Technically, the documentary that aired on Monday night on HBO was Part 2 of a nine-part series. And judging by the first two episodes, the length and depth of the “Celtics City” should be celebrated.
But “Celtics City Part II - No Final Victories” could have been a documentary all by itself — A very good documentary.
Casually, people will call it the “Bill Russell episode.” While his presence and influence are likely to be felt throughout the nine segement, Episode II could have been a stand-alone documentary on Russell, one of the greatest basketball players and most influential athletes in history.
For any basketball fan under 65, it’s easy to know that the Celtics were historically great in the 1950’s and 1960s. Images of the rows upon rows of green-on-white championship banners at TD Garden serve as a constant reminder.
It was common knowledge too, that Bill Russell was both one of the greatest players who ever played and an amazing courageous man of principle.
Most people are aware too, of Boston’s ugly history of racism during that same time period.
What Part II of Celtics City captured effectively is how those three things impacted each other. How the Celtics' willingness to challenge racial norms at the time affected the city and how certain parts of the city bristled against and fought that progress affected the Celtics and Russell.
Viewers didn’t have to like basketball to appreciate this episode’s portrayal of the city and the era.
Takeaways from Celtics City- Episode 2
Bill Russell
Bill Russell talks with reporters about Boston public schools boycott by African Americans, in Boston in 1963. (AP Photo/Frank Curtin, File)AP
This documentary has been a great window into Jaylen Brown and what’s important to him — Brown’s interest in history and passion for justice, combined with his adoration of Russell, has really allowed the creators of this documentary to compellingly tie the past and present together.
“It’s important to understand politics and history to get to the present moment. Bill Russell is one of those people who don’t come around very often. I hold myself to that standard,” Brown said in the documentary. “The reason why I’m here is to be a voice for certain conversations. ... To make Boston a better Boston would be a great legacy to leave.”
The doc is a reminder of what a compellingly layered man Russell was —There’s something mythical about Russell as a young man. He’s powerful and graceful, wise and defiant and smarter and more athletic than anyone around him. So many of the photos and old videos of him are in black and white, which adds to the mystique around him. At the same time, it’s important to remember that what he experienced and lived through didn’t happen that long ago.
Jerry West was a tortured soul — It’s hard not to feel a little bad for Laker great Jerry West, who has been a power voice in the doc. He was a great player and a monumental figure in the history of basketball. But the pain of those playoff losses to the Celtics appeared to still haunt him decades after they happened.
Satch Sanders remains the unsung hero of that era and this doc — Sanders is a Hall of Famer, but he doesn’t have the enduring fame of some of his more high-profile teammates, but the documentarians cleary recognized his value to this project. His perspective on everything in that era has lifted “Celtics City” to another level through two episodes.
The creators do a nice job of putting people in smart places and circumstances — Long before there was footage to edit, the creators made some smart decisions about where to shoot some of the interview subjects and who to put together. Seeing the warmth between Bill Russell’s daughter Karen and Red Auerbach’s daughter Randy was a little window into the relationship forged by their shared experience and influential fathers.
Hearing about the death threats Russell received, described by K.C. Jones' former wife and Karen Russell recounting the awful events that took place when their house was broken into and vandalized, is both powerful and unsettling.
Karen Russell, who is an activist for voting rights now, has been an outstanding resource throughout the first two episodes of Celtics City.
The Celtics had the NBA’s first All-Black starting five in 1964 — The fact that it happened two years before Texas Western did the same thing in college basketball is an often overlooked piece of history.
The documentarians did a nice job of weaving in two other pieces of Celtics lore — John Havlicek’s famous steal and Johnny Most’s ‘Havlicek stole the ball! Havlicek stole the ball!" happened during this era as did the beginning of the legend of Red Auerbach’s victory cigar.
The filmmakers did a nice job of including them without going too far off the episode’s main theme.