# 2000–01 Boston Celtics season

The 2000–01 NBA season was the 55th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. The Celtics had the eleventh overall pick in the 2000 NBA draft, and selected Jérôme Moïso from the University of California, Los Angeles. During the off-season, the team acquired Bryant Stith, and second-year guard Chris Herren from the Denver Nuggets, and signed free agents Randy Brown, Chris Carr, and rookie center Mark Blount.
Prior to the start of the season, the Celtics were nearly hit with tragedy when Paul Pierce was stabbed 11 times in the face, neck and back, and had a bottle smashed over his head, and was attacked by three men at the Buzz Club, a late night dance club in the Boston Theater District on September 25, 2000; Tony Battie, Pierce's Celtic teammate, along with Battie's brother, saved him by rushing him to a nearby hospital, where Pierce had to undergo lung surgery to repair the damage. Nevertheless, Pierce was the only Celtic to start all 82 games during the 2000–01 season.
The Celtics played around .500 in November, but then struggled as Kenny Anderson only played just 33 games due to an ankle injury and broken jaw, and Battie only played just 40 games due to an ankle injury. With a 12–22 start to the season, a frustrated Rick Pitino resigned as head coach after three years with the Celtics. Under replacement Jim O'Brien, they played around .500 for the remainder of the season posting a six-game winning streak between January and February, but later lost six of their final eight games, finishing fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 36–46 record, missing the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. In the 39 years before the current streak, they had missed the playoffs only five times.
Pierce averaged 25.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, and finished in 13th place in Most Valuable Player voting, while Antoine Walker averaged 23.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 1.7 steals per game, and led the league with 221 three-point field goals. In addition, Stith contributed 9.7 points per game, and Anderson provided the team with 7.5 points, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Off the bench, Vitaly Potapenko averaged 7.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game, while Eric Williams contributed 6.6 points per game, and Battie provided with 6.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game.
Following the season, Stith signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Cavaliers, while second-year guard Adrian Griffin signed with the Dallas Mavericks, and Carr was released to free agency.

## Draft picks

| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 11 | Jérôme Moïso | PF | France | UCLA |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Atlantic Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Philadelphia 76ers | 56 | 26 | .683 | – | 29–12 | 27–14 | 18–6 |
| x-Miami Heat | 50 | 32 | .610 | 6 | 29–12 | 21–20 | 15–10 |
| x-New York Knicks | 48 | 34 | .585 | 8 | 30–11 | 18–23 | 16–9 |
| x-Orlando Magic | 43 | 39 | .524 | 13 | 26–15 | 17–24 | 14–10 |
| Boston Celtics | 36 | 46 | .439 | 20 | 20–21 | 16–25 | 11–13 |
| New Jersey Nets | 26 | 56 | .317 | 30 | 18–23 | 8–33 | 8–16 |
| Washington Wizards | 19 | 63 | .232 | 37 | 12–29 | 7–34 | 3–21 |
Eastern Conferencevte :
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | c-Philadelphia 76ers | 56 | 26 | .683 | – |
| 2 | y-Milwaukee Bucks | 52 | 30 | .634 | 4 |
| 3 | x-Miami Heat | 50 | 32 | .610 | 6 |
| 4 | x-New York Knicks | 48 | 34 | .585 | 8 |
| 5 | x-Toronto Raptors | 47 | 35 | .573 | 9 |
| 6 | x-Charlotte Hornets | 46 | 36 | .561 | 10 |
| 7 | x-Orlando Magic | 43 | 39 | .524 | 13 |
| 8 | x-Indiana Pacers | 41 | 41 | .500 | 15 |
| 9 | Boston Celtics | 36 | 46 | .439 | 20 |
| 10 | Detroit Pistons | 32 | 50 | .390 | 24 |
| 11 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 30 | 52 | .366 | 26 |
| 12 | New Jersey Nets | 26 | 56 | .317 | 30 |
| 13 | Atlanta Hawks | 25 | 57 | .305 | 31 |
| 14 | Washington Wizards | 19 | 63 | .232 | 37 |
| 15 | Chicago Bulls | 15 | 67 | .183 | 42 |

