HBO Winning Time Series: Cancelled

I think he would be applauded and celebrated only if they were trannies. This is factual based on where we currently are as a “society.”

 

Depends what their pronouns are.

 

The commissioner of the NBA reeks of soy, no way he allows an alpha male/lothario like Dr. Buss stay as an NBA owner

 

I personally like the Larry Bird character, a stone cold vicious mother f r . Straight to the point, no bs, no being around the Bush with this character, quite the change from todays game

 

yeah they nailed that one. bird was the ultimate competitor

 

Great season ender. I wonder if they start season 2 at the end with the 1981 playoff mishap? LOL lotsa drama to come yet.

 

i wonder where they plan to end the series

beating boston in 87?

riley's infamous santa barbara practices prior to the 89 finals loss?

the massive choke against the suns in 90?

 

i think the series would probably follow the entirety of Magic’s playing career. I think they definitely wanna cover the whole HIV thing.

 

It was the first scene of the first episode. So covering all of Magic’s “Winning” / Showtime career seems likely.

 

Not yet but I will. Its funny though I just don't think of him anymore with the same warm memories after the s*** he pulled in 2019. Out and out sabotage to do that in that most important summer of this decade with the AD trade needing to be worked out and the FA period and pursuit of Snake. But these productions are all wonderful.

I just today got HBO Max back after 5 weeks of it inaccessible and not having the time to sit on the phone to find a solution. A lot of catching up to do, have only seen 2 or most 3 of Winning Time and was really into it. But today after getting it back I was cruising around and came across the older Magic and Bird HBO production and thought that was excellent and well done. Had forgotten some of the violence on the floor in the 80s between their teams. Both Larry and Magic I think give good present day narrative to those times and their intense competition to beat the other and win championships. Larry was a tough MF and from his background you could see why.

 

I was thinking of what if the Lakers didn't trade Dantley for Haywood. Dantley maybe not the greatest fit with showtime who like to run and gun or throw it down to Kareem, but Dantley was an offensive machine for his size in the half court. They went the route of size and rebounding, with the Lakers ability to score without him.

 

The Wilkes Dantley front court was too small, 6’6 and 6’4. I saw one full game on YouTube and their guards at that time sucked big time

 

Must have been distracted or dozing off prior to when the murdered guy in the trunk was found with the message to Jerry Buss to dissuade him and Tarkanian from doing a coaching deal for Lakers. Who was that in the trunk and did it really happen?

 

Fitting The Athletic read to go along with the end of Season One. Harking back to days of yore when we actually liked .... errr .... went bonkers over the Magic Man. No sweat rook, you're lining up against this guy.



https://theathletic.com/3343111/202...kie-center/?source=dailyemail&campaign=601983




Magic Moments: An old-school 3-point play that changed the game
Jovan Buha
Jun 1, 2022
30



Before Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals, Earvin “Magic” Johnson was a rising star and the future face of the league.

But after his 42-point, 15-rebound, 7-assist title-clinching masterpiece against the Philadelphia 76ers, the 20-year-old was a bona fide legend — the youngest Finals MVP in NBA history and one of only three players at the time to win NCAA and NBA championships in back-to-back seasons.

Johnson’s remarkable performance on May 16, 1980, quelled the doubts about the Lakers’ ability to withstand the absence of 1979-80 MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who was out due to a sprained ankle he suffered in the second half of Game 5, and the pass-first point guard’s ability to carry a team with his scoring.

The title-hungry Lakers captured their first championship in eight seasons — and the first for Johnson, rookie owner Jerry Buss and rookie head coach Westhead.

Heading into Game 6, Westhead wasn’t sure who to start in Abdul-Jabbar’s place or how to replace his production. Abdul-Jabbar wasn’t able to travel with the team to Philadelphia due to the swelling in his ankle and was doubtful for a potential Game 7. If the Lakers didn’t win Game 6, the pressure would shift back to them in Game 7.

When Johnson boarded the flight from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, he had a boombox on his shoulder, blaring “Golden Time of Day” by Maze featuring Frankie Beverly. He took Abdul-Jabbar’s seat in the first row and announced to his teammates, “Never fear, Magic Johnson is here.” His confidence calmed what had previously been a tense and somber environment, according toteammate Michael Cooper.

On the flight, head coach Paul Westhead boldly pitched the idea to Johnson of him sliding up from point guard to center. The 6-foot-9 rookie, the third-tallest player on the team, emphatically agreed with the unconventional tactic that was designed to maintain the Lakers’ uptempo pace.

With a big smile on his face, Johnson strolled onto the floor and started at center, jumping for the tip-off at center court and eventually playing all five positions.

