Hall of Famer and former U.S. Senator Bill Bradley reviews Bill Russell’s book, “Red and Me,” which chronicles Russell’s relationship with the late Red Auerbach, president and former coach of the Celtics:
Auerbach, who died in 2006, directed his owncompetitive fire principally toward the refs. He never let up on them, figuring that next time they’d remember his complaining and maybe give the Celtics a break. Russell jokes that his best preparation for his later stint as the Celtics’ coach was taking over the coaching duties, as team captain, after the countless ejections Auerbach’s abrasiveness earned him.
Auerbach had no assistant coach and refused to scout an opponent, believing that if the Celtics executed well, it didn’t matter what the other team did. His genius was to relate to each player individually. What worked for one player didn’t work for all players. For example, Auerbach didn’t require Russell to scrimmage once the season began. The press thought Russell was getting special treatment and imagined that his teammates resented it. But Auerbach’s purpose was to keep Russell fresh in a grueling 82-game regular season and possible 19-game playoffs. During practice Russell sat in the stands drinking tea, when he attended at all, and his teammates accepted the arrangement because they knew the intensity of Russell’s commitment to winning — an intensity so great it often led him to pregame vomiting.
