round pick in 2009.
Free agency
The Celtics headed into the off-season with several free agents and tried to gather a group to repeat as the NBA Champions, with a key decision on unrestricted free agent James Posey, who, in a widely anticipated move, opted out of the second and final year of his contract with the Celtics on June 30, but stated that he wanted to return to the Celtics on a new contract. P.J. Brown, who made key contributions during the 2008 NBA Playoffs, was leaning towards retirement, and the status of restricted free agent Tony Allen remained uncertain after the first-round selection of J. R. Giddens, who was seen as a possible replacement. Later it was revealed that the Celtics did not extend a qualifying offer to Allen, making him an unrestricted free agent. The Celtics also hoped to keep unrestricted free agent Eddie House, and decisions were to be made on unrestricted free agents Sam Cassell and Scot Pollard.
The Celtics were interested in small forward Corey Maggette as a replacement for James Posey, but Maggette signed with the Golden State Warriors on a much higher contract than the Celtics were able to offer, which added to the urgency to re-sign Posey. On July 11, the Celtics addressed their need for a backup center by signing Patrick O'Bryant to a 2-year, $3 million contract, after he had an impressive workout with the team a week earlier, and consequently ruled out the return of Scot Pollard and P.J. Brown. Eventually, James Posey signed with the New Orleans Hornets on July 16, since the Celtics were reluctant to offer him more than a three-year deal at the mid-level exception. Compensating for the loss of Posey, the Celtics re-signed Tony Allen to a 2-year, $5 million contract, and were also able to re-sign Eddie House to a 2-year, $5.6 million contract, using the mid-level exception only on House.
On August 22, the Celtics signed small forward Darius Miles, who was forced to sit out the previous two seasons due to microfracture surgery on his right knee and thought to have a career-ending injury, to a non-guaranteed contract, and expected him to fight for a roster spot at training camp. He worked out twice with the team and impressed with his health and attitude, but would sit out the first ten games of the regular season for violating the league's substance abuse policy if he made the roster. This signing ultimately put the roster up to the league maximum of 15 players, of which 14 players had fully guaranteed contracts. On September 29, the first day of training camp, Sam Cassell re-signed with the team, which put the roster one player over the maximum. On October 20, Miles was waived, a move which finalized the roster for the start of the season.
Season
*Statistics with the Boston Celtics