BOSTON - Boston Celtics patriarch Red Auerbach had the same thought at the beginning of this and every season.

“What goes through your mind is, ‘When the hell are we going to win another one?”’ he said Wednesday night before the Celtics’ opener. “I mean, it’s as simple as that.”

The 88-year-old former Boston coach attended the team’s game against the New York Knicks on Wednesday night, two months after he was hospitalized for undisclosed reasons. Auerbach walked slowly and with a cane, but was the same sharp-tongued critic Boston has known since he joined the team in 1950.

Asked about this year’s young Celtics team, he said, “What is age?”

“Age is not really a factor. The veteran aspect is a factor,” he said. “I think that is something we’re lacking a little bit. But, hey, you can’t have everything. I’ll bring (Hall of Famer Tommy) Heinsohn back if I wanted a veteran.”

The Celtics said in September that Auerbach was in and out of the hospital the previous month for tests and a successful surgical procedure. Spokesman Jeff Twiss would not identify the procedure.

Asked if he was scared, Auerbach said, “That’s something I don’t want to get into. I’m here. That’s what counts.”

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Auerbach traveled to Boston on Wednesday with one of his daughters and two doctors. Opening night remains an event for him, he said.

“I’ve been to, oh, about 50 of them,” he said. “It’s always a great thrill, it really is.”

Auerbach shares the record for NBA titles with nine as a coach, and he was also involved in the Celtics’ other seven championships from various front office positions. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the last Boston championship.

Auerbach complimented Phil Jackson, who also has nine coaching championships, but said the Lakers coach “picks his spots.”

“Phil is obviously a good coach. You don’t win that many games without being a damn good coach,” Auerbach said. “Remember one thing: He’s been very fortunate. He picks his spots. That’s all I can say.”

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Larry Brown “don’t pick his spots. He’s a great coach,” Auerbach said of the Knicks coach, who happened to be standing behind the reporters — beyond Auerbach’s sight line. He gave Auerbach a hug after he was done speaking to the media.

Auerbach posted a 938-479 regular-season record, including three seasons with the Washington Capitols and one with the Tri-Cities Hawks before joining the Celtics.

He once held the record for most wins as an NBA coach, a mark now held by Lenny Wilkens, and was elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1968.