Each week, we’ll be looking back on the newest episode of HBO’s “Winning Time” and fact-checking or adding more details on some of the key and bigger plot points by using the book “Showtime: MAGIC, KAREEM, RILEY, AND THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS DYNASTY OF THE 1980S” By Jeff Pearlman.
The logistics of replacing a head coach on the fly as the Lakes had to do in 1979 are hard to truly contextualize, let alone fully grasp. Unlike the modern NBA, there were not big coaching staffs ready to absorb the new responsibilities.