2000–01 Boston Celtics season explained

The 2000–01 NBA season was the 55th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association.^[1] During the off-season, the Celtics acquired Bryant Stith from the Denver Nuggets,^{[2] [3]} and signed free agents Randy Brown,^[4] Chris Carr,^[5] 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.^{[6] [7] [8] [9]} Nevertheless, Pierce was the only Celtic to start all 82 games during the 2000–01 season.^[10]

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,^{[11] [12]} and Battie only played just 40 games due to an ankle injury.^{[13] [14]} With a 12–22 start to the season, a frustrated Rick Pitino resigned as head coach after three years with the Celtics.^{[15] [16] [17]} 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.^[18] In the 39 years before the current streak, they had missed the playoffs only five times.^[19]

Pierce averaged 25.3 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.7 steals per game, while Antoine Walker averaged 23.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists per game, and led the league with 221 three-point field goals, Stith contributed 9.7 points per game, and Vitaly Potapenko provided the team with 7.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game off the bench.^[20] Following the season, Stith signed as a free agent with the Cleveland Cavaliers,^[21] while second-year guard Adrian Griffin signed with the Dallas Mavericks,^{[22] [23]} and Carr was released to free agency.

Draft picks

See main article: article and 2000 NBA draft.

Regular season

Record vs. opponents

2000-01 NBA Records
width=100	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
	—	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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
	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

|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 33 || 28 || 25.7 || .388 || .333 || .831 || 2.2 || 4.1 || 1.3 || .1 || 7.5|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 40 || 25 || 21.1 || .537 || .000 || .638 || 5.8 || .4 || .7 || 1.5 || 6.5|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 64 || 50 || 17.2 || .505 || || .697 || 3.6 || .5 || .6 || 1.2 || 3.9|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 54 || 35 || 22.9 || .422 || .000 || .575 || 1.8 || 2.9 || 1.1 || .2 || 4.1|- | style="text-align:left;"|^†| 7 || 0 || 20.3 || .286 || .182 || .444 || 1.3 || 3.4 || 1.0 || .1 || 3.7|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 35 || 0 || 8.8 || .473 || .459 || .767 || 1.3 || .3 || .1 || .1 || 4.8|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 44 || 0 || 8.6 || .340 || .346 || .750 || 2.0 || .6 || .4 || .1 || 2.1|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 25 || 7 || 16.3 || .302 || .291 || .750 || .8 || 2.2 || .6 || .0 || 3.3|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 60 || 3 || 8.0 || .357 || .339 || .786 || 1.4 || .7 || .2 || .1 || 2.2|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 24 || 0 || 5.6 || .400 || .000 || .423 || 1.8 || .1 || .1 || .2 || 1.5|- | style="text-align:left;"|^†| 7 || 1 || 20.6 || .341 || .250 || .636 || 2.1 || 2.7 || .6 || .0 || 5.4|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 58 || 6 || 19.7 || .472 || .333 || .848 || 1.8 || 2.6 || .8 || .0 || 5.9|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 82 || 82 || 38.0 || .454 || .383 || .745 || 6.4 || 3.1 || 1.7 || .8 || 25.3|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 82 || 7 || 23.2 || .476 || || .728 || 6.0 || .8 || .6 || .3 || 7.5|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 78 || 74 || 32.1 || .401 || .376 || .845 || 3.6 || 2.2 || 1.2 || .2 || 9.7|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 81 || 81 || 41.9 || .413 || .367 || .716 || 8.9 || 5.5 || 1.7 || .6 || 23.4|- | style="text-align:left;"|| 81 || 11 || 21.5 || .362 || .331 || .714 || 2.6 || 1.4 || .8 || .2 || 6.6|}

See also

• 2000–01 NBA season
• Reebok Pro Summer League, a summer league hosted by the Celtics

Notes and References

1. https://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/BOS/2001.html 2000-2001 Boston Celtics
2. News: PLUS: PRO BASKETBALL; Pack Trade to Nuggets Official . The New York Times . October 17, 2000 . January 11, 2022.
3. News: Associated Press . Celtics, Nuggets Complete Four-Player Trade . Los Angeles Times . October 17, 2000 . October 19, 2022.
4. News: Celtics Sign Free Agent Randy Brown . United Press International . August 3, 2000 . September 16, 2022.
5. News: Wise . Mike . PRO BASKETBALL; West Side Story, the Sequel . The New York Times . October 30, 2000 . July 16, 2022.
6. News: Williams . Lena . PRO BASKETBALL; Nightclub Incident Leaves Celtic Recovering from Stab Wounds . The New York Times . September 26, 2000 . November 26, 2022.
7. News: Celtics' Pierce Stabbed in Nightclub . Los Angeles Times . September 26, 2000 . November 26, 2022.
8. News: Greenberg . Alan . Pierce Attacked . Hartford Courant . September 26, 2000 . July 13, 2022.
9. Web site: ESPN.com – NBA – Two Suspects Arraigned . ESPN . March 12, 2022.
10. Web site: Celtics Star Paul Pierce Fights Back on BEYOND THE GLORY | Celtics.com . NBA.com . March 12, 2022.
11. News: Anderson Activated by Celtics . United Press International . December 10, 2000 . January 11, 2022.
12. News: Associated Press . NBA NOTEBOOK; Pitino Likely to Stick It Out . New Haven Register . December 24, 2000 . October 25, 2022.
13. News: Associated Press . Magic End Celtics' Home Dominance . ESPN . December 30, 2000 . October 25, 2022.
14. News: Around the NBA . Chron . January 2, 2001 . June 23, 2022.
15. News: Wise . Mike . PRO BASKETBALL; No Miracles Forthcoming, Pitino Quits Celtics Job . The New York Times . January 9, 2001 . March 15, 2017.
16. News: Heisler . Mark . Pitino Signaled His Exit Long Ago . Los Angeles Times . January 9, 2001 . October 25, 2022.
17. News: Doyle . Paul . One Fine Mess . Hartford Courant . January 9, 2001 . July 13, 2022.
18. Web site: 2000–01 Boston Celtics Schedule and Results. Basketball-Reference. July 23, 2021.
19. News: Boston Celtics . Basketball-Reference . January 24, 2022.
20. Web site: 2000–01 Boston Celtics Roster and Stats. Basketball-Reference. July 23, 2021.
21. News: Cavaliers Sign Bryant Stith . United Press International . August 13, 2001 . July 2, 2022.
22. News: Mavericks Sign Adrian Griffin . United Press International . July 27, 2001 . October 19, 2022.
23. News: Wise . Mike . PRO BASKETBALL; Jordan Against the New Generation, Lakers Against the World . The New York Times . October 30, 2001 . October 25, 2022.