Top Seed in ’17

The Celtics built on the previous season’s success in the 2016-17 campaign with 53 wins and an Atlantic Division title. All-Star Isaiah Thomas’ career season continued as he finished third in the NBA scoring race (28.9 points per game) and made the All-NBA Second Team. The Celtics went into the 2017 NBA Playoffs with the No. 1 seed, but nearly gave away their advantage when the eighth-seeded Chicago Bulls won the first two games of the Eastern Conference First Round on TD Garden’s parquet. The C’s stormed back to win four straight. Boston then survived a high-scoring seven-game semifinals against the Washington Wizards to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals against LeBron James. James and the Cleveland Cavaliers coasted to a 4-1 series win, which was aided in no small measure by Thomas’ series-ending injury in Game 2.