Just finished the new book by/about Bird & Magic. They sat with a sportwriter and told their stories. It is a quick read and no real revelations. I give it 3 stars out of 5. It was worth my time to relive those days. Hard to remember when the NBA was barely surviving. Interesting to get their takes on the intensity of their personal rivalry as well as the hatred that those 2 teams had for each other. In honesty I do respect them both for their talent, the way they played, and their impact on the game.
Bird is such a straight shooter (in 2 ways) that you have to like him. I didn't remember that during a 4-year stretch he averaged over 28 points while shooting 52% and 42% from 3-pt. His back troubles after that were much worse than publically known. He went through hell. If you believe him, the rivalry pushed him to be better than he would have been otherwise. I do believe that the other was the only player each of them worried about, or gave them doubts as to whether they were the best player in the world. We were lucky and the game was lucky that they came along, and did things the right way (on the court at least).
The first year Riley asked Magic to take on more offensive load, he avg'd 24 pts and kept the assists over 12. I've been grudging over the years with Magic, but it's clear to me he was one of the greats. He could do basically what was necessary on the basketball court. He avg'd 15 pts, 6 reb, & 7 asst as a chubby power forward after being out for 5 years after his first retirement. Both were lucky to play with the talent they did. I would recommend you read it, even though it's not great.
S
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I want to read this book. People have forgotten how good they really were. They just remember the names and focus on the freak known as Jordan.
Magic was the best full court passer I ever saw and so charismatic. The passes he made at Michigan State are just unbelievable and no NBA guard could stop him if he wanted to drive.
Bird was the 1st player I ever saw that walked into the NBA and became the best player immediately in the league. (Jordan is the other one.) Best Shooter, great rebounder, Best passer, high steal totals, and determined not to lose, it was ridiculous. When Indiana St beat Arkansas in that tournament game, it is the only time I went outside and tried to emulate the player that beat my favorite team.
The Jordan book, is next to my bed now. I am afraid I will think less of him, every time I read about his life away from the court, it reduces my enjoyment. I remember the first time noticed Jordan, I watched him stealing balls against NC ST with Al Mcguire screaming about the talent in this freshman.
Mcguire called him "Prime Time" and the it was the first time I ever heard the expression.
j
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