Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (1 Viewer)

Combat

Combat

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Enjoyed the first episode on HBO. John C. Reilly as Dr. Jerry Buss is a hoot. The actor playing Magic Johnson will really nails his look. That was a golden age for the NBA in my opinion. Magic, Bird, Dr. J., Gervin, Isiah Thomas. Some great teams and players. Jerry West can't be too happy about the way he is depicted.
 
Doug...
I meant to mention this show to you...but just slipped my mind...

I watched the 1st episode last week...
tonight 2nd episode is on...

I like anything John C. Reilly does...
don't know if this was an accurate portrayal of Dr. Buss though...

I like the character playing Magic...sort of even looks like him...
saw a preview of Larry Bird's character...not too flattering...

and yea...
Jerry west is portrayed as an angry maniacal know it all cry baby...
breaking his clubs on the golf course...trashing his office...an angry man...
can't seem to get over the Celts dominating his career...

pretty good watch...will check out tonight's episode...
 
Mike-
Buss was around when I was going to USC. He was an alum. Quite a character. If anything Reilly understates his personality. A huge love of basketball and women. He purportedly wouldn't date any Playboy bunny unless they had some understanding of the game. A high moral standing! Many of these folks are still around. I wonder how they react to their characters. Kareem and the kid from Airplane was hilarious.
 
tell you another unflattering portrayal of a character...
Michael O'Keefe as Jack Kent Cooke...
what a kook at the fish lunch meeting with Magic and his dad...
and then his overcooked steak in his office...

Norm Nixon doesn't come off in a positive light either...
and I hear Kareem is even worse in future episodes...

can't get over Bird's haircut...looks like the Dutch Boy Paint logo character...

anxious to see how Brody does too...

lastly...crappy title..."The Winning Time"?

based on the book "Showtime"...
which is the only title for this series that seems plausible to me...
must of been some legal trademark issues to miss that...
 
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I'm not sure how realistic it is that Jerry West didn't want to draft Magic. My recollection is that there was no doubt the Lakers were going to draft him if they got the chance. And how about that coin flip that decided whether Magic went to the Lakers or Bulls? West certainly redeemed himself as GM by making a risky trade to get a 17-year old Kobe Bryant. I can remember watching the very first NBA game that Magic played against the San Diego Clippers. Ironically, Kobe's dad "Jellybean" Bryant was playing in that game. Kareem hit a 20 foot hook shot to win it at the buzzer. Like a Hollywood script. Arguably Magic played his best overall game in the Finals that year when Kareem missed game 6 against Philly, and Magic put 42 points to win the title. Magic even played center for part of that game.
 
Doug...
I remember that game...when Landsberger wasn't in...Magic played center...
Landsberger was built like a skinny stick...
I think Magic played almost the full 48 minutes of that game also...
they won in 6 that year...

they were so much fun to watch back then with Magic pushing the ball...
if they got a defensive rebound...or a steal...it would be a full 5 man fast break to the basket...
sometimes the ball never touched the court floor...just 3-4 passes and an alley-oop or a dunk...
it was an electric style I had never seen before...
used to love their games against the Celtics...the epitomy of classic basketball...

now...I will watch them and Lebron if I happen to catch a game...but there is no chemistry anymore...no defense either...
it's hard to watch them...they cannot close a game...

I named my dog (mini schnauzer) Magic...
never named one Kobe or Lebron...^&grin
actually bought a piece of the Forum floor when they tore it down...
I think Tom Dubel bought it from me...
 
There was a lot of strangeness about that first year. The Lakers coach Jack McKinney was in a bicycle accident early on and never returned. Paul Westhead, a sort of earlier version of Pat Riley, took over. A lot of lean years ended for the Lakers when Magic arrived. They always had great players but guys like Kareem couldn't get them to the championship. Magic was the guy who built the dynasty. He had some great players like James Worthy and Kareem but Magic was a special player. He has been overshadowed a bit by time and the success of Jordan and Kobe, but Magic was something else. And the Magic vs Bird NBA Finals were the cream of sports competition in my lifetime.
 
Doug...
why was Victor Weiss murdered?
I didn't get the correlation to the series on that...

on a side note...
they sure made Auerbach look like an obnoxious bully in last weeks episode...
Magic as a country bumpkin rube in his bizzare prom tuxedo..
Riley as a hopeless unemployed washout...
Kareem as a self centered jerk...
nobody comes off as brilliant...
but I'm guessing that will change as they find success...


I wonder what the real life characters think of their actor's personalities?
 
Mike-
I don't know a whole lot about the Weiss murder, but he apparently had a lot of shady mob connections and likely rubbed someone the wrong way for his gambling debts etc. He was apparently murdered a few days after the meeting with Buss. In the show they try to make it look as though the mob wanted to keep Tark at UNLV for some reason. And the Weiss murder was a message for Tark not to take the Lakers job, but there doesn't appear to be any basis for that in fact. The timing was just a coincidence.

The actor playing Jerry West is really stealing this show. West is a unique looking guy and he is a dead ringer. When I was a kid, I went to a Lakers game in DC when West was coaching. I took his old basketball card. Before the game I saw him walking up the aisle through the stands for some unknown reason and chased him down to get his autograph. I also got Norm Nixon's autograph before the game. Going way back in my Lakers' lore, I remember they had a surfer type guy with blonde hair named Don Ford. His sister was at USC when I was there. The Lakers traded him for the draft pick that ended up being James Worthy. Ford married Sharon Tate's sister. That would make for a great addition to the Kevin Bacon game as it links me to Charles Manson by a few degrees of separation.
 
