The Clyde Lovellette Interview
By:
Michael D. McClellan
|
Thursday, September 15th,
2005
The Hawks reached the NBA Finals a year later, falling to the Boston Celtics
in an exciting seven game series. What was it like to compete against Bill
Russell arguably to be greatest defensive player – and greatest winner – in
NBA history?
You
scored your 10,000th NBA point one year later, during a game at Madison
Square Garden. Hawks coach Paul Seymour presented you with a trophy to
commemorate the event, and then followed with a good-natured ribbing. He
said: "Here is a well-earned memento for you, Clyde, a fitting souvenir to
mark the 25,000 points you've accounted for," Seymour said. Then he added,
"That's right, 25,000 points-10,000 that you scored and the 15,000 that you
gave to your opponents." What did this milestone mean to you and, more
importantly, did you ever get even with coach Seymour for his comment?
The Hawks outlasted a Laker club lead by Elgin Baylor and Jerry West to earn
a rematch with the Celtics. The Celtics, however, were beginning to look
like a dynasty themselves. Just how good were the Celtics in this series?
Your back caused you to miss half of the next season. Then, when it looked
as if you'd reached the NBA Finals for the last time, Red Auerbach and the
Boston Celtics came calling. What made Auerbach such a great coach, and how
did he compare to Phog Allen at Kansas?
I've
always said that if I were going to start an NBA franchise, I'd want to have
a Bill Russell. Then I would fill in around him. I played against Russell
for many years when I was with Minneapolis and St. Louis. He was by far the
most difficult player I'd ever played against, because he was so quick.
Defensively, he was the best player in NBA history. Offensively, he wasn’t
the most overpowering. He could score, but his main prowess was rebounding,
kicking the ball out, and running the court. To me, Russell is the greatest
ever. They talk about Chamberlain, and they talk about Russell, and I
really believe that Russell had the heart to be a champion. Not to
disparage Chamberlain, but he just didn't have the same kind of heart. You
could see the spurt every once in awhile. He would have that determination
and killer instinct, but he just didn't have it consistently. He could
always score, but guys could score on him as well. The Celtics were the
Celtics, but they became champions when they got Russell.
If Auerbach and the Celtics hadn't traded for the rights to Russell, then
Russell would have been a Hawk. And I'm sure that he would have done the
same for that franchise. But Auerbach traded "Easy" and Hagan to Kerner for
the right to draft Russell.
No,
I didn't get even with Paul – even though I probably should have [laughs].
He was a good coach for us. Every once in awhile I'd have a tendency not to
get back fully on a defensive play, and he would fine me $25 for not getting
back. As far as the 10,000 points are concerned, it was definitely a
milestone and an honor. But I didn't give up 15,000 points [laughs].
St.
Louis felt like a family ball club, and Boston was the same way. They were
a group of individuals that didn't want to get beat, and they had the
nucleus to back it up. People talk about the coaching ability of Red
Auerbach, but I think Red Auerbach was a great psychologist because he kept
the egos on that team to where he could manage them, and to where the
players could play to the best of their ability. To me, the Celtics weren't
a group of individuals. They were a collection of individual stars that
could play together for a common goal – winning championships. You had
All-Stars in five areas – Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Bill Sharman, Tom
Heinsohn, and either of the Jones Boys [Sam or KC]. So when the team took
the court you could have five All-Stars playing at the same time; and yet,
when they played together they weren't playing as five individual
All-Stars. They worked together as a unit, and nobody on that team cared
about getting the most points, or the most assists, or whatever the case may
have been. If a Sam Jones stepped up and had a big night, the other four
players were happy to do the other things to help the team win. There
wasn't a jealous bone on the floor. They were truly a family, a group of
guys that really enjoyed one another.
When I joined the team, I had to be invited into the family. I wasn't
brought in immediately. They had to find out what kind of individual that I
was, and how I could get along with the other players on the team – or
couldn't get along, if that happened to be the case. They knew that I'd
been an All-Star prior to coming to Boston, but that really didn't matter to
them. They were looking for how well I fit into the family framework that
was in place. They didn't want anybody in there that was going to stir the
pot, so to speak.
Like
Red, Phog was a great psychologist. He had a great assistant coach in Dick
Harp, who helped take care of the X's and O's. But Phog kept us all in
line. If you got out of line, or got to thinking that you were bigger than
you really were, then Phog would bring you back down. Red was the same
way. Now as far as X's and O's, I think Red had a group of guys who wanted
to play and wanted to win, and he gave them the tools as far as plays, to
accomplish that feat. And then he let the guys go out and play. Red let
Cousy and Bill go out and play ball – he knew what they could do. He just
got his point across in practices, pointing out mechanics and technique, and
come game time he trusted that his players would execute on both ends of the
court. And then he kept them together psychologically. I think that Phog
was the same way – in many respects they were very similar in their approach
to the game…of course, Phog didn't smoke cigars – but Red sure did [laughs].