A career assistant gets his big break and what he implemented worked. To say the show took some creative liberties with the schedule would be an understatement. Wednesdays tilt versus the Shai-less Thunder will say a lot about the direction of this Lakers team and whether or not their odds of surviving life without James, in the meantime, will be in their favor. LeBron James still being evaluated, DAngelo Russell unlikely to play on road trip. hitType: 'event', Its what Adam McKay does so beautifully We had to invent a lot of Jessie because theres not a lot of real information on her, in trying to think of who she might have been. WebHead coach Paul Westhead of the Los Angeles Lakers talks with the media during a press conference circa 1979 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Prior to that, he led Niagara to two NCAA Thus, 11 games into his third season, with the Lakers off to a disappointing 7-4 start, Westhead was fired, despite having the second highest winning percentage of any coach in team history to that point, behind only the man he replaced, Jack McKinney. Segel imbues Westhead, who actually was an English teacher prior to coaching, with a high-strung nervousness, but, importantly, also makes very clear just how much the man loves the game. L'UTILISATEUR N'EST PAS AUTORISE A TELECHARGER OU UTILISER CETTE IMAGE SANS AUTORISATION PREALABLE. Twitter was in splits as they watched Jason Segel's portrayal of Westhead who had a hard time dealing with McKinney's accident and then taking on coaching duties. He began the 1979-80 season as an assistant, but when head coach Jack McKinney suffered a near-fatal bike crash 14 games into the campaign, Westhead stepped in and guided the team all the way to its seventh NBA title. Coach Paul Westhead talks about what REALLY happened with Magic Johnson, Jerry West, Kareem, Pat Riley, Spencer Haywood and Jerry Buss. Copyright 2023 Penske Business Media, LLC. Given everything above, it should go without saying there was no do-or-die ultimatum ahead of the Lakers game in Boston. He did play 24 minutes off the bench while Haywood played 29. 2023 Getty Images. Theres no record of the press conference Westhead had before his first game. eventAction: 'load' However, the team lost in the playoffs the next year to the Moses Malone-led Houston Rockets. What it perhaps most accurately depicts is the relationship between McKinney and Paul Westhead, one in which they considered each other brothers. Organisieren, kontrollieren, verteilen und messen Sie alle Ihre digitalen Inhalte. All the other companies offered me money, but they couldnt offer me money because they just started. One of the oldest storytelling tropes are the plucky underdogs overcoming all the odds to reach the mountaintop. With rookie guard Magic Johnson and longtime star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the Lakers won the 1980 NBA Finals in Westhead's first year as coach, defeating Philadelphia in six games for the first title in their Showtime era. Notifications can be turned off anytime from browser settings. WebPaul was the co-guest editor of a special issue of Technology Analysis & Strategic Management (2006) which focused on Entrepreneurship and Innovation in Higher Education. Odds & lines subject to change. By Brady Entering his fifth year at the helm, Westhead will look to rebound from an injury-plagued 2012-13 season and recapture his early success with the Ducks. Perhaps it wont be a big deal to a regular viewer. In 2007, Westhead led the Phoenix Mercury to the WNBA championship, making him the only coach to win championships in the NBA and WNBA. newsletter, Silver Screen and Roll Community Guidelines, had this hilariously odd quote about Shakespeare and the NBA, Winning Time: Fact-checking HBOs series on the Showtime Lakers, Jeanie Buss says John C. Reilly deserves Emmy for portrayal of her father, Dr. Jerry Buss, in Winning Time. "This weeks episode of #WinningTime was really good. Westhead coached for the Lakers from 1979-81. Luckily, Hadley, in the form of Jeanie, would come and visit me and Jerry, John C. [Reilly], would come and visit me. The University of Oregon ushered in a new era of womens basketball with the announcement of Paul Westhead as the programs sixth head coach on March 26, 2009. Tirez parti du rseau mondial GettyImages, avec plus de 340 000 crateurs, pour dvelopper un contenu exclusif, cr spcialement pour votre marque. While Winning Time may have portrayed Paul Westheads first season with the Lakers as a struggle, the reality was anything but, as he found instant success in charge. If you buy something from an SB