He finished with 42 points (14-of-23 FGs, 14-of-14 free throws), 15 rebounds, seven assists, three steals and one block in 47 minutes during the Lakers’ 123-107 victory. It is considered not only the greatest performance ever by a rookie, but one of the greatest performances in NBA history, considering the stage and the stakes.

For the series, Johnson averaged 21.5 points, 11.2 rebounds, 8.7 assists and 2.7 steals.



One play in particular illustrated Johnson’s unique basketball IQ, dexterity, skill, grace and improvisation. It also signified Johnson’s arrival as a winner at the NBA level and a future all-time great. It’s one of the five plays in a series presented by Top Shot commemorating some of the top moments from Johnson’s career.

Late in the third quarter, Johnson received a sideline inbounds pass and began dribbling to the right to find Norm Nixon, who was curling off a weakside pindown screen from Jim Chones. Johnson’s defender, Bobby Jones, read the action and overplayed Johnson’s right hand, cutting him off and swiping at the ball, nearly poking it away.

Johnson, sensing Jones overextending himself to cut off the passing lane, wisely took what the defense was giving him. He quickly spun back to his left, zooming past Jones and attacking the rim.

With a crowded paint — Nixon cut into the middle and couldn’t get out of Johnson’s way in time — Johnson launched, avoiding a leaping Julius Erving, and finished with his left hand through significant contact from a rotating Darryl Dawkins.

The old-school 3-point play helped the Lakers maintain their double-digit cushion heading into the fourth quarter.

Without Abdul-Jabbar, Johnson and Jamaal Wilkes (career-high 37 points) carried the scoring load. Johnson shifted his mindset and looked for his own shot more, attempting his most field-goal attempts of the season and dishing his second-fewest assists of the NBA Finals. Johnson operated out of the high post and the blocks more than usual, busting out the skyhook that Abdul-Jabbar was famous for, as well as a series of runners, floaters and face-up jumpers.

Johnson’s balanced scoring attack — he scored 13 points in the first quarter, nine in the second, nine in third and 11 in the fourth — helped the Lakers control the game. They used their speed to get out in transition and force the Sixers into foul trouble.

Los Angeles’ primary advantage was at the free-throw line: the Lakers made 33 of 35 attempts (94.3 percent) in comparison with the Sixers making just 13 of 22 (59.1 percent). They also dominated the glass, outrebounding Philadelphia 52-36, with 17 of those rebounds coming on the offensive end.

After the Sixers rallied to cut the Lakers’ lead to two, 103-101, midway through the fourth, Los Angeles closed the game on a 20-6 run, with Johnson scoring 11 of the 20 points.

“Big fella, I did it for you,” Johnson said on the TV broadcast. “I know your ankle hurts, but I want you to get up and dance.”



Johnson exceeded Abdul-Jabbar’s scoring and rebounding numbers, putting on a masterclass of positional versatility decades before wings like LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Giannis Antetokounmpo would revolutionize the modern game.

“The trouble for the 76ers tonight was Magic,” Westhead told The New York Times. “Our Magical Man, our Houdini. Who would have thought we could win in Philadelphia without Kareem and with Magic playing center? Everybody thought the guy who thought that was some demented coach, the kind who reads too many books. But the move to center really wasn’t as strange as it seemed.

“We knew Magic would present problems for them, and he did.”

No. 1 picks often have sky-high expectations, but few have ever been in the situation Johnson was back in 1980, immediately competing at the highest levels for a marquee franchise as a sidekick to the game’s best player, at the time, who was still in his prime (Abdul-Jabbar).

One year after leading Michigan State past Larry Bird and Indiana State for the 1979 NCAA championship, Johnson continued building his legend. He captivated the basketball world and became an undeniable megastar.

It was more than just his statistical performance — it was the theatrics of it all, the smile and the charisma and the joy during the pressure-filled moments that made Magic Magic.

Without his MVP teammate by his side, Johnson played out of position and outperformed Erving, his idol and one of the game’s biggest stars, on the game’s biggest stage in a hostile road environment.

It was the stuff of legend — and the first magical moment in a career full of them.

This story is part of the Magic Johnson Moment series presented by Top Shot.

 

Magic was amazing to watch play. Your eyes were glued to the TV waiting for one of those "magical" plays or passes he was famous for. Kobe was the same way. You watched because you didn't want to miss the show. You never knew what barrier was going to be broken or what superhuman feat would be accomplished.

Skilled athletes and showmen, and some of the best to ever lace them up.

 

i think magic is the primary reason i'm a lakers fan. i was a kid in southern cal in the early 80s, and the lakers were on my tv a lot with him just being a huge presence. so fun to watch.

wish he wasn't the worst executive ever, though.