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Phil Jackson leans forward and lowers his gravelly baritone to a whisper. "The ghost of Red Auerbach is present," he says. "It's very present."

Jackson stands upright again, raises his eyebrows in an all-knowing way, and looks around the Los Angeles Lakers' practice facility. As a player in the Celtics-Knicks rivalry of the early 1970s, Jackson learned to never underestimate the competitiveness and cunning of Auerbach. He expected "shenanigans" in Boston. He knew Auerbach "always had something up his sleeve." These days, the Lakers coach takes no chances of upsetting the late Celtics patriarch, praising Auerbach for his coaching and executive skill. Jackson even half-jokingly credits Auerbach with returning the Celtics to championship contention this season, even though Auerbach died in October 2006 according to the Boston Globe.

"Danny Ainge and Kevin McHale, don't you think they collaborated on all this?" says Jackson. "Red's ghost swayed McHale to make the Kevin Garnett trade with Boston last year, rather than with someone else."

Jackson punctuates his supernatural conspiracy theory with laughter. But as he prepares to face the Celtics in Game 1 of the NBA Finals tomorrow night at TD Banknorth Garden, Jackson cannot escape Auerbach. Somewhere, Auerbach is probably pleased to know he can needle an opponent from beyond the grave. After all, if the Lakers defeat the Celtics, Jackson will have won more NBA championships than any other coach, breaking a tie at nine with Auerbach.

Source: Boston.com