Combat said:
Mike-
I don't know a whole lot about the Weiss murder, but he apparently had a lot of shady mob connections and likely rubbed someone the wrong way for his gambling debts etc. He was apparently murdered a few days after the meeting with Buss. In the show they try to make it look as though the mob wanted to keep Tark at UNLV for some reason. And the Weiss murder was a message for Tark not to take the Lakers job, but there doesn't appear to be any basis for that in fact. The timing was just a coincidence.

The actor playing Jerry West is really stealing this show. West is a unique looking guy and he is a dead ringer. When I was a kid, I went to a Lakers game in DC when West was coaching. I took his old basketball card. Before the game I saw him walking up the aisle through the stands for some unknown reason and chased him down to get his autograph. I also got Norm Nixon's autograph before the game. Going way back in my Lakers' lore, I remember they had a surfer type guy with blonde hair named Don Ford. His sister was at USC when I was there. The Lakers traded him for the draft pick that ended up being James Worthy. Ford married Sharon Tate's sister. That would make for a great addition to the Kevin Bacon game as it links me to Charles Manson by a few degrees of separation.
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yea...same implication on Weiss's murder that I got...
especially bolstered when the "wise guys" sent drinks to their table with Tark...
but I thought I missed something...

cool story on Tate's sister and Worthy...
 
Mike-
A lot of what "ifs" in that first season. What if West had not quit or the Lakers had lost the coin flip that allowed them to draft Magic. What if Tark had taken the job. What if Jack McKinney had not had his bicycling accident just a few games into Magic's rookie season. The Lakers also had a player name Spencer Haywood on that team. He was a great player but beyond his prime. He had a serious cocaine addiction. The Lakers actually cut him during the NBA finals because he was falling asleep in practice. The kicker is that he was married to the supermodel Iman at the time. Iman went on to marry David Bowie.
 
Combat said:
Mike-
A lot of what "ifs" in that first season. What if West had not quit or the Lakers had lost the coin flip that allowed them to draft Magic. What if Tark had taken the job. What if Jack McKinney had not had his bicycling accident just a few games into Magic's rookie season. The Lakers also had a player name Spencer Haywood on that team. He was a great player but beyond his prime. He had a serious cocaine addiction. The Lakers actually cut him during the NBA finals because he was falling asleep in practice. The kicker is that he was married to the supermodel Iman at the time. Iman went on to marry David Bowie.
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what "if" AC Green got laid...lol...might have screwed up their whole chemistry...lol...

McKinney will probably get his just recognition for "Showtime" in the next few episodes...

your personal knowledge and history of the Lakers goes deep Doug...
easy to see you have been a fan for a long time...

check out this link...

https://screenrant.com/winning-time-lakers-cast-characters-real-life-guide/
 
Getting ready to watch this and catch up on the series. As a kid, big Lakers fan, loved Magic, still think he is one of the best ever along with Kareem. I had a Great Aunt who lived in Arcadia and was a huge Lakers fan, she would send me periodically hats, shirts, etc. Drove my Dad crazy who loved the Celtics and Larry Bird!

Tom
 
Jack McKinney ended up only coaching 13 games with the Lakers. He gets a ton of time in episode four for creating "Showtime" basketball in LA. Westhead went on to a mixed coaching record. He ended up with a losing record as an NBA coach when all was said and done. He had some success in college coaching at Loyola. Most famous for the hyperfast pace. His teams would often score 120 points or more but played no defense. Good to see some of the lesser remembered players in episode four. Ron Boone, Adrian Dantley, Mark Landsberger. Last time I read anything about AD he was a school crossing guard in DC. He was traded before the start of Magic's first season for Spencer Haywood. Big mistake.
 
Episode 5 was excellent. Kareem and Jack McKinney. I had almost forgotten the Jack McKinney saga. What a tough quirk of fate to be in that accident just at the start of the great Lakers run. I believe the Lakers actually fired him during the NBA finals when they decided to keep Westhead as the coach. Not sure why they did that or how it impacted his relationship with Westhead. And Chick Hearn! He was the Vin Scully of the Lakers. Iconic. Listened to thousands of his broadcasts. Whenever the Lakers had a game in the bag, he would say:

"The game's in the refrigerator, the door's closed, the light's out, the eggs are cooling, the butter's getting hard and the jello's jiggling."
 
Hilarious episode this week about Magic's first trip to Boston to play the Larry Bird Celtics. All the "gamesmanship" involved in playing at the "Gah-den" including the refs, angry fans, and building.
 
Combat said:
Hilarious episode this week about Magic's first trip to Boston to play the Larry Bird Celtics. All the "gamesmanship" involved in playing at the "Gah-den" including the refs, angry fans, and building.
Click to expand...

yea...don't forget the rats in that beat down stadium...what a dump...
 
I gotta imagine...almost everyone in the production...doesn't like how their character is being portrayed...
 
It did strike me as legally risky to have a show about so many people who are still alive. I doubt they have much of a case to sue HBO, however, because they are public figures and that's a tough nut to get around. And, honestly, I think West and Kareem are portrayed in typical Hollywood fashion. There are combined elements of truth and drama. I don't sense any malice about telling their story. Kareem comes off as a bit of a standoffish guy who learned from his mistakes. West as a star-crossed person suffering PTSD from his many losses to Boston. A lot of truth in those portrayals.
 
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