You see how McClosky built a team specifically to beat the Boston Celtics. You see the rookie camps and how guaranteed contracts sometimes count more than talent. You see how McClosky agonizes over the coming expansion draft, knowing he can only protect 8 of the players in the the Piston's 9 man rotation. You learn the REAL reasons behind the Adrian Dantley for Mark Aguirre trade. You see the locker rooms and how players interact with one another at practice. You see how beat writers try to pry stories out of players who give generic answers. You see how Pistons' GM Jack McClosky tries to win a title, without trading away the future. You learn how franchises try to entertain audiences and just how much of the NBA is a money-making business. You see how the team chemistry is blended, how the trades are pulled, how the GMs think, how the college talent is evaluated. The author was allowed inside the brain trust of the Detroit Pistons for an entire 1988-89 season, which happens to be the season they won the first of their back-to-back titles and also their first season in the Palace. And this one may be the very best of all of them. You learn how franchise This is the first basketball book I ever read. This is the first basketball book I ever read. But the author, Cameron Stauth, does a good job of reporting, and you can tell he is not bias to the team.
Laker fans may hate it because this is the year Byron Scott and Magic Johnson got hurt in the NBA Finals after they had previously swept their three series before the Finals. A lot of good stuff on Isiah Thomas, Rick Mahorn (who comes off as an #$%hole) and Bill Lambeer (who basically is an #$%hole), Joe Dumars, Mark Aguirre, Dennis Rodman, Chuck Daly, John Salley and the arhitect of it all, Jack McCloskey, the GM.Īny Detroit Pistons fan will love this book and most NBA fans will love it as well. This book tells the inside story of the 1988/89 season in which the Pistons won the first of their two NBA titles, this one coming against the Lakers. A lot of people will say this "Bad Boys" team didn't play the most exciting style of basketball with their bruising ways, but it did work. Really took me back to the late 80's when this Detroit Pistons team was very good, and controvesial. A lot of good stuff on Isiah Thomas, Rick Mahorn (who come One of the better basketball books I've ever read. It’s something we’ll be reminded of frequently as we watch episodes 3 and 4 of The Last Dance, whether it’s filtered through the prism of Michael Jordan’s perspective or not.One of the better basketball books I've ever read. Many elements went into the making of the Michael Jordan we know today, but the most important of them all may have just been the Detroit Pistons, the Bad Boys and Isiah Thomas.
Isiah Thomas is the only star to defeat the trio of Larry Bird, Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan in the playoffs, and he handled the greatest of them all three straight times. Isiah Thomas and the Bad Boys had a 12-6 record in playoff games against Jordan’s squad before the Bulls got the upper hand in 1991 and finally became THE BULLS en route to a sweep victory. In their first three matchups, the Pistons held off the upstart Bulls each time. In the playoffs, while things ultimately ended badly, the Pistons held it over the Bulls as well.
Not bad for the lesser light in the matchup. Thomas averaged 21 points, 9.3 assists, 3.8 rebounds and 1.7 steals. It’s fine though, Isiah Thomas and the Pistons had the winning edge. Of course, Jordan had the statistical edge, scoring 31.6 points per game, but not many players outscored him anyway. In the regular season, the Pistons had a 24-19 record in games where they both played.