Table of Contents
Introduction xi
I King Red and Some of His Knights
The Coach of Camelot 3
Red Holzman's Secret 6
Recalling Red's Wit and Modesty 9
Clyde's Ultimate Cool 12
The Frazier Role Model 15
The Hall Deserves the Pearl 18
Bill Bradley Uses Old Lessons in a New Arena 21
A Snorkeler's Tale 28
The Big Player Who Did All the Little Things 31
The Captain Resurfaces 34
Wing-O! 37
Day of a Pro Basketball Player-Yawwwn 40
II A Quartet of the 2013 Knicks
The Future of Young Melo 45
Sheed Unsubdued 48
Jason Kidd, Passing Dreams 51
Carnby Shows How to Put Family First 54
III A Medley of Marquee Knicks
The Incandescent King 59
The Knicks, the Rockets, a Millennium 63
Ewing's Last Game at the Garden 66
Allan Houston's Passion 69
For Mark Jackson, Déjà Vu of Sorts 72
Latrell Sprewell Starts Fresh 75
Oakley the Enforcer 78
A Family Is Devastated One More Time 81
IV The Oddest Couple: Starks and Reggie
Miller and Mouth vs. Starks 87
John Starks Has Found an Answer 90
He's Bad, He's Bizarre…He's Reggie Miller 93
A Garden Finale Starts with a Boo 96
V MJ: A Flying Nemesis
M. Jordan: First in Flight 101
Jordan Tunes In on Knicks 104
A Humbled Jordan Learns New Truths 107
Jordan Hits Garden at Cruising Speed: 55 113
Jordan Has the Game, the Values 116
For Jordan, Last Drive Down Lane at Garden 119
VI The Best of Rivals
The Magic of Johnson 127
Magic Johnson's Legacy 130
The Coloring of Bird 133
Bird Flies to Another Level 136
That Quiet Moment for Larry Bird 139
Sir Charles Rumbles 142
The Heart of Pistol Pete 145
Paul Silas Was No Stereotype 148
The Gospel According to Shaq 151
Disgusted Pippen Sits Down For Game-Winning Play 154
As Expected, Rodman Does the Unexpected 157
Isiah Thomas' Indomitable Mother 160
For Calvin Murphy, Life Is Always Looking Up 163
A Girl's Cry For Help to Muggsy Bogues 166
When Some Wondered if Lew Had It 169
The Night Wilt Scored 100 172
Mae West, Wilt, and the Half-Court King 178
Jerry West at Childhood's End 181
Bill Russell's Ageless Laugh 184
VII A Coterie of Coaches
Pat Riley Takes the Reins 189
Mo Cheeks Saves the Girl 192
Pitino and That Rich Tradition 196
How Lenny Learned to Stay Cool 199
Phil Jackson and the Long Arms 202
The Case of the Missing Seven-Footers 205
Van Gundy's Love Life, So to Speak 208
VIII Youngbloods
Hitting the Lottery as a Junior? 213
Kobe the High School Phenom 216
Kwame Brown Goes the French Route 221
Mel Davis' Escape Route 225
Kevin Garnett Comes of Age 229
IX From The Knicks' First Decade
A Handful of Throwbacks 237
Sweetwater Returns after a Long Hiatus 240
"Geo. Mikan vs. Knicks" 243
Richie Guerin Shoots the Last Two-Handed Set Shot 246
The Murder of Sid Tanenbaum 249
X On a Personal Note
To Hoops on Its 100th 255
Hoops, Chicago Style 258
One on One with Magic and Michael 261
When Ruby Missed the Final Four 264
Can We All Run Together? 267
About the Author 271
