FALLING FROM GRACE: Can Pro Basketball be Saved?

Offers a frank critique of the modern world of professional basketball, examining how it has fallen to its current low level after the extraordinary popularity it enjoyed only recently

When Akron Beacon-Journal sports columnist Pluto (Tall Tales) writes on basketball, attention must be paid, for he combines a knowledge of the game with the cool objectivity of a good reporter. The game, he believes, has changed from one in which such skills as shooting and passing were demanded of all players to one in which athleticism is all that most participants have to offer. And, he adds, there is no incentive for a cager signed to a 10-year, $40 million contract before he plays a single NBA game to learn those skills. The result is a concentration on defense, which, in Pluto's view, has made the game boring except for the increasingly violent confrontations that unknowledgeable fans seem to love. Unlike most sportswriters, the author is not afraid to name names: he blames coaches Chuck Daly and Pat Riley for introducing "thuggery" on the court, and he singles out Derrick Coleman and Chris Webber as troublesome individuals. Can the game be saved? Yes, he opines, but not as it was played in the 1970s and '80s, although he offers many suggestions for ways to bring it back in the direction of that golden era.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Pluto is a columnist for the Akron Beacon-Journal and the author of 13 previous books, including 4 on the National Basketball Association. He knows pro basketball and is troubled by its recent past and what it bodes for the future. Surprisingly, it isn't the NBA's labor problems that bother him; rather, it's the trash-talking, in-your-face culture of disrespect that has recently dominated the league and often erupts in violence. He also decries the coaching style in which player creativity is stifled and lack of offense is equated with defense. Pluto doesn't ask us to take his word alone: he's assembled a panel of 52 experts (from former players through agents and referees) and uses their expertise to underline his points. To a person, they all condemn the league's marketing strategy, which glorifies the slam dunk yet ignores the team basketball concept of Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. This excellent examination of a declining sport is clearly a must for most public library collections. Wes Lukowsky

Pluto (Tall Tales, LJ 11/15/92) adopts a serious tone in this look at the state of the National Basketball Association as seen through interviews with coaches, players, and league officials. The opinions are nearly unanimous in decrying the lack of respect paid to the game by a combination of unscrupulous agents, spoiled players, and greedy owners. Ironically, it was the league's successes that led to excesses that now threaten the foundation of the sport. He cites as evidence the dominant respect-me-or-else attitude developed by players that has transformed the game into "hand-to-hand combat that is passed off as great defense." A few suggestions are offered to counter the trend (e.g., zone defense, four-point shot), but, mainly, Pluto recommends that the league simply recapture its own game. This will circulate well in popular sports collections.?William H. Hoffman, Ft. Myers-Lee Cty. P.L., Fla.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.