2004–05 Boston Celtics season 2004–05 Boston Celtics season The 2004–05 NBA season was the 59th season for the Boston Celtics in the National Basketball Association. The season is memorable when the team hired Doc Rivers to be their head coach for the upcoming season. During the offseason, the Celtics acquired All-Star guard Gary Payton, and former Celtics forward Rick Fox from the Los Angeles Lakers, but Fox would retire before the season. The Celtics struggled playing under .500 for the first half of the season. At midseason, Payton was traded to the Atlanta Hawks for former Celtic All-Star forward Antoine Walker. However, Payton would
Boston Celtics the National Basketball League and the Basketball Association of America merger. However, the Blackhawks could not field a truly competitive team until they moved to St. Louis as the St. Louis Hawks after a four-year stopover at Milwaukee. The two teams have faced each other eleven times in the NBA Playoffs, four times in the NBA Finals, with the Celtics winning ten of twelve series against the Hawks, including three out of four NBA Finals. While the Hawks have only defeated the Celtics twice out of eleven series in the NBA Playoffs, they still often managed to make their series