As One Celtic Sees It

When Phil Jackson won his record 19th consecutive playoff series Sunday, he passed Red Auerbach, who won 18 in a row in the 1960s.

He said it meant little to him, which made it unanimous; Auerbach didn’t care much about it either.

Auerbach is 83. He lives in Washington alone. His wife passed away about six months ago. He still serves the Boston Celtics as vice chairman of the board. He is preparing for the June 27 draft, still watches every NBA game he can and has become enamored with the Lakers.

As ever, he has opinions.

“First of all, they never give Jerry West the credit he deserves,” he said Monday afternoon. “He built that team up. He’s the guy who should be out front, taking some bows. But that doesn’t take away from the fact Phil’s done a hell of a job.”

Then again, he said, “[Jackson] is very fortunate. Kobe [Bryant] grew up, and so did Shaquille [O’Neal]. They grew up. They realized what life is all about. [Jackson] still gets the credit for it because he was there when it happened. What he had to do with it, we’ll never know.”

Auerbach appreciates O’Neal, and still believes Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell could play with O’Neal, power for power. While he does not believe Bryant yet has Michael Jordan’s all-around game--as Jackson stated Saturday--he’s pretty sure it’s coming.

“Kobe’s going to go down in history as one of the great players of all time,” he said. “He just matured. He always had all of the tools, and he can get his shots any time he wants.”

The youth of O’Neal and Bryant give the Lakers a chance to become a dynasty, Auerbach said, just as his Celtics of the 1960s were, as long as free agency and injury do not intercede.

He watched the Philadelphia 76ers defeat the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday with the Lakers in mind.

“I’m trying to figure out a way, if I was coaching either one of those teams, how do I beat the Lakers?” he said. “If [Allen] Iverson gets healthy, I suppose anything can happen with that guy. But with him injured, I don’t see how.”

Midway through the second quarter of Game 2, the Spurs led the Lakers, 37-23. The Alamodome was loud, Jackson called a timeout, and the Spurs appeared to have regained momentum.

Out of the timeout, Derek Fisher made a three-point basket, one of 15 for him in the series, from the left wing.

The shot triggered a Laker rally that didn’t end until Game 4. From that point, the Lakers outscored the Spurs, 287-198, to sweep the series.

Fisher averaged 17.5 points against the Spurs.

“The main thing I did, I convinced myself I was going to come back and let everything hang out, be aggressive and have fun playing this game,” Fisher said. “Before my injury, I thought too much about what other people thought about me, and what I expected from myself. I think I overanalyzed what I was here to do.”

Asked about Fisher, Bryant grinned and said he was proud.

“We grew up together in L.A.,” he said. “Well, we still are growing up.”