WilsonBlock1000 Radio

Review of "When the Game Was War"

by Mistah Wilson -

While wishing all American readers a happy Independence Day today, I decided to write a review on a book about the American game.  No, not baseball or football, but basketball since it was invented by an American without roots from other games in other countries.  This book covered a great era of the professional game and for the most part, I enjoyed it.  Here is my review of "When the Game Was War." 

 


Title/Author: “When the Game Was War: The NBA’s Greatest Season” by Rich Cohen

Rating: 4 of 5 stars (very good)

Review: Just as there are many arguments between sports fans about who is the greatest team, athlete or event in a particular sport, this can also come up about the greatest season for a league.  This book by Rich Cohen makes the case that the 1987-88 season was the greatest for the NBA.  While it may not convince every reader that 1987-88 was the best season (including this reviewer – I chose another one in his honorable mention list, 1976-77), Cohen does make a compelling case for this argument.

The book reads better as a long editorial than as a history of that basketball season.  Not only does Cohen make his case about the 1987-88 season, he also makes a case for Isaiah Thomas to be included as one of the greatest players not only of that time – to be included in the conversation with Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan – but also of all time.  While I did see a point to the main topic of the book, I do not agree with this assertion and at times, it feels like Cohen is writing more as a fan than as an author or historian when talking about Thomas. Bringing up Thomas’ infamous quote about Larry Bird more than once and defending it by saying it was a thought many Black players had felt like a defense of Thomas.  Cohen does point out his own biases toward not only Thomas and for the reason he felt 1987-88 was the best one, hence why I called the book more of an opinion piece.

I will also note that I have read reviews that point out many factual errors, a few of which I caught without needing to verify them.  Because I read an advance review copy, these were not detrimental to the goal I had for this book, which was to see why Cohen felt this was the best season.  There is also the matter of referring to a season by the latter year (i.e. 1987-88 would be 1988) which is inconsistent throughout the book.  Again, something that will hopefully be cleaned up in the final edition.

But…the positives far outweigh the negatives in this book, especially if the reader is a fan of basketball in that era.  The season is viewed through four teams – the Los Angeles Lakers (who ended up winning the championship), the Detroit Pistons (who lost in the Finals to the Lakers), the Boston Celtics (who lost to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals) and the Chicago Bulls (who lost to the Pistons in the Eastern Conference semi-finals). These four teams made the most sense to include, especially looking back now.  There was the reigning champs (Lakers), the old dynasty ready to end (Celtics), the hungry (and physical) team ready to take over (Pistons) and the new kids on the block getting ready to crash the party (Bulls).  Each team had a compelling chapter in the book and made for excellent reading.

Reading about the matchups during the season and in the playoffs between two of the four featured teams was also great.  Enough detail to truly feel how close the game was, and in the case of many Pistons games, how physical and even violent the play went. This was an era when the game’s big men played in the paint and not often out on the perimeter as Cohen notes.  While he doesn’t explicitly say this, I get the impression that he preferred this type of basketball.  I did as well and why despite the reservations I wrote earlier, I really enjoyed this book and fans of that era of professional basketball will as well.

I wish to thank Random House Publishing Group for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Link: Amazon.com: When the Game Was War: The NBA's Greatest Season eBook : Cohen, Rich: Kindle Store

 




source http://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/2023/07/review-of-when-game-was-war.html

Comments

Post a Comment

The Street Sign Store

Streets

103rd street 108th Street 109th Street 111th Street 14th street 16th avenue 1st Street 1st avenue 216th Street 222th Street
23rd Avenue 23rd Avenue South 2nd avenue 4th avenue plaza 50th Street 5th Street Acacia Avenue Alhambra Road Alki Avenue Southwest Alondra Boulevard Alvarado Street Andover Street Andover Street & Rainier Avenue Antwerp Street Arizona Avenue Aurora Avenue Azusa Avenue Baldwin Avenue Baseline Road Bell Street Berkshire Avenue Blackstone Road Brand Boulevard Broadway Broadway & Harrison Street Broadway & Thomas Street Burbank Boulevard California Avenue California Avenue SW California Boulevard Carson Street Catalina Avenue Cedros Avenue Central Avenue Charles Street Charlestown Street Charleville Boulevard Chestnut Street Claremont Boulevard Cloverdale Street Crenshaw Boulevard Cypress Street Dakota Street Dearborn Street Del Amo Boulevard Denker Avenue Denver Avenue Devonshire Street Donna Marie Lane East Boulevard El Bonito Avenue El Molino Avenue El Sereno Avenue Elevado Avenue Elk Avenue Figueroa Street Florence Avenue Foothill Boulevard Fremont Avenue Gains Mill Street Gardena Avenue Gardena Boulevard Garey Avenue Garvey Avenue Genesee Street Glendale Boulevard Graham Street Grandee Avenue Green Lane Greenwood Avenue Harrison Street Harvard Street Helms Avenue Henderson Street Hollyglen Lane Holt Avenue Honolulu Avenue Hoover Street Indian Hill Boulevard Inglewood Boulevard Ivy Avenue John Street Juneau Street Kenwood Street La Cañada Boulevard Lake Avenue Lake Wash Boulevard Lavender Lane Lincoln Avenue Lodi Creek Road Lomita Boulevard Long Beach Boulevard Los Arboles Lane Los Robles Avenue Louise Street Lower Azusa Road Madison Street Magnolia Avenue Malachite Avenue Manhattan Beach Boulevard Marengo Avenue Mariposa Street Mission Street Monterey Road Mountain Street Myrtle Avenue Oakland Avenue Old Mill Road Orcas Street Parthenia Street Phinney Avenue Pine Street Rainier Avenue Redondo Beach Boulevard Reseda Boulevard Rev. Dr. S. McKinney Avenue Rio Hondo Avenue Rosecrans Avenue Rosemead Boulevard Roy Street & Broadway SW Alaska Street San Dimas Avenue San Dimas Canyon Road San Gabriel Boulevard Santa Monica Boulevard Seattle Boulevard Seattle Street Sepulveda Boulevard Seward Park Avenue Silverlake Boulevard Slauson Avenue Spring Street & Western Avenue Stanford Street Sunset Boulevard Temple City Boulevard Thistle Street Torrance Boulevard Tremont Street Tyler Avenue Valley Boulevard Vicksburg Avenue Vista Del Valle Road Wardlow Road Washington Boulevard Waverly Road Weller Street West Haven Road Wilson Avenue alameda street alamitos avenue alpine street anaheim street arden road arroyo parkway beacon avenue south belvidere street boren avenue broadway court cahuenga boulevard centinela avenue chester avenue claremont street coco avenue colorado boulevard colorado street bridge columbia street conceptual street sign photography cordova street euclid avenue fair oaks avenue foothill street garfield avenue green street herbert street holliston avenue holly street howard street hudson avenue iowa avenue jackson street jefferson street la brea avenue la rosa road lemon avenue linden boulevard locust street madison avenue malibu colony road mar vista avenue mentor avenue michigan avenue olvera street orange grove boulevard venice blvd ventura blvd virginia street
Show more