Morning Bell – 2.23.2009

I went through a period where I read star player biographies when I was really young -- Jerry West, Walt Frazier, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson. The one that still sticks in my head was Rockin Steady: A Guide to Basketball and Cool by Clyde Frazier -- it's probably really dated by now, but on the other hand, Clyde has a way of remaining timeless, so it would at least be entertaining.

The only books I re-read and keep nearby are Breaks of the Game and Seven Seconds or Less (and Basketball on Paper, but that's more of a geek thing). Phil Jackson's The Last Season is very readable despite being ghostwritten by the guy who wrote a book on Rush Limbaugh. I'll probably pick up the bios of Pete Maravich at some point, since they have a good rep.

None of these books are tough reads but two books I couldn't finish were the Paul Shirley book mentioned above, and David Shield's Black Planet (white guy obsession with Gary Payton and the Sonics in 1995). I couldn't get past the authors' obsessive sense of self. I might try picking up the Shields book again, though...several funny GP stories and weird GP love, and an outsider intellectual view of the NBA that's interesting in small doses.

c.s. lewis - mere christianity is your best bet

You may have these books already, but ...

Dean Oliver, "Basketball on Paper"
David Berri, "The Wages of Win"

"Seven Seconds or Less" is good, and I've also heard that "The Show" (about the Magic-era Lakers) is good. Lastly, I found a book at a used bookstore the other week called "The NBA Coaches Playbook", and it's really cool. It has chapters by various coaches on concepts they specialize in (George Karl on the fast break, Phil Jackson on the triangle, Eddie Jordan and Pete Caril on the Princeton Offense) and lots of diagrams. Very helpful!

the miracle of st. anthony.

great book about legendary coach bob hurley and his new jersey high school basketball team. in the same realm as SSOL in terms of access 'behind the scenes.'

My brother and I once found a coffee table book at B&N from the NBA at 50, titled, shockingly, "The NBA at 50", about the top 50 players of all time. It's an enormous book with tons of amazing pictures and interviews. B&N always seems to have a huge coffee table book section with lots of discounts, and this was a terrific find. It never saw our coffee table, though, it ended up being prime bathroom literature.

Loose Balls, about the ABA, is a very long book, but crazily interesting.

Other favorites include Paul Shirley's 'Can I Keep my Jersey', the FreeDarko book, Seven Seconds or Less, and for non-basketball books, I'll suggest Rick Reilly's 'Hate Mail from Cheerleaders' or Jerry Crasnick's 'License to Deal'.

Well, you may already have it, but if not, then you should probably get Sam Smith's "The Jordan Rules." Also, get "Loose Balls" (about the CBA). Other good basketball reads: "My Losing Season" by Pat Conroy and the "Rabbit"-series by John Updike.

You also might want to pick up a copy of "Great Expectations" while you're there--I hear that Dickens guy is a good writer.

I hear those "Free Darcko" people have a book.

But I did rather enjoy "When Nothing Else Matters," and I strongly recommend it if you're into depressing narratives about Jordan.

They aren't basketball books, but if you've never read John Adams or The Last Lion Alone (a biography about Churchill covering from WWI until just after WWII starts) you should read one of them. Both books are absolutely fantastic, amazingly well written.

It would be easy to say right now that you don't think D-Wade will win another championship but I think he has a good chance to win another. It obviously won't be this year or the next, but I really do believe the reshaping of the stars in 2010 will help. The Heat have as much cap space as any other team and will be able to offer guys like Lebron, Bosh, Amare, etc. Pair one of those with Wade and young emerging players like Beasley and Chalmers and you have a championship caliber team with a nice window of opportunity. Even if they can't get one of the top tier guys, you know Pat Riley will do what it takes to win and get good complimentary players.