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Spoiler alert: Those of us old enough to remember the no-blood, no-foul intensity of the NBA of the 1980s are spoiled.
If you are a Lakers fan of a certain age, you might be angered by HBO deciding there is no time for the rest of Showtime, just when Magic, Kareem and company were getting warmed up in the sauna called the Boston Garden. Or, you remember clearly how it all played out in real life, so you don’t care to watch a dramatized version of the real drama.
Either way, why did HBO end “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” just seven episodes into a second season — and with its stars losing to their most hated foes?
The answer is the same reason why the NBA was on life support before Magic Johnson and Larry Bird appeared. Not enough people watched.
“I watched (the first season), but I don’t like it,” said Mike Hildenbrand, a Lakers fanatic the 45 years we’ve been friends. “I read the book it was based on (by Jeff Pearlman), and it was awesome. I plan to read it again.”
If you’re a Lakers fan, the book has a much happier ending.
After losing the teams’ first Finals matchup of the Magic-Bird era, the Lakers prevailed in other two against the Celtics in the ’80s. But the show about Showtime was halted abruptly Sunday with the C’s drawing first blood, taking the title in the notoriously physical seven-game 1984 series.
Since I grew up loving the Celtics, maybe I should be happy about that, satisfied with Larry Legend getting the last laugh. Both series — the ’84 Finals and the HBO show — ended with Kevin McHale’s momentum-changing clothesline of Kurt Rambis only partially avenged (James Worthy’s payback against Cornbread Maxwell in Game 6 was too little too late to stop Boston).
Now, though, as a neutral observer, I see this as the worst hoops finish since the gold medal game of the 1972 Olympics, which the refs gave to the Russians in the final three seconds.
Just a few more ticks than that are devoted at the end of “Winning Time” for its epilogue, the what-happens-to-whom, most of which you might already know.
Magic and Bird become the best of frenemies, Jeannie ascends to boss Buss when daddy dies, Pat Riley coaches the Lakers to four NBA titles and leads the Heat to three more (one as a coach, two as an executive), etc., etc. …
I did learn something new since watching the series finale. It is now possible and legal for a person to be a fan of both the Celtics and Lakers.
University of Hawaii student Dylan Henke, 21, explained. His father, William, is from Palos Verdes, Calif., and his mother, Linda, is from Cambridge, Mass.
“I finished watching the second season,” Dylan said. ” I enjoyed it for what it was. I thought it was entertaining, a good show, and informative.”
What has happened to good old sports-hate? Were we better off as a society when more of our culture wars were fought on hardwood floors and gridirons?
“He probably admires the quality of both teams and didn’t get sucked into the rivalry, because he’s young,” Hildenbrand said. “Even I can look at the Celtics now in admiration, not hate.”
What I hate is I don’t get to see another season of this, even though it would bring back some bad memories of Celtic losses — and more did-that-really-happen moments.
Yes, parts of this series are cartoonishly exaggerated, but back in the ’80s, I still really, really liked cartoons. And, like many said when the 2018 Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody” had a few facts out of order: If you want 100% historical accuracy, watch a documentary.
This show was one of the reasons I subscribed to HBO Max. Now that it’s over, it’s time to return to Netflix and hope for a restart of “Mindhunter” … another great watch axed awkwardly before its prime.
Everything considered, “Winning Time” is worth a look, whether or not you believe Georgia Bird told her son that Bill Laimbeer was her favorite player.
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