*** WINNING TIME *** (HBO Lakers Series)

27,111 Views | 243 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by TCTTS
NoahAg
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The cast looks pretty great; especially Magic, Kareem, and Bird.
But how is this a multi season series? I know "money," but seems like it would be much better as a 10 episode miniseries.
Let's go, Brandon!
Andyzipp
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According to Olajuwon, the real life scenario was that Portland had offered Clyde Drexler and the number 2 pick for Ralph Sampson before the draft.

Meaning the Rockets would have had Drexler, and drafted Olajuwon and Jordan 1, 2. But Charlie Thomas loved Sampson and was convinced that putting him together with Olajuwon would get him a championship.
Prosperdick
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Andyzipp said:

According to Olajuwon, the real life scenario was that Portland had offered Clyde Drexler and the number 2 pick for Ralph Sampson before the draft.

Meaning the Rockets would have had Drexler, and drafted Olajuwon and Jordan 1, 2. But Charlie Thomas loved Sampson and was convinced that putting him together with Olajuwon would get him a championship.
3 of top 50 players of all-time on one team, in their prime, including the best to ever play the game. If ever a team could go 82-0 it would be that one. If true Charlie was an idiot.
The Porkchop Express
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Prosperdick said:

Andyzipp said:

According to Olajuwon, the real life scenario was that Portland had offered Clyde Drexler and the number 2 pick for Ralph Sampson before the draft.

Meaning the Rockets would have had Drexler, and drafted Olajuwon and Jordan 1, 2. But Charlie Thomas loved Sampson and was convinced that putting him together with Olajuwon would get him a championship.
3 of top 50 players of all-time on one team, in their prime, including the best to ever play the game. If ever a team could go 82-0 it would be that one. If true Charlie was an idiot.
Sampson's potential back then was like Magic or LeBron; a guy doing finesse things at an unheard of size; in his case a 7 foot 4 center who could pass and dribble. Plus he won NCAA Player of the year 3 times in a row, which no one else has ever done. Averaged 21 and 11 as a rookie on an absolutely terrible team.

Clyde didn't go until 15th in the draft because most people thought he couldn't do anything but dunk.His first year in Portland he averaged 8 points per game coming off the bench and only shot 45% from the floor.

So you're asking Charlie Thomas to give up his 7 foot 4 Rookie of the Year who lived up to all expectations and then some in exchange for the #2 pick and a guy who didn't do much last year. Without foresight on how Clyde and Jordan would develop, most GMs wouldn't take that trade.
Sazerac
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Digging this series. Great job of putting us into late 70s LA.
The Porkchop Express
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Got my wife to watch it and she loved it. Once again she appears baffled when I know a lot about a subject, like the Lakers.

Norm Nixon's kid playing Norm Nixon was fantastic.
Life is better with a beagle
Prosperdick
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Not going to lie, this felt like a filler episode but I did love the interaction between Red and Jerry. The Cookie-Magic drama felt a little too after school special to me. Still really enjoying the vibe of the series though.
Tobias Funke
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helloimustbegoing said:

Will watch it tonight. Magic is my #2 favorite player of all time so definitely hyped to see him come to life again. The Lakers were 47-35 the year before he got there and started the 79-80 season 25-13, then won 35 of their final 42 games.

His first game as a 20-year-old pro: 26 points, 8 rebounds ,4 assists, 4 blocks, 1 steal.




Geez. Spoiler alert, man!
Duncan Idaho
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Nice to see that the guy that played rock dude from the fantastic 4 movie is still getting work.
superunknown
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Quote:


Losing the coin flip got the Bulls Dave Greenwood from UCLA who played 12 years and averaged 10 points a game.


Another tiny side note...the Bulls wound up eventually trading David Greenwood for George Garvin, which absolutely gutted 10 year old superunknown when it happened. Ice played maybe a season for the Bulls before a couple of years in Europe to end his career.

