Boston Celtics: Top 5 most underappreciated seasons in team history

CLEVELAND - MAY 11: Paul Pierce #42 of the Boston Celtics celebrates with Tony Allen #42 while playing the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game Five of the Eastern Conference Semifinals during the 2010 NBA Playoffs at Quicken Loans Arena on May 11, 2010 in Cleveland, Ohio. Boston won the game 120-88 to take a 3-2 series lead. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /

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4. Charlie Scott — 1975–1976 season

Following four seasons with the Phoenix Suns, Charlie Scott was traded to the Celtics in 1975 for future Hall of Famer Paul Westphal and a couple of draft picks. This was one of the rare win-win trades in league history that featured Hall of Famers being traded for each other.

Scott joined a Celtics team that already had a Big 3 in John Havlicek, Dave Cowens and Jo Jo White. To add a dynamic on-ball scorer like Scott to the equation was just unfair to the rest of the league. Even after a season where the Celtics won 60 games, they were even more revered because opposing defenses could not cope with this high-octane scoring quadrant.

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Scott took on a lesser role with the Celtics in order to balance the team’s scoring output. He went from averaging 24.3 points per game on 23.1 field goal attempts per game in his final season with the Suns to a 17.6 points per game average on 16.0 field goal attempts per game in his Celtics debut campaign.

As the fourth scoring option on the team, Scott carried his momentum from the regular season into the playoffs. He generated a couple of key performances, including his 31-point game against the Buffalo Braves in the closeout game of the Eastern Conference Semifinals.

In the 1976 NBA Finals against Westphal and the Suns, Scott continued to be the fourth scoring option on the team; he averaged 14.5 points per game in a physical series that embodied 1970s basketball.

The performances in the playoffs coupled with the ring in the end added to his eventual Hall of Fame candidacy.

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