Red feels the celtics will do well

["Shailendra K Mishra" <skmishra@sprintmail.com>]

      Red Auerbach is smiling again. The 81-year-old patriarch of the
Celtics is even looking healthier now that the franchise is looking
likewise.

      He likes what he's seen the last two days at practice, and he likes
the possibilities. Red was rambling on roundball yesterday, and one had only
to listen to feel the wisdom and joy.


      ``I'm enjoying it,'' he said. ``I like this team. We've got a lot of
quickness and a lot of guys who can put the ball in the hole. And what a
great attitude. There was a practice that was 3 hours, and I watched. I
didn't see one guy who was unhappy or griping.''


      What he did see was a No. 10 overall draft pick in Paul Pierce who has
a chance to be seen in the same light as some of the Celts' great heists of
the past (drafting Larry Bird as a junior eligible, Rick Robey for Dennis
Johnson, etc.).


      ``Oh, he's good,'' Red said, a smile creasing his face again. ``Oh,
he's very good. That to me was a steal that he slid down that far. A steal.


      ``You see everybody gets this illusion with the foreign players,'' he
added, referring to Dirk Nowitzki and perhaps Michael Olowokandi. ``They
think just because they can play a little bit and they're foreign, they
should take them way up there. And they forgot about this guy.''


      Auerbach then looked to the backcourt before focusing on the Celts'
new $70.875 million man.


      ``I think (Ron) Mercer's going to have a good year. I think Kenny
Anderson, that's one of the keys - he and Antoine.''


      Red put it on Antoine Walker in a Thursday conversation, emphasizing
his leadership responsibilities.


      ``We were talking about that,'' Red recounted, ``and I said to him,
`Hey, you're the captain. Remember, act like one. Be in control.' And he
nodded. His attitude is great. I mean, really great. He came out there and I
watched him yesterday and today and he's acting like a captain.''


      It was a fairly simple conversation, as Walker recounts it. ``He
congratulated me (about the new contract),'' Walker said. ``He told me I
could be as good as I wanted to be. And then he gave me a cigar.''


      With the lockout taking away the league he has known since its
inception, Auerbach even blew some smoke at a high school game, seeing
DeMatha play last week. But now that the NBA is back, Red thinks the fans
will follow suit.


      ``I think the people have missed it,'' he said. ``You have a few
disgruntled people, because that's the nature of the beast. You're going to
find that all the time. But I don't think the fans are going to stay away. I
honestly don't. I'd be shocked if they do. It's life. It's the way things
happen. But I think they realize both sides are sorry they didn't get it
done sooner. But sometimes everything is for the best.


      ``And, you know, I did predict it was going to be February before they
started. I did predict that.''


      Auerbach now predicts that people will appreciate this new Celtic
outfit - even if it isn't as new as it looks.


      ``It's a team that the people are going to like, because they're going
to be aggressive, they're going to run, they got a lot of guys who can shoot
the ball, they've got good attitude, they've got good chemistry,'' Red said.
``All we need is a little help in one or two spots, and it may take a year
or so, but this is a young team. You've got four or five guys on this team I
wouldn't touch. I'd just say build on those guys.


      ``But, you know, there's no difference (in the game today). We used to
break the same way, when (Bill) Russell would get that rebound and get it in
the hands of (Bob) Cousy and away we went. You had (Bill) Sharman and (Tom)
Heinsohn and (John) Havlicek on the wings, guys like that. We ran and we
were aggressive and emphasized defense, the same thing as Rick (Pitino)
does. It's the same basic game. The game hasn't changed.


      ``They talk about things changing, but - this is no ego or anything -
but I wrote a book called, `Basketball for the Player, the Fan and the
Coach.' It came out in 1952. I've updated it a number of times, and it's in
a lot of languages and that. But if you look at that book, and you'll find
that everything in that book is applicable to what they're doing today. And
that's 47 years ago.


      ``So go ahead, figure.''


      Red was smiling again, knowing his view of the game is still in style
at 81.