I like to think Ice taught MJ a thing or two while they were teammates.
Leggo My Elko
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So far I think the pilot was great and the 2nd episode was so so. The second episode really leaned into the characters being cartoons of themselves, I think it remains to be seen if the show can pull that off.
TCTTS
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Finally had a chance to catch up on both episodes, and I hate to say it, but I'm not a huge fan so far. Or, rather, I love any scene with Reilly/Buss and his plight, or even his daughter's plight, but everything else is so over-the-top or written like a soap opera that I just don't care. Though I like the actor, the Magic in Michigan stuff is pretty bad, and I can't wait 'til all the characters are together and all the pieces are in place so we can really get moving and it doesn't feel like we're watching two or three separate shows.

And this is coming from someone who loves the trailers, loves the NBA, loves LA, and loves Adam McKay's better efforts. I don't even mind the breaking of the fourth wall or the film grain look (though the VHS-looking cutaways and insert shots are so distracting). Two episodes in, it's just not a well-written series, one that not only looks like a show from the late '70s/early '80s, but has the weird vibe/pacing of one as well. There's just an empty awkwardness to some of the scenes, almost like they're trying to make it as bad as the shows back then.

All that said, I'm having fun with it for the most part, and when it's at its best, I love the overall vibe. Again, Reilly as Buss is fantastic, and I think once the ensemble's all together, it really has the chance to sing.
jackie childs
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TCTTS said:

Finally had a chance to catch up on both episodes, and I hate to say it, but I'm not a huge fan so far. Or, rather, I love any scene with Reilly/Buss and his plight, or even his daughter's plight, but everything else is so over-the-top or written like a soap opera that I just don't care. Though I like the actor, the Magic in Michigan stuff is pretty bad, and I can't wait 'til all the characters are together and all the pieces are in place so we can really get moving and it doesn't feel like we're watching two or three separate shows.

And this is coming from someone who loves the trailers, loves the NBA, loves LA, and loves Adam McKay's better efforts. I don't even mind the breaking of the fourth wall or the film grain look (though the VHS-looking cutaways and insert shots are so distracting). Two episodes in, it's just not a well-written series, one that not only looks like a show from the late '70s/early '80s, but has the weird vibe/pacing of one as well. There's just an empty awkwardness to some of the scenes, almost like they're trying to make it as bad as the shows back then.

All that said, I'm having fun with it for the most part, and when it's at its best, I love the overall vibe. Again, Reilly as Buss is fantastic, and I think once the ensemble's all together, it really has the chance to sing.
i wonder if will ferrell is watching this and thinking "yeah, it may have been handled poorly, but there's no doubt that i was wrong for this part and Reilly is nailing it"?

i enjoyed the first episode. second episode was just ok. i'm still hopeful for the series overall though.
TCTTS
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Yeah, no sane person can think Reilly isn't perfect for the role. How he wasn't their first choice, and Michael Shannon was, is beyond me.
Leggo My Elko
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Quote:

i wonder if will ferrell is watching this and thinking "yeah, it may have been handled poorly, but there's no doubt that i was wrong for this part and Reilly is nailing it"?
No doubt, I was thinking the same thing. Ferrell would have been ok, but Rielly is hitting it out of the park. Reilly is so good at breaking the fourth wall and then jumping back into the scene, I just don't see Ferrell being able to do that.
Brian Earl Spilner
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I mostly enjoyed the first episode but absolutely hated how they kept inserting those grainy shots. It's fine a few times but they were doing it constantly in almost every single scene to the point that it's distracting.

I really like the guy playing Magic though, he has the charisma down pat. Reilly is as good as always.

I do think the breaking the fourth wall stuff is TOO ingrained though. We don't need it multiple times a scene. (The scene where Buss and the previous owner meet really stood out to me for this reason. They did it like 4 times.)

