OT - NBA books/e-books

[TASTIC]

I'm curious who reads them, what are your favs and which ones to avoid?

I've basically read all Suns related ones I could find. Nash's OG one from when he was at Santa Clara, Al McCoy's cheesy bio with the story of his life, and then the awesome Seven Seconds or Less by Jack McCallum.

Best NBA one I've read is Bill Simmons' one, but you have to like Simmons basically because it's obviously all in his style. I really liked the Dream Team one by McCallum as well and I've heard Unfinished Business is great too. I've just started Taking Shots by Keith Glass which is meant to be really interesting too.

I've got heaps of physical books back home in NZ but while I've been in the UK it's incredibly hard to find ANY basketball books in any bookshop, so I've had to hunt round online and find e-books from sometimes not-so reputable sources

There's a few others in there - some baseball, wrestling, Arnie's bio, a couple from the dude who wrote The Wire, some funny detective novels from the best Simpsons writer (John Swartzwelder), then The Dark Tower collection which I got for a mate but haven't read yet. Few more Stephen King my old man recommended me and there's Greg Proops' new one as well as a good one about fantasy sports by Matthew Berry from ESPN.

Here's what I have, and if anyone wants them just PM me your email address and I'll send them through.

They're either PDF, epub or mobi files so you should be able to find a program to read them easily enough.

[bwgood77]

I've read SSOL, Jerry Colangelo's book, and Bill Simmons'. According to Bill Simmons, his favorite book ever that inspired him to be a sportswriter is "The Breaks of the Game" by David Halberstam.

[TASTIC]

I've read SSOL, Jerry Colangelo's book, and Bill Simmons'. According to Bill Simmons, his favorite book ever that inspired him to be a sportswriter is "The Breaks of the Game" by David Halberstam.

Dude I've been searching EVERYWHERE for the ebook of this one...it's like a goddamn unicorn!!

Only found old/expired links for it...so if anyone can find it lemme know...

[WeekapaugGroove]

Check out Loose Balls by Terry Pluto. It's the story of the crazy ass ABA. Super funny and very interesting read. My favorite basketball book.

[bwgood77]

Dude I've been searching EVERYWHERE for the ebook of this one...it's like a goddamn unicorn!!

Only found old/expired links for it...so if anyone can find it lemme know...

I take it you don't have amazon? It's available on kindle.

Here you go. You can get on the waiting list of the internet library...
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL22348942M/The_breaks_of_the_game

[TASTIC]

Dude I've been searching EVERYWHERE for the ebook of this one...it's like a goddamn unicorn!!

Only found old/expired links for it...so if anyone can find it lemme know...

I take it you don't have amazon? It's available on kindle.

Here you go. You can get on the waiting list of the internet library...
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL22348942M/The_breaks_of_the_game

I do but I'm not paying for all these books, I already spend far too much time and money on the NBA that books would be the straw that breaks the camel's (my wife's) back!

[TASTIC]

Check out Loose Balls by Terry Pluto. It's the story of the crazy ass ABA. Super funny and very interesting read. My favorite basketball book.

Trying to find that one too, but mate loves that book and has a copy but that's back home.

[Qwigglez]

I haven't read many basketball books, like not any
I bought this Lebron James book back in HS, it was about him playing in HS I think. Didn't really read it though.

[bwgood77]

I just remembered two more I have read that I forgot to mention..these two were very good....but probably better if you like AZ Cats basketball and college basketball in general, but also just as good teachers and coaches.



I read a Wooden book too that I liked....I thought there would only be a couple, but when I searched images, I saw tons of them..super interesting to read about his UCLA teams and I remember he said something like "You have to give 100% today, because if you give only 90% today you can't make it up by giving 110% tomorrow....you lose that 10%". I thought that was funny at the time I read it, probably five years ago, because so many people say, "I will give 150%" and stuff. But he goes through the Bill Walton days at UCLA and the Lew Alcindor days.



