How do you determine the best individual team for the most successful franchise in NBA history?
That's the question we posed to our partners at Strat-O-Matic, the market leader in sports simulations, for our new "Settle the Argument" series. Over the next several days, we'll pit six of the best Boston Celtics teams ever against each other in a simulated tournament -- complete with game-by-game box scores and individual player stats -- to determine the best C's squad of all time.
Our Chris Forsberg laid out the full tournament rules and schedule here, but below is a refresher on the six Boston teams we've selected and their "seeds" for the tournament.
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Today, we'll be playing out the quarterfinal matchups, which are best-of-five series featuring the following two matchups:
- No. 3 seed 1972-73 Celtics vs. No. 6 seed 1980-81 Celtics
- No. 4 seed 1961-62 Celtics vs. No. 5 seed 1964-65 Celtics
The winner of each quarterfinal matchup will go on to face the No. 1 seed 1985-86 Celtics and No. 2 seed 2007-08 Celtics -- who both received first-round byes -- in the semifinals on Thursday.
Let's get right into those quarterfinal matchups with game-by-game recaps and box scores.
Quarterfinal #1: 1972-73 Celtics (No. 3) vs. 1980-81 Celtics (No. 6)
Game 1: '72-'73 Celtics 120, '80-'81 Celtics 113
John Havlicek (27 points) and Jo Jo White (24 points) led five in double figures as the '72-'73 squad used an 8-0 run early in the fourth quarter to take Game 1. Robert Parish led the '80-'81 squad with 24 points, while Larry Bird added 19 points and 13 rebounds.
Game 2: '72-'73 Celtics 114, '80-'81 Celtics 113
Two late free throws by Havlicek and another by White were just enough to give '72-'73 a one-point win and a 2-0 series lead. Havlicek and White once again were the headliners (34 and 21 points, respectively), but Paul Silas was a monster on the boards with 18 rebounds. Tiny Archibald and Parish had 19 points each for '80-'81 in the losing effort.
Game 3: '80-'81 Celtics 125, '72-'73 Celtics 105
The '80s Celtics got a measure of revenge over the '70s counterparts, riding 31 points from Archibald and Bird's best game of the series to date (20 points, 18 rebounds, four assists) to a run away 20-point win to stave off elimination. Havlicek had 26 points to lead head coach Tommy Heinsohn's '72-'73 squad.
Game 4: '80-'81 Celtics 118, '72-'73 Celtics 116
Archibald's jumper with six seconds remaining broke a 116-116 tie, propelling Bill Fitch's squad to the win and knotting the series at two games apiece. Parish had 30 and 18 boards, offsetting 25 from White and 25 from Dave Cowens to send it to a decisive fifth game.
Game 5: '72-'73 Celtics 119, '80-'81 Celtics 115
Silas and White hit buckets in the final minute and a Havlicek free throw closed out the game and the series for the '72-'73 squad. White (31 points), Cowens (26) and Havlicek (21) powered the offense, while Silas (11 points, 14 rebounds) contributed a double-double to help the '70s team advance to the semifinals.
Quarterfinal #2: 1961-62 Celtics (No. 4) vs. 1964-65 Celtics (No. 5)
Game 1: '61-'62 Celtics 125, '64-'65 Celtics 109
Tommy Heinsohn scored a game-high 35 points and Bill Russell collected 25 rebounds as the '61-'62 Celtics coasted to the win, leading by as many as 24 and maintaining a 20-point advantage for most of the fourth quarter. Sam Jones had 36 for the '64-'65 Celtics.
Game 2: '61-'62 Celtics 105, '64-'65 Celtics 85
Another day, another rout for the '61-'62 squad, with Heinsohn again leading the way with 28 and Russell topping his Game 1 effort with 18 points and 29 boards. Sam Jones had 19 points for the '64-'65 team, which was outscored 32-11 in the third and 14-7 to start the fourth to fall behind by an insurmountable 23.
Game 3: '64-'65 Celtics 109, '61-'62 Celtics 107 (OT)
After two embarrassing defeats, '64-'65 bounced back to win a close one in overtime, with a K.C. Jones bucket and a Bill Russell free throw icing the victory. The '64-'65 version of Sam Jones and John Havlicek had 22 each for the winners, while the younger Sam Jones had 29 for '61-'62.
Game 4: '61-'62 Celtics 95, '64-'65 Celtics 94
The '61-'62 Celtics trailed this one by five with 1:41 left but Bob Cousy and Heinsohn recorded key baskets to secure the win and a 3-1 series victory. The '61-'62 squad moves on for a date with No. 1 overall seed 1985-86.
