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Along the way we learn that "it is extremely difficult not like this Suns team" and feel a certain loss at the end of the book when they lose to the Mavericks following inspired performances particularly against the hated Lakers. I'd also go so far as to say that he provides commentary on the human experience showing that the perceived "spoiled" athletes can come off as human beings with many of the same problems that trouble the everyday person.As one would expect, we get the game-to-game coverage that the sports fan would want, but McCallum's story is highlighted (in my opinion) with in depth coverage of the unseen portions of the game.personal interfaces and un-edited conversations with coach Mike D'Antoni, point guard Steve Nash, Raja Bell's intense personality and the almost childish persona of Amare Stoudemire. Even if you aren't (weren't) a fan of the Suns, you will be following this marvelous book.highest recommendation. You almost can't go wrong when you give an excellent writer unbridled access to a professional sports team.Jack McCallum and the 2005-2006 Phoenix Suns were almost made for each other. With keen insight and certainly a veteran sportswriters knowledge of the game, McCallum provides the reader a fun and interesting (not to mention rare) look inside a playoff professional basketball team.
It was a fun lively read. A really fun read that hit close to home with me. Get this book if you like basketball.don't even have to be a Suns fan. You will really like the coaching staff by the 3rd chapter. In 2005 right before the Nash years I moved next to a rookie on the team and I got to go to practices and meet some of the players. To get in close with the author was a really cool experience.
McCallum gives us the Suns players and coaches as they are, not as they want to be seen (which is what you usually get with video features - most notably the Spike Lee take on Kobe Bryant). Instead, McCallum weaves a human tale that moves quickly, and entertainingly, through a season with the Suns, never once giving into the temptation to make the story about him.
And while it is about one season, it's really timeless - a window into the world of pro basketball and a couple of the more interesting characters - D'Antoni and Nash - in it. It's the kind of book you can read on a long airplane ride, best digested whole.
As a fellow sportswriter (and, full disclosure, a colleague/friend of the author), I was blown away by the access McCallum received. This easily could have been a 600-word opus, full of extraneous details, that was interesting only to the hardcore Suns fan.
I highly recommend this to any hoops fan. Reading this book, you really are right there with the Suns, and I can't stress enough how unusual this vantage point is in today's micromanaged world of pro sports.
The book is full of candor, insight and - perhaps most surprising - humor.Of course, the key to having good access is knowing what to do with it and Jack certainly does.
I read the book in two evenings and thoroughly enjoyed it. I was impressed with the details about the effort it takes to be a NBA coach and how detailed an approach the staff of the Suns under Coach D'Antoni leadership took to their coaching.My only negative about the book is probably based on the fact that I coach basketball for a living.
I guess that stuff is proprietary information and the author, Jack McCallum was not allowed to include despite the fact that he certainly learned a great deal about how the offense and the defense worked.Oh, and anyone who says the an uptempo team does not play hard on defense needs to realize that it is the defense that speeds the game up, not the offense. I would have liked to had some very specific details on Coach D'Antoni's.07 seconds or less offense and how he goes about teaching it and making it work.
This book was a fun inside look at Coach D'Antoni's Phoenix Suns. Lakers team, and dare I say it as a Celtics fan, a Celtics team.
Uptempo teams just play a different kind of defense.Kevin Sivils - author of Game Strategy and Tactics for BasketballGame Strategies and Tactics for Basketball: Bench Coaching for Success I think that is the best way to describe it.
In fact, I have read it twice.The book provides the reader with some insight into the inner workings of a NBA team and what's more, its not about a Michael Jordan Bulls team or a L.A.
I would highly recommend for any sports fan, not just NBA fans. This is one of the best sports books I have ever picked up. Very entertaining and great insight into a team dynamic and the relationships involved all the way from the coaches to the player to the trainers.
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