But if you just want good history of the Suns and Jerry Colangelo, and this is one I already mentioned, this one is at least interesting....

Born and raised on Hungry Hill, a working class Italian section of Chicago, Colangelo started his career in the tuxedo rental business -- a business that failed. From this modest beginning, he went on to help start the Chicago Bulls, and then later in Phoenix he was the leading force behind the creation of multiple pro sports teams, including the Phoenix Suns and the Arizona Diamondbacks.

[bwgood77]

Not sure if anyone read Jonathan Abrams on Grantland but he was probably their most fascinating NBA read when it came to research and stories about individual people, the background, etc.

He had a book come out earlier this year that has great reviews. Its' called "BOYS AMONG MEN
HOW THE PREP-TO-PRO GENERATION REDEFINED THE NBA AND SPARKED A BASKETBALL REVOLUTION"

Here is a link to the amazon reviews. http://tinyurl.com/zzx9o8e

[TASTIC]

Not sure if anyone read Jonathan Abrams on Grantland but he was probably their most fascinating NBA read when it came to research and stories about individual people, the background, etc.

He had a book come out earlier this year that has great reviews. Its' called "BOYS AMONG MEN
HOW THE PREP-TO-PRO GENERATION REDEFINED THE NBA AND SPARKED A BASKETBALL REVOLUTION"

Here is a link to the amazon reviews. http://tinyurl.com/zzx9o8e

I really want that one - forgot it came out.

I'll have a hunt for it and see if I can find it...

[bwgood77]

Not sure if anyone read Jonathan Abrams on Grantland but he was probably their most fascinating NBA read when it came to research and stories about individual people, the background, etc.

He had a book come out earlier this year that has great reviews. Its' called "BOYS AMONG MEN
HOW THE PREP-TO-PRO GENERATION REDEFINED THE NBA AND SPARKED A BASKETBALL REVOLUTION"

Here is a link to the amazon reviews. http://tinyurl.com/zzx9o8e

I really want that one - forgot it came out.

I'll have a hunt for it and see if I can find it...

I just came across another one mentioned. Have you read this one "Basketball on Paper" by Dean Oliver?

The Four Factors are four advanced numbers identified by Dean Oliver in his book Basketball on Paper. Oliver referenced them as “Four Factors of Basketball Success” and Oliver identified them as keys to success. More information on them can be found here: http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/factors.html

How do basketball teams win games? While searching for an answer to that question, Dean Oliver identified what he called the "Four Factors of Basketball Success":

Shooting (40%)
Turnovers (25%)
Rebounding (20%)
Free Throws (15%)
The number in parentheses is the approximate weight Mr. Oliver assigned each factor. Shooting is the most important factor, followed by turnovers, rebounding, and free throws. [Editor's note: I agree with the order, but disagree with the weightings.] These factors can be applied to both a team's offense and defense, which in a sense gives us eight factors. Let's take a closer look at how these factors are measured, using the 2004-05 Phoenix Suns as an example.


http://valleyofthesuns.com/2016/11/22/suns-squared-one-month-down-whats-good-whats-bad/

Shooting

The shooting factor is measured using Effective Field Goal Percentage (eFG%). The formula for both offense and defense is (FG + 0.5 * 3P) / FGA. For the Suns offense this is (3351 + 0.5 * 796) / 7018 = .534, and for the defense it is (3328 + 0.5 * 494) / 7485 = .478.

Turnovers

The turnover factor is measured using Turnover Percentage (TOV%). The formula for both offense and defense is TOV / (FGA + 0.44 * FTA + TOV). On offense, the Suns turnover percentage was 1125 / (7018 + 0.44 * 2080 + 1125) = .124, while on defense it was 1131 / (7485 + 0.44 * 1775 + 1131) = .120.

Rebounding

The rebounding factor is measured using Offensive and Defensive Rebound Percentage (ORB% and DRB%, respectively). The formula for offense is ORB / (ORB + Opp DRB), while the formula for defense is DRB / (Opp ORB + DRB). In 2004-05, the Suns offensive rebound percentage was 967 / (967 + 2550) = .275, and their defensive rebound percentage was 2652 / (1233 + 2652) = .683.

