In the beginning of the last section, Hondo talks about his coach, Arnold “Red” Auerbach and the traits, abilities, and type of person he was that made him a great coach. He repeatedly said he was lucky to be coached by Red because his type of play fit in well with the type strategies that Red had. He explains how Red was a very good coach…only if you were on his team. If you were the opposing team playing against him, you would probably want to kill him. He would do things like turn off the hot water in your showers and lower the air temperature in the locker room so when you started to play, your body would not be warm and ready to play. But what Red is most famous for is his “victory cigar”. Whenever he knew that he had the lead in the fourth quarter and they were going to win, he pulled a “victory cigar” and started smoking it somewhat mock the other team that they were going to lose.
Also Hondo talks about the Celtic way, how fundamental the game was, and how it fit his style, not fancy, but smart and teamwork. More teamwork, and less ego! He talks about how their team had a lot of talent but a lot of discipline, and that’s why they were so successful. He talks about how a play is better when it’s done with affection and not hurried. He says that a play should involve all five players on the court and there shouldn’t just be one guy doing what he wants to do. If all of the players are involved, it creates more pressure on the defense because they have to be aware of 5 players rather than just focusing on one. Hondo talks about how lucky he was to play for the Celtics…while others complained about travel and money. He always looked at it from a half-full perspective…he learned to appreciate what the game was about and what the game gave him.
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