Auerbach Weighs In

Auerbach Weighs In

June 1, 2008

Just about a 20-minute drive from the Staples Center in Los Angeles, the daughter of the late Red Auerbach had the Celtics' Eastern Conference finals clincher on four televisions at her home Friday night.



She wore a series of good-luck charms - a gray long-sleeve Celtics workout shirt, a necklace that featured a 1959 NBA championship gold cuff link with a shamrock, and a 1986 NBA championship ring

And every time something went wrong for Boston, she called her sister, Nancy, in Washington, D.C., for comfort

When the Celtics officially advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time since 1987 to play their longtime rivals, the Lakers, Los Angeles native Randy Auerbach couldn't breathe, feeling sick from bittersweet emotions.

She was ecstatic for her beloved Celtics. But she also wished her father, the team's patriarch who died in 2006, was alive to enjoy the moment

"It was very bittersweet," Randy Auerbach, 56, said in a phone interview yesterday. "You're relieved that [the series] is over, but dreading the future, the next series. I'm so sorry my father wasn't here. He'd have been so proud

"I think he was watching somehow there with us. He would have loved it. They are playing like the old Celtics. They have camaraderie, egos aside."
It's tough enough being the daughter of a coaching legend. It's tougher being an Auerbach in Los Angeles, of all places

Any time something out of the ordinary happened with the Celtics or her father when she was a child, she knew the questions and teases would be waiting for her at school

Then she moved to Los Angeles in 1978 to work in the film industry, and because of her last name, the question was inevitable: Are you related to Red?

With the NBA Finals beginning Thursday, Randy Auerbach is prepared to get an earful from Lakers fans

"When I was a child, if there was a fight or something controversial happened to my dad in a game, I didn't want to go to school," she said. "I feel like that now. I don't want to go to 20th Century Fox

"A lot of people recognize the name. I work with people that know. But it's surprising when I use my credit card or write a check and people say, 'Are you related to Red Auerbach?' "

Red Auerbach and the Lakers' Phil Jackson are tied for the most NBA championships by a coach, with nine. All of Auerbach's titles were won with the Celtics. Jackson has won six with Chicago and three with the Lakers

The Celtics temporarily prevented Jackson from passing Auerbach on the career wins list by winning in Los Angeles, 110-91, last Dec. 30. And by defeating the Lakers for the ninth time in 11 Finals matchups, they would stop him from surpassing Auerbach in NBA titles

So how does Jackson compare with Auerbach?
"No comment," Randy Auerbach said. "I think that says it all. This is not any reflection on Phil, per se, but I resent the comparison.

"[Jackson] has been with two different teams. Two different circumstances. That's not to take anything away from him. But you can't compare the two. Or, at least I can't

"I prefer [Jackson] not [pass Red]. He didn't have eight consecutive titles with one team. Someone needs to point that out

"He's had great success. But it's completely different."
Randy Auerbach sent congratulatory e-mails to Celtics managing partner Wyc Grousbeck and vice president of media services Jeff Twiss after Friday's game

While Lakers mania is going wild in Los Angeles, the Celtics can always count on Randy Auerbach to proudly wear her green gear in enemy territory.