Winning Time : TV Review
Celtics fans love to recall that thrilling 1984 series in which Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish put the kibosh on Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Kareem-Abdul Jabbar in a hot-and-sweaty Game 7 at the old Garden. Forgotten are the crushing defeats of ’85 and ’87 at the hands of the NBA’s version of the 21st-century Patriots.
With that in mind, Beantown might be reluctant to relive those dark days when HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” begins its 10-week run at 9 p.m. March 6. But you’d be cheating yourself out of a wildly entertaining journey back to 1979, when a fast-talking huckster named Dr. Jerry Buss pawned everything he owned to purchase a declining franchise he’d improbably resurrect into a juggernaut within months.
It’s easiest to break the flow of Winning Time into three different story threads. Jerry Buss has dreams of owning an NBA team and he sees an opportunity to purchase the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s a risky endeavor for the egotistical playboy, but given his substantial real estate assets, he’s willing to take a gamble. But nothing comes easy for Buss in his business venture. The first order of business with his new team is to make the first pick in the NBA draft, and he’s dead-set on drafting Magic Johnson.
Along with his daughter Jeanie Buss (Hadley Robinson), Business Manager Claire Rothman (Gaby Hoffmann), and his mother Jessie Buss (Sally Field), he’s going to use his shrewd business background to turn this failing franchise into a world champion. But to get there he’s going to overcome debitors and defeat NBA stalwarts like the Boston Celtics’ Red Auerbach (Michael Chiklis). Buss’ grand idea is to bring the same energy and entertainment into the franchise like at his Playboy Club – exclusivity, gorgeous women, and winning, to the Los Angeles area.
Winning Time is easily the best thing to come from an Adam McKay project in some time. Even though he only directs the pilot, his work sets the guidelines for how all the other directors approach the series. His style seems much better suited for this material, rather than the political topics he’s been chasing. And obviously, there’s a great love for Basketball here. Everything feels authentic, from the rough film grain over the image that makes the whole thing feel like watching archival footage, to the uniforms and stadiums that are featured. The Showtime Lakers reinvented the NBA bringing a lightning-fast game to the court and winning multiple championships along the way. While this first season has some hiccups, it’s not hard to imagine that the series will see a similar level of success. It’s a wildly entertaining series that I couldn’t stop watching and although I’ll never be a fan of the Lakers, it sure is fun seeing them evolve into a franchise that would challenge the Celtics for the next four decades
