Books, Sports, Basketball, Professional

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Bethlehem Shoals, Dr. Lawyer IndianChief, Silverbird 5000, Brown Recluse Esq.
FreeDarko presents The Macrophenomenal Pro Basketball Almanac: Styles, Stats, and Stars in Today's Game
by Bloomsbury USA (Hardcover) (Release Date: 2008-11-11)

Peter May
Top of the World: The Inside Story of the Boston Celtics' Amazing One-Year Turnaround to Become NBA Champions
by Da Capo Press (Hardcover)

“I’m on top of the world,” shouted NBA Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett after the Boston Celtics clinched their 17th NBA championship over their arch rival, the Kobe Bryant-led Los Angeles Lakers. Indeed he was on top as were his teammates as the most illustrious franchise in NBA history won their first championship in over twenty years. Peter May, who has covered the Boston Celtics for nearly 25 years for the Boston Globe and the Hartford Courant and the author of the bestselling The Last Banner- an account of the Celtic’s last championship season-chronicles the remarkable 2008 championship run of the team in green. Tracing the biggest single-season turnaround in NBA history of this storied franchise, who went from having the second-worst record in the NBA last year to the best record this year, May charts, both the highs and lows of the season. From losing out on the Number 1 and Number 2 pick in last year's draft lottery to swinging trades for future Hall of ...

Jack McCallum
Seven Seconds or Less: My Season on the Bench with the Runnin' and Gunnin' Phoenix Suns
by Touchstone (Paperback)

Sports Illustrated's chief NBA writer, Jack McCallum, only planned to spend the preseason with the Phoenix Suns as an "assistant coach" -- and then write a story about his experiences. Instead, he stayed on with the Suns throughout their exciting and controversial 2005-2006 season. Gaining access to everything from locker-room chats with superstar point guard Steve Nash, to coaches' meetings with maverick coach Mike D'Antoni, McCallum learned what makes this wildly popular, innovative, and international assemblage of talented players and brilliant coaches tick -- making Seven Seconds or Less an all-access look at one of the greatest shows in sports.

Michael Connelly
Rebound!: Basketball, Busing, Larry Bird, and the Rebirth of Boston
by Voyageur Press (Hardcover)

In the mid-1970s, the city of Boston entered a period of upheaval on both its historic cobblestone streets and its legendary parquet basketball court. The Boston Celtics’ long dominance of the NBA came to an abrupt end, and the city's image as a hub of social justice was shaken to its core. When the federal courts declared, in 1974, that the city was in violation of school desegregation rulings and would need to institute a busing program, Boston became deeply polarized.           Then, just as the city was struggling to pull itself out of economic and social turmoil, the Boston Celtics drafted a forward from Indiana State named Larry Bird. Upon the arrival of the “Hick from French Lick” to Boston in 1979, the fates of team and city were reborn. Pride, championships, reduced crime, and an economic boom re-emerged in Boston.           In Rebound!, author Michael Connelly chronicles these parallel but intertwining worlds. It is an account of a city in ...

Wayne Federman, Marshall Terrill
Pete Maravich: The Authorized Biography of Pistol Pete
by Focus (Paperback)

The youngest person to be voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame, "Pistol" Pete Maravich is recognized by the NBA as one of the all-time top 50 basketball players. More than 30 years after he left Louisiana State University, his NCAA scoring record still stands. He enjoyed fame, wealth, and short of winning an NBA championship, achieved every possible success. But there was a price. Pete brought a childlike exuberance to the court that often masked a tortured and confused adult. Things changed dramatically and permanently, however, when Pete found Christ. At last he experienced peace and a purpose that extended beyond the basketball court. He became an avid student of the Bible and a tireless evangelist. Tragically, at age 40, Pete Maravich died. This is the first authorized biography.

David Halberstam
Breaks of the Game, The
by Hyperion (Paperback) (Release Date: 2009-02-17)

Terry Pluto
Loose Balls: The Short, Wild Life of the American Basketball Association
by Simon & Schuster (Paperback)

What do Julius Erving, Larry Brown, Moses Malone, Bob Costas, the Indiana Pacers, the San Antonio Spurs and the Slam Dunk Contest have in common? They all got their professional starts in the American Basketball Association.The NBA may have won the financial battle, but the ABA won the artistic war. With its stress on wide-open individual play, the adoption of the 3-point shot and pressing defense, and the encouragement of flashy moves and flying dunks, today's NBA is still -- decades later -- just the ABA without the red, white and blue ball.Loose Balls is, after all these years, the definitive and most widely respected history of the ABA. It's a wild ride through some of the wackiest, funniest, strangest times ever to hit pro sports -- told entirely through the (often incredible) words of those who played, wrote and connived their way through the league's nine seasons.

National Basketball Coaches Association
NBA Coaches Playbook: Techniques, Tactics, and Teaching Points
by Human Kinetics Publishers (Paperback)

The Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash shines in running the break, but how do his teammates know where to go to get open to receive his passes? Orlando's Dwight Howard is a tremendous talent in the post, but how has he improved and added new dimensions to his game? And how is it that Utah's Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer run the screen-and-roll as smoothly as Jazz legends John Stockton and Karl Malone did years before? Coaching. Yes, even in a league loaded with superior athletic talent, the teaching, tactical maneuvers, and strategies provided by NBA coaches are second to none. And as younger, sometimes less mature and less experienced players from all over the world have entered the league, those coaching skills are more diverse and better honed than ever before. Now NBA Coaches Playbook takes you into the practice sessions and sideline huddles with detailed Xs and Os and more from the game's best at maximizing performance on the court. Let the likes of Phil Jackson, Mike ...

Mark Heisler
Madmen's Ball: The Continuing Saga of Kobe, Phil, and the Los Angeles Lakers
by Triumph Books (Hardcover)

Nine world championships. Twenty-three NBA Finals appearances, including eight during the 1980s alone. Twenty Hall of Famers, among them some of the greatest players and coaches in basketball history. And more highs, lows, egomaniacs, scandals, arrests, eccentrics, oddballs, backstabbers, dysfunctional relationships, personal feuds, and overindulged superstars than any average team could ever be expected to handle. Welcome to Madmen's Ball.

Dean Oliver
Basketball on Paper: Rules and Tools for Performance Analysis
by Potomac Books Inc. (Hardcover)

Journey "inside the numbers" for an exceptional set of statistical tools and rules that can help explain the winning-or losing-ways of a basketball team. Basketball on Paper doesn’t diagram plays or explain how players get in shape, but instead demonstrates how to interpret player and team performance. Dean Oliver highlights general strategies for teams when they’re winning or losing, and what aspects should be the focus in either situation. He describes and quantifies the jobs of team leaders and role players, then discusses the interactions between players and how to achieve the best fit. Oliver con-ceptualizes the meaning of teamwork and how to quantify the value of dif-ferent types of players working together. He examines historically successful NBA teams and identifies what made them so successful individual talent, a system of putting players together, or good coaching. Oliver then uses these statistical tools and case studies to evaluate the best players in ...

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