Rich Cohen deserves a lot of credit for his range. You just never know what book he might come up with next.
Cohen has written for a wide variety of publications - from the Wall Street Journal to the New Yorker to Rolling Stone. Rich was the co-creator of an HBO series. His books including looks at the Rolling Stones and America's "banana king." Even the sports books are diverse, although it's fair to say they have a Chicago-bias in spots. Cohen has books about the Bears and Cubs to his credit.
So what was he doing during the Pandemic? Thinking about basketball. In particular, the 1987-88 NBA season. You might remember that one if you are a basketball fan. There were four very good teams in that point in history, and all were in different stages of a hoop lifespan. The Boston Celtics still could be good, but they were getting old. The Los Angeles Lakers were a bit younger, but still had plenty in the tank for the moment. The Detroit Pistons were coming up from below, with a deep bench and a rough-and-tough style that left opponents bruised. The Chicago Bulls had Michael Jordan, but hadn't quite figured out how to reach the next level.
Cohen admits at the very start of the book that Game Six of the NBA Finals turned him into a basketball fanatic. With Covid-forced time on his hands, he decided to write a book on that '87-88 season called "When the Game Was War." The idea was to show that that year of basketball was the best in the NBA's history. That's a very difficult argument to win, but Cohen presents his best arguments here ... and brings enthsiasm with him.
It's no coincidence that the best teams had many of the best players; that's the way it often works in sports. The Lakers started with Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and that doesn't account for fellow Hall of Famer James Worthy. The Celtics offered Larry Bird along with Robert Parish, Kevin McHale and Dennis Johnson. Detroit was led by Isiah Thomas, followed by Joe Dumars and Adrian Dantley with a bench that included Dennis Rodman. Chicago had Michael Jordan, enough said, with Scottie Pippin slowly learning how to play Robin to Jordan's Batman.
Cohen centers on a few regular-season games, but that only serves a launching point for background information on the players and teams. He gets plenty of points for the amount of information he covers, including some new items that usually come up with the passing of time. So the story moves right along into the playoffs, where fans who matched Cohen's intensity in those days probably can recite the details of the key contests without much effort.
The Celtics lost their chance to stay relevant in the title picture when Len Bias died in 1986. The Bulls didn't have the right pieces yet, but they figured to be a handful if they did. The Pistons probably were the best team, but sometimes the best team didn't always win. And the Lakers had enough know-how and a break or two at the end of games to emerge on top.
Was it the best year ever? Sometimes it seemed like Cohen forces the argument a little bit, overstating the ability of some players and teams at certain points. For example, the Atlanta Hawks are given a great deal of respect for starting the season with a division lead over Detroit and Chicago. Even at 25-9, it's hard to say anyone thought the Hawks would be there when it mattered in the spring.
Cohen also has a second cause on the side. He thinks Isiah Thomas has been badly underrated for what he did in his career. Thomas's reputation took some hits during the course of his career, particularly in an incident involving Larry Bird in the playoffs. He and Magic Johnson were in each other's way in this particular season too, and their friendship suffered. Johnson was always going to win that popularity contest. Cohen's argument probably isn't air-tight, but it's an interesting discussion. Thomas' status is another portion of a book that shows the author trying to make a case along the way. I'm a little of the "show me, don't tell me" school on such matters, but I'm willing to listen.
"When the Game Was War" is book that's filled with research, some of it through direct interviews and some of it through other sources. It reads quite quickly. You may not be convinced about the validity of Cohen's two points, but if you remember this era you'll find it to be quite an entertaining book.
Four stars
Learn more about this book from Amazon.com. (As an Amazon affiliate, I earn money from qualified purchases.)
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