The Breaks of the Game

For those who love the reliving of sports history, you will enjoy David Halberstam’s The Breaks of the Game.  This 1981 book written about the NBA Portland Trailblazers, a NBA team in only its tenth year in the league rises to glory on the backs of young controversial centers Bill Walton and Maurice Lucas (taken from the merged ABA league the previous year).  Coaching the club was standout “Dr.” Jack Ramsey, a recent sports commentator for those relatively younger readers.  Ramsey for many years was seen as “the smart coach.”  The book captures the rise to fame during the 1976-77 (for a complete listing of the championship picture of the finals, see this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1977_NBA_Finals) year but also the entire 1978-79 (and the year after the win) as the team starts to be dismantled by the ever changing sports scene where player’s salaries were beginning to rue the day. Another key storyline was the racial split that existed in the league between blacks who were not being treated consistently or fairly and their white counterparts who did not want to give up bench spots to more athletic black players.  Halberstam captures star Bill Walton’s foot injury for the Trailblazers which led to his eventual departure and lawsuit against the doctors and the Trailblazer team.  The behind the scenes wheeling and dealing among GMs and the changing media market covering the sport and how it affected owner’ ability to stay competitive were also highlights of the book.   Halberstam provides detail and little-known tidbits about personal relationships, challenges among players/coaches, and the growth of the league after its merger with the ABA.  Not all of the “characters” in the book get great press.  This was a particular interesting book to me as I was in high school and remember many of the NBA stars of the day, such as Walter Davis (of my fav team the Phoenix Suns), the fading stardom of Pistol Pete Maravich, the emerging star Magic Johnson, and of course the elite star Dr. Julies Erving of the Philadelphia 76ers.  Great to reminisce and now realize, dang, I’m getting old.  It was surprising that a historical read like this book was an RA favorite.  Nonetheless, a nostalgic and easy read, which works for those who love sports, and more importantly those who love the NBA.