# 1974–75 Boston Celtics season

The 1974–75 Boston Celtics season was the 29th season of the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Celtics entered the season hoping to repeat as NBA champions, but were unable to defend their title, falling in the Eastern Conference finals to the Washington Bullets in six games. They did however, win their division for the fourth consecutive season, and their conference final appearance was the fourth straight to that point.
The Boston Celtics were one of a handful of teams to play home games in four arenas; playing out of more than one arena was common in the league's first 30 or so years. Their main venue was Boston Garden, but three home games were played at the Hartford Civic Center, three at the Providence Civic Center and one at the Springfield Civic Center.

## Draft picks

This table only displays picks through the second round.
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | Nationality | College |
| 1 | 17 | Glenn McDonald | SF | United States | Long Beach State |
| 2 | 35 | Kevin Stacom | SG | United States | Providence |

## Regular season
### Season standings

| Atlantic Divisionvte | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | Div |
| y-Boston Celtics | 60 | 22 | .732 | – | 28–13 | 32–9 | 17–9 |
| x-Buffalo Braves | 49 | 33 | .598 | 11 | 30–11 | 19–22 | 15–11 |
| x-New York Knicks | 40 | 42 | .488 | 20 | 23–18 | 17–24 | 9–17 |
| Philadelphia 76ers | 34 | 48 | .415 | 26 | 20–21 | 14–27 | 11–15 |
| # | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte | Eastern Conferencevte |
| # | Team | W | L | PCT | GB |
| 1 | z-Boston Celtics | 60 | 22 | .732 | – |
| 2 | y-Washington Bullets | 60 | 22 | .732 | – |
| 3 | x-Buffalo Braves | 49 | 33 | .598 | 11 |
| 4 | x-Houston Rockets | 41 | 41 | .500 | 19 |
| 5 | x-New York Knicks | 40 | 42 | .488 | 20 |
| 6 | Cleveland Cavaliers | 40 | 42 | .488 | 20 |
| 7 | Philadelphia 76ers | 34 | 48 | .415 | 26 |
| 8 | Atlanta Hawks | 31 | 51 | .378 | 29 |
| 9 | New Orleans Jazz | 23 | 59 | .280 | 37 |

### Record vs. opponents

1974–75 NBA Records :
| Team | ATL | BOS | BUF | CHI | CLE | DET | GSW | HOU | KCO | LAL | MIL | NOJ | NYK | PHI | PHO | POR | SEA | WAS |
| Atlanta | – | 0–4 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 3–4 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–5 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–5 |
| Boston | 4–0 | – | 5–4 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 7–2 | 5–3 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 2–2 |
| Buffalo | 3–1 | 4–5 | – | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 4–0 | 5–3 | 6–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 |
| Chicago | 4–0 | 1–3 | 3–1 | – | 2–2 | 4–5 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 4–5 | 3–1 | 3–5 | 4–0 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 |
| Cleveland | 4–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | – | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 6–1 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–5 |
| Detroit | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 5–4 | 2–2 | – | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–6 | 3–1 | 3–6 | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Golden State | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | – | 2–2 | 2–2 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 5–3 | 4–3 | 1–3 |
| Houston | 5–2 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | – | 4–0 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–5 |
| Kansas City-Omaha | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–4 | 2–2 | 6–2 | 2–2 | 0–4 | – | 3–1 | 6–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 |
| Los Angeles | 2–2 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | – | 4–0 | 3–1 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 4–4 | 2–5 | 2–6 | 1–3 |
| Milwaukee | 2–2 | 0–4 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 3–1 | 6–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 3–6 | 0–4 | – | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 |
| New Orleans | 5–3 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 0–4 | 1–6 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 3–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | – | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–7 |
| New York | 4–0 | 2–7 | 3–5 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–3 | 2–2 | – | 4–5 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Philadelphia | 2–2 | 3–5 | 3–6 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 5–4 | – | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 |
| Phoenix | 0–4 | 1–3 | 1–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 4–4 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 1–3 | 2–2 | – | 1–6 | 4–3 | 1–3 |
| Portland | 3–1 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 3–5 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 5–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 6–1 | – | 2–6 | 1–3 |
| Seattle | 1–3 | 2–2 | 1–3 | 0–4 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 6–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–4 | 6–2 | – | 1–3 |
| Washington | 5–3 | 2–2 | 2–2 | 3–1 | 5–3 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 5–2 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 7–0 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | — |

## Playoffs

1975 playoff game log :
Conference semifinals: 4–1 (home: 3–0; road: 1–1)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 14
Houston
W 123–106
John Havlicek (30)
Dave Cowens (19)
John Havlicek (9)
Boston Garden 15,320
1–0
2
April 16
Houston
W 112–100
Dave Cowens (28)
Dave Cowens (18)
John Havlicek (7)
Boston Garden 13,254
2–0
3
April 19
@ Houston
L 102–117
Don Nelson (21)
Havlicek, Silas (8)
Silas, White (5)
Hofheinz Pavilion 10,218
2–1
4
April 22
@ Houston
W 122–117
Dave Cowens (31)
Hofheinz Pavilion 10,218
3–1
5
April 24
Houston
W 128–115
John Havlicek (28)
Dave Cowens (12)
John Havlicek (11)
Boston Garden 15,320
4–1 :
Conference finals: 2–4 (home: 2–1; road: 0–3)
GameDateTeamScoreHigh pointsHigh reboundsHigh assistsLocation AttendanceSeries
1
April 27
Washington
L 95–100
Jo Jo White (27)
Dave Cowens (19)
Paul Silas (6)
Boston Garden 15,320
0–1
2
April 30
@ Washington
L 92–117
Don Nelson (23)
Paul Silas (17)
Jo Jo White (7)
Capital Centre 19,035
0–2
3
May 3
Washington
W 101–90
John Havlicek (26)
Paul Silas (25)
Jo Jo White (7)
Boston Garden 15,320
1–2
4
May 7
@ Washington
L 108–119
Jo Jo White (32)
Dave Cowens (17)
Jo Jo White (7)
Capital Centre 19,035
1–3
5
May 9
Washington
W 103–99
Dave Cowens (27)
Dave Cowens (12)
Don Chaney (5)
Boston Garden 15,320
2–3
6
May 11
@ Washington
L 92–98
Dave Cowens (23)
Dave Cowens (21)
Jo Jo White (6)
Capital Centre 19,035
2–4 :
1975 schedule :

## Awards and records

* John Havlicek, All-NBA Second Team
* Dave Cowens, All-NBA Second Team
* Jo Jo White, All-NBA Second Team
* John Havlicek, NBA All-Defensive First Team
* Paul Silas, NBA All-Defensive First Team
* Dave Cowens, NBA All-Defensive Second Team
* Don Chaney, NBA All-Defensive Second Team