Red sure had his Phil

June 2008

Red sure had his Phil

For those Celtics fans who need yet another reason to root for the Green to dispatch with the Los Angeles Lakers in the upcoming NBA Finals, we give you this chant: Win one for Red!



You didn't think Red Auerbach was going away, did you? Though the legendary coach/general manager/president of the Celtics is no longer with us, Red is absolutely going to be a presence, and an ongoing storyline, throughout this dream matchup against the Lakers.

Auerbach, architect of every one of those 16 championship banners hanging from the Garden rafters, was head coach of the Celtics for nine of them. Phil Jackson, current head coach of the Lakers, also has won nine NBA championships - six with the Chicago Bulls, three with the Lakers.

In other words, a victory by the Lakers in this NBA Finals means Jackson moves past Red as the NBA coach with the most championships.

Hence, the chant.

Win one for Red!

Auerbach, remember, did not go gently into that good night. Long after he stopped being a day-to-day presence with the administration of the Celtics, he still was commenting on all things Green. The cheerleaders, for instance. Red, whose book learnin' was from George Washington University, but whose education was from The Old School, didn't want the cheerleaders. Sorry, ladies. That was just Red being Red.

And now it's Celtics vs. Lakers in the NBA Finals. Celtics vs. the PHIL JACKSON-COACHED Lakers. Think Red would have something to say about this?

In a way, he already has. Three years ago, Auerbach practically prepared a pregame pep talk for the 2007-08 Celtics when he put it out there that Jackson, while a very fine coach, essentially went franchise shopping when he took the Lakers job.

``Phil obviously is a good coach,'' Auerbach said in an interview with Chris Sheridan of ESPN. ``You don't win that many games without being a good coach. One thing, though. He's been very fortunate. He picks his spots.''

There's more.

``Phil Jackson, they've got a pretty good ballclub out there, but he's got his built-in excuse,'' said Auerbach. ``Larry Brown, whatever he does is a plus, so they've got everything going for them. You could have taken - I won't say anybody, but you can take any knowledgeable coach and put them in those situations, and they can't do any worse. If LA doesn't make the playoffs, it's building. If New York doesn't make the playoffs, we're building, you know?''

Now don't think for a moment that Auerbach didn't respect Jackson as a coach. Conduct your own Google search and you'll find, for instance, this comment from Red, written up by Ken Shouler of ESPN.com: ``There's no question in my mind that he is a great coach. Because I've seen guys who get great teams on paper and they butcher it up, you see?''

And this: ``We both had the respect of the players. And that's the key thing. In other words, you say something and they listen. If somebody else does it, they don't listen.''

But it's clear Auerbach was always proud that, in addition to coaching his own teams, he also built them from the ground up. And after stepping down as head coach after 1966, he assembled another seven championship teams as general manager of the Celtics.

Don't think for a moment Red's not a part of things at the Celtics' Causeway Street gym. Remember how, in the old days, opponents complained about famous dead spots in the parquet and how Red turned up the heat in the visitors' locker room? If you listen to Paul Pierce, Red's still up to his old tricks. In the waning minutes of the Celtics' 97-92 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, when a free throw by Pierce took a couple of odd twists and caroms before finally falling through the net, the Celtics captain thanked Auerbach for guiding in the ball.

So, yes, Paul Pierce believes Red will play a role if there is to be a banner No. 17.

Cigar, anyone?