How would Russell have gotten along with Wilt's coaches

[coastalmarker99]

These would be the coaches Russell would play under if he swapped situations with Wilt.

Neil Johnson, I don't think he and Russell would have gotten along with him as Russell knew more about basketball than him.

Frank McGuire, I do think he and Russell would have gotten along as Frank actually treated his black players like human beings and he managed to earn the respect of Wilt who ran practices for him when he was off taking care of his sick son.

Bob Feerick, I don't think he would have gotten along with him as Russell knew more about basketball than him and I can imagine Russell's reaction to him begging for plays from Russell as he did with Wilt.

Alex Hannum, I think he would have gotten along with Russell really well as Russell would have respected his basketball IQ.

Dolph schayes I don't know if Russell would have respected him as Schayes was known as an incredibly soft coach around the NBA who was rarely tough on his players, unlike Red and Hannum.

VBK I can not see Russell respecting someone who was an alcoholic and engaged in farting contests with the team.

Joe Mullaney, I can see Russell just tolerating him as Wilt did.

Bill Sharman I can see Russell really getting along with him.

[coastalmarker99]

My thinking is that Russell would have gotten the same reputation as Wilt had in being labelled unfairly I might add as a coach killer.

As part of it is I can't see Russell being comfortable,

John Havlicek: Bill was comfortable on the Celtics because he knew that Red was the first coach to draft a black player and that the Celtics were the first team to consistently start five black players. Our roommates were integrated.

Jim Loscutoff: On a lot of teams, the black players went one way, the whites another. on our team, we made a point of everyone hanging around together.


Could Russell have withstood the abuse he faced on a daily basis without this environment created by Red Auerbach who was crucial to Russell's success as a player

[coastalmarker99]

https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1998-01-16-9801170003-story.html

This is the environment that Russell would have been in on the Warriors compared to what he had in Boston

On an exhibition tour one afternoon, we stopped at a Fulton, Mo., eatery for lunch.

The team filled the place, sprawling in booths and taking two seats per man at the counter.

The white owner took his fellow Caucasians' lunch orders, mostly breaded pork sandwiches and mashed potatoes with gravy, as I recall. Then, when he got to Wilt, he said, "The kitchen's closed."

Nobody said a word. Wilt and my other black teammates got up, walked out of the place and got back on the bus.

We remained and ate our pork sandwiches. The incident was never discussed. Implicit was the understanding that that's the way it was in those days.


I just can't imagine the Celtics doing something as cold to Russell as the Warriors did with Wilt.

hell, when In October 1961, during the exhibition season, the champion Celtics had been involved in a racial showdown in Lexington, Kentucky.

Boston's black players left town hurriedly before their game against St. Louis after the coffee shop in the team's hotel refused to serve Tom Sanders and Sam Jones.

Celtics owner Walter Brown fumed that the Celtics would never play another exhibition game in the South, or any other place, where they might be embarrassed.

Back in Boston, Russell told newsmen, "I will not play any place again under those circumstances."

One of Boston's white players, Frank Ramsey, who once played at the University of Kentucky, apologized to his black teammates on behalf of the entire state.

"No thinking person in Kentucky," Ramsey said, "is a segregationist."


I can see Russell as a result of being in this environment being even more closed off to his teammates and coaches.

[AirBonner]

The thing is Russell was a player coach and the teams wilt was on were not weak. Russell wanted to win. He would have been fine 7-8 rings imo

[coastalmarker99]

The thing is Russell was a player coach and the teams wilt was on were not weak. Russell wanted to win. He would have been fine 7-8 rings imo


Wilt's teams were not all that great compared to Boston outside of 1967 to 1969.


And Injuries destroyed Wilt's 76er team in 1968 so that basically leaves 67 and 69 in years in which Wilt had an equal or better supporting cast than Russell.


Also, people forget that the Celtics were a good team before Russell.

Every year, 1951-56, they finished above .500 and made POs.

From 1952 to 1956, Celtics were the best offensive team in the NBA. They led in P/G all 5 years.

In ORtg those years, Celtics ranked 1, 2, 1, 1, 1, 3.

1956-57

Celtics played the first 24 games of 1956-57 w/o Russell who was at the Olympics.

In 24 first games w/o Russ, Celtics were

16-8, .66.7 % (pace of 55 W in 82 g)

Best record in NBA (Syracuse 2nd at .528)

105.2 P/G

100.6 P/G opponents

Thus, in 1956-57, the Celtics were by far the best team in NBA without Russell.



Also how about this?

In the 57-58 Finals, in which Russell was injured, ...the series was tied 1-1 when Russell injured his ankle in the third quarter of game three.

They lost that game by three points, but they actually outscored the Hawks in the 4th period, and without Russell, by five points.

Now, surely without Russell, Boston would have no chance, right?
Well, without Russell in game four, Boston won handily, 109-98.

And, while they did lose game five without him, it was by two points.

Russell finally returned for game six, but could only play 20 minutes.

Boston would go on to lose that game by one point, but they outscored the Hawks in the second half, without Russell.

Not only that, but Boston would continue to add players every year. Sam Jones in '58. Havlicek in '63.

Then, Auerbach would go out and steal players too.

How could the Celtics pick up Clyde Lovellette for their '64 title run, for nothing? Lovellette had averaged 21 ppg on .47.1 just the year before.

Later they added players like Wayne Embry (a multiple all-star), or Em Bryant (remember him in game seven of the '69 Finals) and Bailey Howell, a 20 ppg scorer on a very high efficiency for his era (.51.2.)

The 1960 Celtics always had by far, the deepest teams in the league, and aside from Russell, they could simply plug in another great player when they needed to.

[coastalmarker99]

The thing is Russell was a player coach and the teams wilt was on were not weak. Russell wanted to win. He would have been fine 7-8 rings imo


I say that Russell on Wilt's teams wins 3 rings.


I think he wins in 1969 and 1970 and 1972.


And has a 50 50 chance in 1967 as Wilt would be 33 and coming off a serious knee injury.


But for the rest of the 1960s I see Wilt on Boston being too much for Russell to overcome.

As Russell himself made the comment that Wilt could do a better job in his [Russell's] role than Russell could do in Wilt's.

"Wilt is playing better than I used to -- passing off, coming out to set up screens, picking up guys outside, and sacrificing himself for team play."-- Bill Russell 1972 Great Moments in Pro Basketball, (by Sam Goldaper) p.24