Larry and Carlisle Remember Red

The NBA lost an icon of excellence in the passing of Red Auerbach. Coming of age on the west coast in the '80s any NBA fan either liked the Lakers or the Celtics. I was firmly entrenched in the Celtics camp and despite losing the the title quantity battle, the quality of the 1986 Celtics title team made it all worthwhile. The enjoyment that one team provided far outweighed anything Lakers' fans could've felt. Yes, I'm biased but the make up of that team, brought together under the guidance of Auerbach will never be equaled. Larry Joe Legend was the centerpiece of those '80s Celtics team and has felt Red's influence since his junior year at Indiana State. Here is an Indy Star story with great quotes from LJL and Rick Carlisle on the passing of their mentor.
Carlisle on Red:

"Whenever he came by my locker and dropped some ashes at my feet and made a couple of criticisms, I always held my breath," Carlisle said. "And when he reminded me of something good I did in the game, you could live on that for a month."

Larry Joe Legend remembers Red as he'd love to be remembered:

Bird saw that side (competitive) of Auerbach first-hand, when they played tennis or raquet ball.

"He always seemed to cheat me," Bird said, laughing. "We used to play all the time. He used to take them timeouts and come back and say, 'OK, I'm up 40-30.' You'd argue a little bit and then keep playing. When he got ahead he'd quit and walk off the court and go on to something else."