Departures and Arrivals

Dave Cowens came here from Florida, where he was a big name in college basketball, but by no means the biggest. Red Auerbach went down to watch him play one day and liked what he saw. Liked what he saw so much that he threw down his program and walked out at halftime in disgust, just so the other scouts wouldn't think he was interested in the player who later became the firiest in the NBA.

John Havlicek, he came to Boston by way of Ohio State. And when he played there, he was famous, but not nearly so much as teammate Jerry Lucas. Remember Jerry Lucas? Of course you do, but not in the same breath as John Havlicek. And Auerbach brought him here too.

A lot of Celtics--Cowens and Havlicek included--have departed over the last few years, Hondo after a year-long farewell party, Cowens with only his personally written epitaph as a goodbye. But Arnold Auerbach remains, and the boundless ability of the oldest Celtic of them all is why the Celtics--infinitely capable of finishing third in the NBA Atlantic Division--might instead garner another green and white flag for their rafter collection.

Auerbach's biggest move of the off-season--the acquisition of Robert Parish--is also the most mysterious. The Celtics have never had much luck with seven-footers--their last, Hank Finkel, occupied himself for his last two seasons by coming in with 45 seconds left in close games to try blocking inbound passes.

Parish will be joined up front by Kevin McHale, a towering rookie and Cedric "Cornbread" Maxwell, the wispy veteran who led the league in both field goal percentage and annoying ability to wrest rebounds from much heavier men.

Another bumper crop of question marks sprouts in the backcourt going into tonight's opener. Nate Archibald, who made his debut on stereopticon slides, not bubblegum cards, will try to go another season on his patented collapsible legs, great for summer storage but of questionable value for 48 minutes of pounding up and down the Garden floor. On the other hand, Archibald ranks among the greatest players of the last decade, knows more routes to the hoop than an Eastern pilot does to New York, and passes well enough to have led the unselfish Celts in assists last season.

As Archibald tires, the backcourt burden will shift to other shoulders. Chris Ford is great at three-point shots, but when that's your strength... And Gerald Henderson is, to put it mildly, unproven. He showed flashes of leadership in the playoffs, and lots of hustle all season. But his 6.2 points per game will have to soar, or Auerbach will be on the phone to see if Jo Jo White has any little brothers.

There's one man left of course, the scraggly mustachioed Rookie of the Year from French Lick, Ind., via Indiana State, at forward, please welcome Larry Bird. Crowd roar. This is the man who will revolutionize hoop by taking it back to its roots, reminding people of the beauty of a well thrown pass, making them recall that a 15-footer is more valuable than a Lloyd Free throw any day.

And so the Celtics have, nominally, the ingredients. If they have a few injuries, trouble. If, without the seasoned leadership of a Cowens, they start to fight, trouble. But Auerbach will be on hand with bandages, and owner Harry Mangurian may be able to provide some costly transfusions of talent. There are no guarantees, but where there is Red there is hope, and where there is Bird that hope is eminently reasonable.