Nation link, Vox Media may earn a commission. Yes, but subtlety is not exactly in great supply on Winning Time. (*) You can debate whether Nike made Jordan or vice versa, and whether a similar partnership with Magic five years earlier would have had the same impact. To say that Westhead found success in his first season in Los Angeles would be putting it mildly. },false) Field admitted as much in an interview with Tim Lammers of Looper. Book Paul Westhead for appearances, speaking engagements, product endorsements, corporate events, or meet and greet. Never forget. WebHead coach Paul Westhead of the Los Angeles Lakers talks with the media during a press conference circa 1979 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. @DrBrianMcDonough ga('ads.send', { A 1987 book called Winnin' Times (about the Los Angeles Lakers' franchise history) indicated that the Lakers' owner, Jerry Buss, wanted to fire Westhead several days prior to the actual occurrence, which is not mutually exclusive of the notion that Johnson had orchestrated it. Alan Hagman, window.googletag.cmd.push(function() { But I don't think anyone will ever totally believe that. I was a varsity tennis player and I used to train for tennis season playing lots of basketball. WebEmail. Call 1-800-GAMBLER. A quick scan of the game would indicate that Riley was not ejected, as he was in the show. "I really hope to God above Paul Westhead didn't do that in real life. 211 Monday through Friday, noon--3 PM ET.Showcasing Rich Eisens uncanny ability to blend insightful sports expertise with an offbeat mix of humor and pop culture, The Rich Eisen Show attracts the most recognizable names in sports and entertainment. With McKinney in a coma, Westhead was tasked with temporarily leading the Los Angeles NBA team. Paul Westhead Wiki, Biography, Age, Spouse, Net Worth, Fast Facts. The hour is primarily concerned, unsurprisingly, with the aftermath of Jack McKinneys brutal bicycle accident from the end of Pieces of a Man. Though Jack looked near death at the end of that episode, he survives the ordeal, and would live nearly 40 years beyond this. Winning Time: Introducing Paul Westhead Rolling Stone TV & Movies Winning Time: Its Good to Be the King With Jack McKinney down for the count after his }); Now, before we really get going, one disclaimer: We're going to keep trying to avoid any potential Winning Time spoilers by keeping our discussion of the relevant history to the current episode. Boy, did I make a mistake. The Houston game, the first time the show portrays Westhead as a hapless man on the sideline, was actually a game the Lakers won in late February at The Forum. And sure, losing McKinney could have sent the Lakers into a spiral, especially once they were taken over by a fresh-faced head coach in Westhead, but that isnt what happened. Tensions grew between Westhead and Magic Johnson, as Johnson wanted Westhead to implement a fast break offense involving all five players that he felt better suited his style of play, while Westhead was insistent to continue running an isolation style offense centered on Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. The sixth episode of Winning Time captures the chaos of the 36 hours between Jack McKinneys bike wreck and the teams game against the Denver Nuggets. And when he opts to turn to friend-of-the-family Dr. Thomas Day (played by The Practice alum Steve Harris) to act as his business advisor, Dr. Day cant see the future either. Rassembler, slectionner et commenter vos fichiers. Cooper had started three games prior that season, but he was never a regular starter throughout the year and he did not make a move into the starting lineup against Denver. Chick could be very difficult to work with. Send us a tip using our anonymous form. 'Winning Time' Episode 6: Why did Magic Johnson turn down deal with Nike? He finished with a record of 142105. We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. The sense of gloom was so heavy before the 2,074 fans at Patriot Arena that the opposing coach opened his postgame press conference with something of a eulogy. LMU Makes Strong Showing at Journalism Awards. In the episode, Jerry finds the papers in his mothers apartment but, in reality, theres no record of that having even been a possibility discussed. Westhead started his NBA head coaching career by succeeding Jack McKinney as coach of the Los Angeles Lakers after serving briefly as his assistant (Westhead initially became interim head coach after McKinney was hospitalized due to a serious bicycle accident). eventAction: 'click_ads' It is sounding more and more like DAngelo