Red Auerbach was a brilliant coach, but a terrible driver.

"When I went to the Celtics," Dave Gavitt recalled yesterday, "our practice facility was at Hellenic College, in Brookline. The first time I went out there from our offices downtown, I rode with Red. He was driving along the Jamaicaway, a winding four-lane road.

"But we just went straight," Gavitt chuckled. "Red was smoking his cigar, and talking, and cars were diving off the road to get out of his way."

Kevin McHale had a similar experience his rookie year.

"He couldn't reach an agreement on a contract with the Celtics," Gavitt said, "so he had gone to Italy for a few days to talk about playing there. When he came back to Boston, he ultimately signed, and then rode with Red out to Hellenic College.

"As Kevin, who's a free-spirited character, tells it: 'I was thinking I should have stayed in Italy, because I'm going to be dead before I get a chance to play in the NBA.' "

Once Red, remarkably, arrived unscathed at his destination, he wasn't fussy about where he parked, leaving his car wherever it was most convenient.

"But he always said: 'Hey, I never park in handicapped places,' " Gavitt said.

While riding with Red was harrowing, playing for him also was an unforgettable experience, although in a pleasurable way.

The legendary successful Auerbach won nine titles as coach of the Celtics, including eight in a row from 1959 through '66, and then, as general manager and, later, president of the team, he was instrumental in assembling the talent that enabled the Celts to win seven additional championships.

"Red didn't spend a lot of time on X's and O's," Gavitt said. "His teams had a few basic plays that they executed exceptionally well. They ran well, played good defense and were unselfish.

"Their fast break was great. But although it's often overlooked, defensively was where I thought Red made his mark. Bill Russell was the linchpin. He was the keeper of the gate. But Red was ahead of his time in terms of playing pressure defense, emphasizing ball movement, and putting the parts together."

It was in "putting the parts together" that Auerbach, who died Saturday in his native Washington, D.C., at the age of 89, truly excelled.

He acquired the draft rights to Russell in a deal with the St. Louis Hawks, acquiring the cornerstone for his championship teams of the '50s and '60. Two decades later, Auerbach enabled the Celts to add to the array of banners hanging from the rafters of the old Boston Garden by acquiring the "Big Three" -- taking a gamble by drafting Larry Bird after his junior season in 1978, and then, two years later, trading for Robert Parish and a draft choice he used on McHale.

"Red was a master motivator," Gavitt said. "He really understood people."

Auerbach's relationship with Russell was critical to the unprecedented -- and what quite probably will be forever unequalled -- success of the Celtics.

"They had a very good relationship," Gavitt said. "Bill had some racial issues that were very real. Red, being Jewish, . . . understood. He was color-blind. Bill always had great respect for Red."

The Celtics were the first NBA team to sign a black player and, with Auerbach as coach, also were the first to start five black players. When Red stepped down, he handed the coaching reins to Russell, making him the NBA's first black head coach.

As coach, it became Auerbach's trademark to light up a cigar on the bench when his team was assured of victory. Celtics fans loved the gesture. Opponents and their fans hated it.

"He always said he didn't inhale," Gavitt said. "He'd order his cigars by the box, through the mail. They weren't very expensive. People were always giving him cigars that were a lot more expensive than his, but he liked the cheap ones."

Auerbach could be gruff, caustic and combative.

"He liked being confrontational," Gavitt said. "But his bark was worse than his bite. He had a soft side. Being part of the Celtics family was very important to him. Red touched a lot of players, a lot of people."

And, when it came to building championship teams, he had the magic touch.

jdonalds@projo.com / (401) 277-7340