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I've worked in the sports industry long enough to think that Doctor Buss and his purchase of the Lakers and building it up is incredibly believable as portrayed in this show. Even today, you might be surprised how much of modern sports management is just one guy with more money than sense dictating grandiose ideas for the underlings to figure out. Ultimately, if you're not the owner or GM, your job is ultimately to bring those guys around to thinking your department's good idea was their idea all along. That said, I am really enjoying this show. I have to catch up on the latest episode, but so far, I think they've done a pretty good job of taking enough creative liberties with the real-life characters without completely betraying their legacy. I know Jerry West's family and everyone else who was around him are royally pissed off about the show, but I felt like he becomes incredibly likable and has one of the better arcs.
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May 3, 2022 21:16
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 00:17 |
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I finally finished the season and, overall, really enjoyed it start to finish. I think it helped that I didn't come into it with much knowledge of that era of Lakers basketball, so I could just take it for what it was most of the time. Somehow the Jerry Tarkanian thing and the rookie of the year vote were the only things I actually learned about, and I thought they were used for the right amount of impact in the story. Whoever said, "it was great when it stopped being about Jerry Buss' dick" is not wrong. I thought the show really shined when they finally got away from the gratuitous "oh look, historical sports figures loving!" aspect of the early episodes. I was also pleasantly surprised that this version of Jerry West ended up being one of my favorite characters in the show. His stomping around the concourse feeling like he was about to throw up or explode, not watching the game, is waaaay too relatable for me. But Adrian Brodie as Pat Riley and Quincy Isaiah as Magic also chewed up every scene they were in. They were sensational. I also really enjoyed the depiction of Kareem and how they crafted his story. As for season 2, I feel like they set it up to really spend the season on Magic vs. Bird, which went on until 1991. From a storytelling standpoint, I don't know if they'd actually try to cover 11 years of basketball in 10 episodes, or if they pick one particular stretch of time to focus on. Because you also had the rise of the Bad Boys, Air Jordan and a bunch of other poo poo that started to eclipse what they had going on pretty quickly in the grand scheme of things. Hell, by about 1987-88, it was actually cool to like the NBA for the first time, maybe ever. Or maybe I just outlined two or three seasons here. Either way, I'm excited for more and can't wait to see who they end up casting as the villains for the Lakers through the rest of the 80s.
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May 13, 2022 19:42
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I'm up through the first three episodes of s2, but so far I'm a little underwhelmed after thoroughly loving season 1. Although I did really enjoy the Bird-centric third ep. Whether or not this take on Bird is accurate seems irrelevant, because he's my favorite supporting character in the show so far. I love what a surly rear end in a top hat he is, but I definitely remember in real-time back when he was playing how he was the bane of so many players' existence because he was just that loving good and never failed to let the other team know it on the court. Other than that, I really think the first two episodes could have been condensed. I know we're building to Westhead's firing and being replaced by Riley, but in real life that happened about 6 or 7 games into the 1981-82 season. I'm also very ready for Magic vs. Bird to get ramped up now. That was the best sports rivalry of the 80s, by far, and I'm just ready to see this version of it.
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Aug 30, 2023 20:17
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GoutPatrol posted:Unless the next episode is like 1 1/2 seasons they are running out of time, I know this season began with a flash forward to 84 but they haven't even given whoever plays Moses Malone a line yet That's a very good point. Although in the latest ep, they did jump a shitload of time (which was confusing). But you're right, Dr. J and Moses Malone were the kings for a hot minute in the early-80s, and they've only even been mentioned in passing once this season, I think. Panzeh posted:Yeah, i feel like Buss and Magic are the least interesting characters in the show right now but they get almost all the screentime and script. Very true. As much as I loved them in s1, those two aren't really given anything interesting to do this time. I really think they missed the mark by continuing to focus on them when the real story that should be front and center is Pat Riley. Doronin fucked around with this message at 17:27 on Sep 7, 2023 |
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Sep 7, 2023 17:24
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I finally watched ep6 this afternoon and the montage pacing they went with felt like a show with no expectation of being renewed. It wasn't bad, but we went from spending 3 or 4 episodes to cover a few months of time, then one episode to speed run everything from June 1982 through May 1984. Just peculiar but since I have been wanting them to get to this point I guess I got my wish.
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Sep 17, 2023 23:16
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| # ¿ May 14, 2024 00:17 |
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I haven't watched the finale yet, but drat... https://twitter.com/Phil_Lewis_/status/1703592042603962563?s=19
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Sep 18, 2023 03:19
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