Am mostly enjoying it though and will keep going. Haven't seen episode 2 yet.
TCTTS
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Maybe I'm just getting used to the rhythms of the show, but I thought this episode was head and shoulders above the first two. It moved faster, everyone's finally in LA, and the stakes felt a bit higher. You can see it becoming the show it wants to be, the pieces are starting to fall into place, and next week looks even better. Really digging it now.
Txmoe
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TexjbA&M said:

Quote:

i wonder if will ferrell is watching this and thinking "yeah, it may have been handled poorly, but there's no doubt that i was wrong for this part and Reilly is nailing it"?
No doubt, I was thinking the same thing. Ferrell would have been ok, but Rielly is hitting it out of the park. Reilly is so good at breaking the fourth wall and then jumping back into the scene, I just don't see Ferrell being able to do that.
Watching The Shrink Next Door will confirm your opinion about Ferrell being limited as a 'real' actor. No way he'd have the charisma to play the Dr. Buss character as well as John C.
TCTTS
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Prosperdick
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I really liked last night's episode but thought the mobster hit was a bit too much embellishment. To my surprise, nope, no embellishment other than excluding Cooke from the negotiations (which was a wise choice as the focus should be on Buss). Crazy I never knew about Tark and this story.

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-06-11-me-3125-story.html

Quote:

The meeting with Jack Kent Cooke and Jerry Buss had gone well. Vic Weiss was close to a deal that would bring University of Nevada, Las Vegas, basketball coach Jerry Tarkanian to Los Angeles to lead the Lakers, the team Cooke was selling to Buss.

Briefcase in hand, the stocky but energetic Weiss, a 51-year-old sports promoter, sometime agent and businessman, left the meeting room at a Beverly Hills hotel, hopped into his Rolls-Royce and headed over the hill to his house in Encino.

But Weiss never made it home. Three days later, on June 17, 1979, his red-and-white Rolls-Royce was spotted in the garage of a North Hollywood hotel.

Police opened the trunk and there was the body of Victor J. Weiss, hands tied behind his back. He had been killed with two gunshots to the head.
LostAg
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Never thought this guy would end up playing Jerry Tarkanian
"Let's go to Taco Cabana and get us something to eat..."
Duncan Idaho
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Welp that my "Damn I am old " moment of the day
Prosperdick
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LostAg said:



Never thought this guy would end up playing Jerry Tarkanian
Completely unrecognizable and not in a ton of makeup like the Penguin/Batman kind of way. He did a great job.

Also, are you cool, man?
Txgunrnnr
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Did anyone else notice that the mobster on the left looked a lot like Ron Jeremy?

“If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.” -Henry Ford

#FJB
The Porkchop Express
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First job outta college I got to meet Tark when he was coaching Fresno State, the year his guys got investigated for point shaving.

Was working in the SID for Rice when all those teams were crammed in the WAC together. I took Tark and his staff food before a game and he asked me my name and how I was doing and said thanks.

After the game, took stats into their locker room for his press conference, called me by my name, said thanks, have a great night.

Three months later, NCAA called asking for the game footage to investigate the point-shaving claim.

Until I looked him up on Wiki, I completely blanked on that time he coached the Spurs for 25 minutes.


Addendum to my first post - Fresno State was totally point shaving vs. Rice that game; They were up 70-61 with 1:03 to play in the game and won 79-76 - kept throwing the ball away "accidentally" and fouling Rice guys when they were already in the bonus. Fortunately Rice sucked enough at basketball to keep fouling back. It was 79-76 with 2 seconds left and Fresno's main guy was at the FT line; missed both FT and Rice's center got the rebound and threw it the length of the court and hit the back of the iron. Missed a 92-foot game-tying three-pointer by about an inch.
TCTTS
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Txmoe
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TCTTS said:


Well, McGee better not watch anything else with Gaby or he'll find out pretty quickly that Karen is not a fan of anything Brazilian.
DW91AG95
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Carpet matches the drapes in both color and quantity.
Some Junkie Cosmonaut
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TCTTS said:




Thought she was the missing McPoyle sister.

