[2][3][4][5] Bird missed nearly half of the season due to a nagging back injury, only playing just 45 games.
[6][7][8] Midway through the season in January, the Celtics traded Brian Shaw to the Miami Heat in exchange for Sherman Douglas.
[9][10][11] The Celtics trailed the New York Knicks in the Atlantic Division for the first half of the season, holding a 28–18 record at the All-Star break.
[12] But a furious rally at the end of the season helped the Celtics finish with a 51–31 record, and claim the division title (and the #2 Eastern Conference seed, although since they finished six games behind the #3 seed Cleveland Cavaliers in record, Cleveland would have home court in a head-to-head playoff series).
[14] One of the season highlights for Bird was a 49-point performance in a nationally televised double-overtime win over eventual Western Conference champion Portland Trail Blazers.