### Record vs. opponents

2000-01 NBA Records :
| Team | ATL | BOS | CHA | CHI | CLE | DAL | DEN | DET | GSW | HOU | IND | LAC | LAL | MIA | MIL | MIN | NJN | NYK | ORL | PHI | PHO | POR | SAC | SAS | SEA | TOR | UTA | VAN | WAS |
| Atlanta | — | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Boston | 3–1 | — | 0–4 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 |
| Charlotte | 4–0 | 4–0 | — | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Chicago | 2–2 | 1–2 | 1–3 | — | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 |
| Cleveland | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 |
| Dallas | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Denver | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–1 |
| Detroit | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 |
| Golden State | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–1 | — | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 |
| Houston | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 3–1 | — | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Indiana | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | — | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| L.A. Clippers | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–2 | — | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 1–1 |
| L.A. Lakers | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Miami | 3–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | — | 1–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–3 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Milwaukee | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–1 | — | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| Minnesota | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| New Jersey | 3–1 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 0–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | — | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 |
| New York | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | — | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 |
| Orlando | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 |
| Philadelphia | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Phoenix | 2–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | — | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 |
| Portland | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–3 | — | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 |
| Sacramento | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | — | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| San Antonio | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | — | 3–1 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Seattle | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | — | 0–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 2–0 |
| Toronto | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 2–0 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 4–0 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 1–2 | 3–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–0 | — | 1–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 |
| Utah | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 0–2 | — | 4–0 | 2–0 |
| Vancouver | 1–1 | 2–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–4 | — | 2–0 |
| Washington | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–2 | 2–2 | 0–2 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 0–2 | 0–2 | — |

### Game log
## Player statistics
### Regular season

Boston Celtics statistics :
| Player | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG |
| Kenny Anderson | 33 | 28 | 25.7 | .388 | .333 | .831 | 2.2 | 4.1 | 1.3 | .1 | 7.5 |
| Tony Battie | 40 | 25 | 21.1 | .537 | .000 | .638 | 5.8 | .4 | .7 | 1.5 | 6.5 |
| Mark Blount | 64 | 50 | 17.2 | .505 | | .697 | 3.6 | .5 | .6 | 1.2 | 3.9 |
| Randy Brown | 54 | 35 | 22.9 | .422 | .000 | .575 | 1.8 | 2.9 | 1.1 | .2 | 4.1 |
| Rick Brunson$^†$ | 7 | 0 | 20.3 | .286 | .182 | .444 | 1.3 | 3.4 | 1.0 | .1 | 3.7 |
| Chris Carr | 35 | 0 | 8.8 | .473 | .459 | .767 | 1.3 | .3 | .1 | .1 | 4.8 |
| Adrian Griffin | 44 | 0 | 8.6 | .340 | .346 | .750 | 2.0 | .6 | .4 | .1 | 2.1 |
| Chris Herren | 25 | 7 | 16.3 | .302 | .291 | .750 | .8 | 2.2 | .6 | .0 | 3.3 |
| Walter McCarty | 60 | 3 | 8.0 | .357 | .339 | .786 | 1.4 | .7 | .2 | .1 | 2.2 |
| Jérôme Moïso | 24 | 0 | 5.6 | .400 | .000 | .423 | 1.8 | .1 | .1 | .2 | 1.5 |
| Doug Overton$^†$ | 7 | 1 | 20.6 | .341 | .250 | .636 | 2.1 | 2.7 | .6 | .0 | 5.4 |
| Milt Palacio | 58 | 6 | 19.7 | .472 | .333 | .848 | 1.8 | 2.6 | .8 | .0 | 5.9 |
| Paul Pierce | 82 | 82 | 38.0 | .454 | .383 | .745 | 6.4 | 3.1 | 1.7 | .8 | 25.3 |
| Vitaly Potapenko | 82 | 7 | 23.2 | .476 | | .728 | 6.0 | .8 | .6 | .3 | 7.5 |
| Bryant Stith | 78 | 74 | 32.1 | .401 | .376 | .845 | 3.6 | 2.2 | 1.2 | .2 | 9.7 |
| Antoine Walker | 81 | 81 | 41.9 | .413 | .367 | .716 | 8.9 | 5.5 | 1.7 | .6 | 23.4 |
| Eric Williams | 81 | 11 | 21.5 | .362 | .331 | .714 | 2.6 | 1.4 | .8 | .2 | 6.6 |
* $^†$ Denotes player spent time with another team in the season. Stats reflect time with the Celtics only.