During the 1978-79 NBA season, the Boston Celtics were aging team far removed from their championships in the mid-70's. Dave Cowens was on his way out and the team was led by Cornbread Maxwell. Sure they had Tiny Archibald, but they could only 29-53 for fifth place in the Atlantic. That season they were coached by former Celtics great Satch Sanders and later in the year by Cowens himself.
Boston finally brought on board its previous year's pick Larry Bird the following year and embarked then on the league's best turn-around at that point by finishing 61-21 (they also had a broken down Pete Maravich and Don Chaney on their roster). A remarkable 32 more wins that was the benchmark up to Tim Duncan's rookie season in 1998 when the San Antonio Spurs bettered their 1996-97 20-62 record to 56-26. A 36-game improvement.
This 2007-08 season, the Celtics reclaimed that record when they tied the Spurs record when they plastered Indiana 92-77 to go 60-15 with seven games remaining. It stands to reason that they'll break it and claim the record for their own unless they begin tanking games.
Kevin Garnett is a huge reason for this remarkable turnaround. Sure they also got Ray Allen, James Posey, Eddie House, and some others, but make no mistake. No KG. No chance. Now the Boston faithful can light up Red's victory cigars if they reclaim the Larry O'Brien trophy.
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