Free Throws

The free throw factor is a measure of both how often a team gets to the line and how often they make them. The formula for both offense and defense is FT / FGA. The Suns free throw rate on offense was 1556 / 7018 = .222, and on defense it was 1320 / 7485 = .176.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/factors.html

[GMATCallahan]

If one is interested in books featuring the Suns, Lee Shappell's Phoenix Suns: Rising to the Top With the "Team of Oddities" (1993) chronicles the '92-'93 club on a game-to-game basis on its run to the NBA Finals. The book is fairly standard, but
Shappell's clipped style helps recreate the excitement, energy, and momentum of that legendary year, and he offers a portrait of the team's coaches and twelve primary players early on.

https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Suns-Rising-Team-Oddities/dp/0915611848/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480407738&sr=1-1&keywords=Rising+to+the+top+with+the+team+of+oddities

Mike Tulumello's Breaking the Rules: A Season With Sport's Most Colorful Team: Charles Barkley's Phoenix Suns (1996) fills an ironic function because it chronicles nearly the opposite of '92-'93: a disappointing season that resulted in a .500 record and a First Round playoff exit, followed by the trade of Charles Barkley. But this book is one of the best sports books that I have read. Tulumello's writing is excellent, with many simple yet memorable turns of phrase, and he unearths and interweaves all the personal sagas, travails, and approaches that factor into an NBA squad's success and character or lack thereof. At the same, the book is not about "soap operas," either—it represents a humanistic exploration anchored by basketball.

https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Rules-Sseason-Colorful-Barkleys/dp/1563522691

As Tulumello writes at one point, "There can be dignity in defeat," essentially meaning that sports can be much more intriguing, revealing, and poignant than the usual "Who won, who lost?" and "legacy" chatter. And Breaking the Rules certainly offers a sense of how perilous, arduous, and grueling an NBA season can be.

By the way, three figures from that book—Cotton Fitzsimmons, Wayman Tisdale, and John "Hot Rod" Williams—have passed away.

[bwgood77]

If one is interested in books featuring the Suns, Lee Shappell's Phoenix Suns: Rising to the Top With the "Team of Oddities" (1993) chronicles the '92-'93 club on a game-to-game basis on its run to the NBA Finals. The book is fairly standard, but
Shappell's clipped style helps recreate the excitement, energy, and momentum of that legendary year, and he offers a portrait of the team's coaches and twelve primary players early on.

https://www.amazon.com/Phoenix-Suns-Rising-Team-Oddities/dp/0915611848/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1480407738&sr=1-1&keywords=Rising+to+the+top+with+the+team+of+oddities

Mike Tulumello's Breaking the Rules: A Season With Sport's Most Colorful Team: Charles Barkley's Phoenix Suns (1996) fills an ironic function because it chronicles nearly the opposite of '92-'93: a disappointing season that resulted in a .500 record and a First Round playoff exit, followed by the trade of Charles Barkley. But this book is one of the best sports books that I have read. Tulumello's writing is excellent, with many simple yet memorable turns of phrase, and he unearths and interweaves all the personal sagas, travails, and approaches that factor into an NBA squad's success and character or lack thereof. At the same, the book is not about "soap operas," either—it represents a humanistic exploration anchored by basketball.

https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Rules-Sseason-Colorful-Barkleys/dp/1563522691

As Tulumello writes at one point, "There can be dignity in defeat," essentially meaning that sports can be much more intriguing, revealing, and poignant than the usual "Who won, who lost?" and "legacy" chatter. And Breaking the Rules certainly offers a sense of how perilous, arduous, and grueling an NBA season can be.

By the way, three figures from that book—Cotton Fitzsimmons, Wayman Tisdale, and John "Hot Rod" Williams—have passed away.

Those both sound interesting. I'll have to look into those.