Russell will return when the Lakers get back from their road trip, while the team is still declining to put a timetable on LeBron James return. We want to hear it. * 21+ (19+ CA-ONT) (18+ NH/WY). Eventually, he signs with Converse a deal that actually happened but not before an intriguing offer made by Nike. Two of the three main stories of Memento Mori involve making the best of a bad situation in the moment, while the third seems to involve someone taking advantage of a great situation and instead making the worst possible choice. Is McKinney a Top 5 NBA coach ever? A daily roundup of Los Angeles Lakers news from Silver Screen & Roll, By submitting your email, you agree to our, Winning Time: How Paul Westhead really prepared to be Lakers coach, Without LeBron James and DAngelo Russell, Lakers fall vs. Grizzlies. document.querySelector("#adunit").addEventListener('click',function(){ "No high fives. document.querySelector("#google_image_div").addEventListener('click',function(){ Postseason invitational champion Pat had the right temperament.. Paul Westhead was the cynosure of all eyes in Episode 6 of 'Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty'. Paul William Westhead (born February 21, 1939) is an American retired basketball coach. \"There was never a press conference where I quoted Shakespeare\". The Lakers employed one assistant coach, and a matchup against the Denver Nuggets was scheduled at the Forum in roughly twenty-four hours. Joe Mihalich. I entered the gym and I was, literally, the only person there at first. Hell, the team was really good from day one under McKinney. }) Division regular season champion Gambling problem? Early in the episode, theres a brief, but hilarious, Jack Nicholson cameo during Dr. Buss meeting with the bankers he spends the episode negotiating with. Buss hemmed and hawed when Westhead initially pushed forth the idea. [12], On September 27, 2007 he agreed to a contract with the NBA's Seattle SuperSonics to be an assistant coach under longtime friend P. J. Carlesimo. In 2005, Westhead was hired as the head coach of the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury, a position that he held until the 2007 WNBA season concluded. WebLocation: Tampa, Florida. Interestingly, Thomas Day, who appears as an advisor/agent of sorts during the show, appears to be a fictionalized character as well. Does Paul Westhead still end up at LMU? Oops. If that Paul Westhead presser is fr I need to see the clip," one of the fans wrote. Oops. Is Coach Westhead being treated fairly?2:00- \"Just getting the job was the easiest thing I did\"3:00- \"The team was new under Jerry Buss and they just got Magic Johnson\"4:15= \"I had no problem working with the players\"4:32-\"I passed Kareem the ball thirty times from the corner and he hit all of them\"5:25-\"There is a triangle: Coach-player and in the middle management and agent\"7:09 \"I became the acting Coach out of default\" after Jack McKinney's bike injury7:55- \"I talked Jerry Buss into hiring Pat Riley as an Assistant\"8:22- \"I had players like Spencer Haywood saying I was promised a starting job\"10:25: \"In his second year Magic Johnson had knee surgery..and fourth and fifth round draft picks were moving past himhe hadn't recovered yet and was angry\"12:30- Magic Johnson was in a bad place.and the day I was fired we had one five straight games\"14:30 - I\" can't imagine Jerry Buss going to a liquor store and buying a bottle of liquor and lying on the floor and yelling I won the team\"16:25- \"Jason Segal is a funny guy--I did not consider myself funny--but whatever happens in the show it won't go well for me\"18:05- \"\"It took me 28 years to win the next championship---enjoy the championship you won because you don't know when you will get the next one\"18:50- \"I was just invited to Kareem's 75th birthday\"19:30- \"After I left the Lakers I did not have much interaction with Magicbut two years ago he called me.\"22:20- \"Jerry West was a quiet sort who stayed to himself---I did not see him act in an out of control fashion\"24:15- \"Pat Riley in the early eighties first showed how video can help you coach\"27:45- I coached Kobe Bryant's father28:25 - \"I always let my players evolve\"29:15- \"I had issues with some of my pro players pushing them..and i made them to conform to a system that if they did not like they got rid of me\"31:31- The death of hank gathers \"you never really get over it--it remains with you33:09- \"The winning is better than the losingand man did I have a good run\"A few follow ups as we update this in late April. 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