Playoffs Open Tomorrow against Bullets

1983-84 Boston Celtics
April 16, 1984

The Celtics will be home for Easter and can send someone to scout the Knicks-Pistons series, which starts tomorrow night in Pontiac, Mich. Boston's playoff path is finally in focus. The Celtics open their best-of- five series with the Washington Bullets tomorrow at 8 p.m. at the Garden. Game 2 will be Thursday night in Boston at 7:30. Game 3 in Landover, Md., is set for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. The Celtics will fly home after Saturday's game.

If a Game 4 is needed, they'll play Tuesday night in Washington. If there's a fifth game, it will be in the Garden on April 26. If the Celtics beat Washington, they'll meet the winner of the New York- Detroit matchup in a best-of-seven series. The winner of that round figures to play the 76ers in the Eastern Conference final.

MISC

Larry Bird won the NBA's free-throw title with a percentage of .888 (374-421) . . . Danny Ainge (sprained left ankle) sat out his fifth straight game and says, "It's tough watching, but I realize we've got two more months to play, and we've got a lot of good players, so there's no sense coming back when you're not 100 percent." . . . The Celtics finished with a 13-11 record against the Atlantic Division . . . Darryl Dawkins fouled out 22 times this year, down one from last season . . . Did you notice that Bill Fitch's Houston club clinched the bottom spot in the West with a 146-128 loss in San Diego Saturday night? Big Brother Bill is now only a coin flip (vs. Portland, which owns Indiana's pick) away from the No. 1 pick . . . Before yesterday's game, Bird was presented with the Jack Barry Sportsmanship Award, given annually in honor of Barry, a beloved Globe sportswriter who passed away in 1975.