Duncan Idaho
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She isn't hot enough to be a McPoyle
jackie childs
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so after 3 episodes, i'm still enjoying it, but mostly because of the Dr. Buss scenes.

i'm sure the Magic scenes will get better as he gets more acclimated to LA, but man, his scenes/story have been pretty rough the last two episodes.

the brody/riley stuff almost felt like it was lifted from a totally different show.

i liked the scenes with tark...didn't know that whole backstory.
DTP02
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Prosperdick said:

InternetFan02 said:

Very entertaining premier…everything you would expect from Adam McKay

Jerry west/Jason Clarke steals the show…my favorite character

lol at the Donald sterling cameo

Kareem was great - "**** off, kid"

Magic actor was great and there's some real potential here

John c Reilly is playing himself…distracting…but it would have been much worse for will Ferrell to play that role
Agreed on Ferrell playing Buss...I realize now why they had to make the change. The show simply wouldn't work with him in that role. I like Reilly though and his take on Buss.

It's amazing they found an actor who had Magic's smile and charisma...talk about good fortune. One quibble though is he's only 6-3 and the camera tricks they're using to make him look 6 inches taller is a bit distracting. The height differential between him and Kareem still works at least. I know it's a nit pick but something that bugged me a little.

Speaking of camera tricks, I loved the different use of camera lenses they used to get that 70's grainy look and then every once in a while they would slip in some hand held shots that look like they used home movie cameras from that era. It really puts you into that time period and back to Ferrell I think he would just pull you out of it (it would devolve into a parody of itself, which I'm sure McKay didn't want).

Anyway, I really enjoyed the first episode and can't wait to watch it all unfold.


Can't be easy to try to cast the part for life-size pro basketball players. Not a lot of overlap in the Venn diagram of (a) professional actors, (b) black, (c) freakishly tall. That they were even able to find enough black actors who were that much taller than average is a minor miracle.
Ervin Burrell
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DTP02 said:

Prosperdick said:

InternetFan02 said:

Very entertaining premier…everything you would expect from Adam McKay

Jerry west/Jason Clarke steals the show…my favorite character

lol at the Donald sterling cameo

Kareem was great - "**** off, kid"

Magic actor was great and there's some real potential here

John c Reilly is playing himself…distracting…but it would have been much worse for will Ferrell to play that role
Agreed on Ferrell playing Buss...I realize now why they had to make the change. The show simply wouldn't work with him in that role. I like Reilly though and his take on Buss.

It's amazing they found an actor who had Magic's smile and charisma...talk about good fortune. One quibble though is he's only 6-3 and the camera tricks they're using to make him look 6 inches taller is a bit distracting. The height differential between him and Kareem still works at least. I know it's a nit pick but something that bugged me a little.

Speaking of camera tricks, I loved the different use of camera lenses they used to get that 70's grainy look and then every once in a while they would slip in some hand held shots that look like they used home movie cameras from that era. It really puts you into that time period and back to Ferrell I think he would just pull you out of it (it would devolve into a parody of itself, which I'm sure McKay didn't want).

Anyway, I really enjoyed the first episode and can't wait to watch it all unfold.


Can't be easy to try to cast the part for life-size pro basketball players. Not a lot of overlap in the Venn diagram of (a) professional actors, (b) black, (c) freakishly tall. That they were even able to find enough black actors who were that much taller than average is a minor miracle.
Add in (d) resembles the person they are portraying.
The Porkchop Express
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I know a lot has been made of the McKay-Ferrell fallout over this show, but John C Reilly seems a dead lock cinch to get nominated for Emmys and Golden Globes, he's amazing so far

I really dig Magic's story unlike some others. I had a harder time watching both Riley and West be total nutjobs who can't survive outside basketball in the same episode. I like Clarke's take on West, but Brody seemed way over the top as Riley. I'm assuming that's to help with the total transformation to the Riley we all remember.

Even after all this time, the mention of Kermit Washington pisses me off as a Rockets fan after what that dick did to Rudy T.
Prosperdick
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A little over halfway through this episode they show Jack McKinney reaching a Buddhist Zen like state with plays dancing around his head but all I could think of is dip**** Tom Herman and the Mastermind cover from Dave Campbell's.

ETA I really liked this episode and I think they did a great job with how McKinney was trying to implement his system. Can't wait to see how they portray the regular season.

Also the LOSER graphics on Riley were hilarious.
 
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