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Showtime: Magic, Kareem, Riley, And The Los Angeles Lakers Dynasty Of The 1980s (2014)

by Jeff Pearlman(Favorite Author)

4.18 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

1592407552 (ISBN13: 9781592407552)

languge

English

genre

History & Biography

publisher

Gotham

review 1: I loved this book very much. It's a profound insight of the Lakers since Buss buys the team until the HIV-press conference of Magic in 1991. How Showtime was born and how it grew up and finally died. Pearlman tries to show everyone's point of view, he doesn't take sides but prefers to tell the evolution of the protagonists. Little and big details, successes, fails, opinions, everything. We learn a lot about West, Buss, Riley, players or even Lakers' staff. It's a well documented book, through many quotes (both then and recent interviews and articles), we follow internal dynamics, daily problems or the motives that can turn a successful team one season in a disappointment next year.I have specially enjoyed the chapters devoted to less-known players like Earl Jones or Mark L... moreandsberger, and also Pearlman confronts tricky themes like drugs presence in sports (broadly in late '70 and early '80 NBA) or what Riley called “peripheral opponents”: travel, wives, kids, parents, in-laws, groupies, speaking engagements, the press. And to complete all this information he has talked even to several of Lakers' wifes. Everyone has flaws and virtues, and we read about both of them. Magic, Kareem, Riley, West... everyone.Another part I considered very interesting was the one about McKinney. We could say that he was who really started Showtime but unfortunately he didn't get to win the ring because of his accident, but here we find wide recognition for his achievements recognising the needs of the team and which attack system his players were able to run.
review 2: I hate Jeff Pearlman's writing style - incessant focus on smarmy details, character flaws, gossip - as well as the stupid phrases he mixes in throughout his books. Yet I've now read I think three of his books, this one, the one on the 1986 Mets and the Dallas Cowboys book. The Lakers book takes you through a memorable time period between 1979-1991 but unfortunately Pearlman's grating writing style comes through too much throughout the book. The best part to me was the description of how Pat Riley went from unassuming assistant turned head coach to become a totally unlikeable egomaniac whose obsession with winning lead him to compromise his players health and ultimately turned them and everyone else on the staff against him. They might've at least taken 2 games vs. the Pistons in '89 had he not drove them into the ground in pre-series workouts. Pearlman should've covered the '84 finals a little closer - that was an epic series. less

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