Eight of the great Celtics non-title teams listed here were defending champions, with all but two severely hampered in their quest to repeat by injuries.
In their first playoff foray under coach Tom Heinsohn, the rebuilt Celtics of young Dave Cowens, JoJo White, and Don Chaney, along with veterans John Havlicek and Don Nelson, were taken down by the wily Knicks.
Boston beat New York by eight games in the regular season to win the Atlantic Division. But after beating Atlanta 4-2 in the first round, New York exposed the playoff inexperience of many of the Celtics in a five-game conference finals victory.