Customer Reviews

The Breaks of the Game

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The Breaks of the Game is a great sports book.

The difference between good books on sports and great books on sports is that the great books aren't really about sports. Ok, ok, that's not quite fair. The Breaks of the Game expertly chronicles the 79-80 Trailblazers and captures the ebbs and flows of an NBA season: the injuries, the mastery of the coach, the skill of the players, the relief of NBA victory and the very real (for Jack Ramsey, especially) pain of defeat. This is a book very much about sports and its heroes.

But, more than that, The Breaks of the Game is about the growing pains of the NBA as it entered its golden age--the age of Magic and Bird--and the way those pains were felt. What makes this book so incredible is the way that Halberstam blends objective observation with his keen knowledge of the game, its history, and his great capacity to see the humanity in everyone. When all of his considerable skills are dedicated to painting a portrait of Maurice Lucas, for instance, the player becomes the man, vibrantly portrayed and filled with conflicting instincts and emotions. Halberstam deftly works into his analysis of the players, the team, and the league as a whole the seminal aspects of money, respect, and race. The ideas and observations fueling the book are fantastic, and Halberstam's subtle, lyrical prose makes them all the more powerful. Ultimately, this is a book about people: who they are, why they play, what they need, how they interact.

In short, this is the best book on basketball--and one of the best books, period--that I've ever read. It is thorough, fiercely intelligent, and captures a moment in time when the NBA was in flux between the white, poor league it was and the black, rich league it has become.

David Halberstam takes us here in to the life of a sports franchise, the lives of it's players and of the environment surrounding them in the late seventies world of sport, following the merger of the two basketball league. The exposion of television coverage and of a team in the aftermath of a championship.

Halberstam is more than fair in his depiction of all the personalities involved with and on the periphery of the team. His exhaustive research is in evidence. The players are not shown to be charming charismatic larger than life heroes but human beings with stories of their own, interesting ones at that. Mr. Halberstam successfully conveys how the personalities all combined to make up this team.

The thing about this book is that Mr. Halberstam always presents a new take even on well covered topics. He makes you consider what you may not have considered otherwise.

Interestingly this book covers the team in something of a decline not the championship year. That in itself gives a unique view at the end of this book you have an idea of not only why they won but of the difficulty of repeating as champions, of the tenuous relationships formed between players, the slights, the friendships, the business of sports and those behind.

Vivid and rich with color and power. This book doesn't disappoint. Everyone from the rather unique owner to the 12th man. From preseason to playoff. An excellent read.

I've been an NBA fan since I was a kid and I read this for the first time in summer of 2007. As someone who considers himself a knowledgeable NBA fan, I'm embarassed to say it took me so long to read this primer to the modern-day NBA.

Breaks of the Game is as well-written and thoroughly researched as any sports book you'll find. Halberstam presents fact after fact on why the NBA game has been shaped by big money and TV moreso than any player, coach, or team. He does a tremendous job exposing the conflict between the league's big money sponsors and its actual product--a game predominantly being played and dominated by black athletes.

Halberstam's excellence isn't limited to the politics and power struggles taking place in NBA front offices. His reporting on the actual game played between the lines is insightful and intriguing. Many of the complaints about today's NBA game--too much one-on-one play, ballyhooed rookies not paying their dues, primadonnas, lack of fundamentals, etc-- are covered in-depth by Mr. Halberstam. Keep in mind, this was written in 1978-79.

It's a great book that can easily be appreciated by anyone--hoops fan or not. And if you consider yourself an NBA fan, then you need to get on this ASAP. Although I wouldn't pay the prices here on Amazon. $59 for a paperback book? Strange. Like another reviewer said: Check your local library. Good luck and enjoy!

This book delves into the personal lives of the NBA players (at least the NBA players in 1978). Halberstam expresses a great ability to decipher and put on paper the racial tension and often awkward interaction between white and black athletes of that day. He also holds an uncanny ability of clearly stating the emotions and interests of all the players on that Portland Trailblazers team.

This book is really one of the best sports books of all time. Halberstam goes all over the map to show that basketball is "more than a sport." Sure, that's a cliche at this point, but everything is incorporated seamlessly: race, TV, finances, a fickly city, hippies, violence, free agency, college. You can't help but realize that all of the problems in the book still exist today in not just the NBA but all major sports (except for the hippies). What is most amazing about the book is that Halberstam constructed it around what can only be considered a run of the mill team. After reading the book, you get the sense that Halberstam could have written just as good a book had he followed any of the NBA teams.

If you can't get it used, then look at your local library. And if you are a book publisher, put it back in print, if for no other reason than the astounding quote by OJ that opens the book.

I read this book nearly 30 years ago when it was originally published in 1981 and I just recently re-read it. It is very deserving of its classic status. Not only is it one of the best basketball books, it's one of the best sports books.

In Breaks of the Game, Halberstam follows the Portland Trailblazers through the 1979-80 season. The Trailblazers, who won the 1976-77 NBA championship, are without Bill Walton, who was traded to San Diego Clippers after suffering an injury and a broken foot. Walton sued the Trailblazers and team doctors, alleging malpractice.

Although Walton is no longer a Trailblazer, Halberstam writes a lot about him (all of it interesting) and his impact on the Portland club and the NBA.

Halberstam takes a social, racial and economic view of the NBA. He traces the impact of television on the NBA, the escalating salaries and the impact of black players on the league and the style of play. From the late 1960s to the mid-70s, thanks in large part to the fledgling ABA, the average salary in the NBA increased from $75,000 to $500,000 to $600,000. This decreased the influence of the coaches and increased the influence of the players.

After reading this book, you'll probably never think of a basketball team in the same way. It is much more complex, more fragmented and fragile than you think. Halberstam offers rich profiles of the players, coaches and owners, including Coach Jack Ramsay, coach Stu Inman, owner Lester Weinberg, Lionel Hollins, Maurice Lucas, Kermit Washington, Larry Steele, Bobby Gross, Dave Twardzik, Billy Ray Bates and others.

While this book is essentially about the Portland Trailblazers, it virtually touches every important NBA development. And, always with Halberstam's unmatched insight.

A great writer, Halberstam seems to effortlessly bring everything together in an extremely interesting manner. A minor complaint, however, is that the book has no chapters or index.

As a writer, Halberstam is a master portraitist. There isn't any part of life you might be curious about that you wouldn't want him to shed light on for you.

From each of the people involved with the '80 Blazers, to the team itself, to the NBA, to modern sports, to America at that time: he captures it all.

I've been caught in a phase of reading half a book before moving onto the next one, but this one I read all the way through and quickly at that.

If you're an NBA fan, I guarantee you'll enjoy this book - especially if you're familiar with late 70s teams and players. I think even non-fans might find the business angle and personal stories interesting. The other great thing about it is the quote at the beginning -- about how money, fame, etc are fleeting and "the only thing that endures is character" -- by O.J. Simpson! I wonder how Halberstam feels about including that quote now...

This book is definetly worth reading for any
hoops fan worth his or her salt. I discovered it by
accident in July 1990 and have read it at least 50
times. It's been a great help for me in learning the
background of the game--the greats, the major
crises, etc. Anybody who loves basketball will
appreciate this book. You MUST read it!

It's amazing how a book written three decades ago captures the heart of the NBA and how free agency and more lucrative contracts dramatically changed the way teams are assembled. It is still relevant today. It's funny how petty and cut-throat the players became for FAR LESS money than what players are making today. It just goes to show you that competitiveness and greed can deteriorate the fabric of a professional sports team.