‘Winning Time’: Michael Chiklis and Sean Patrick Small Talk Bringing Humanity to Larry Bird’s Villain Origin Story
variety.comJ. Kim Murphy SPOILER ALERT: This article discusses the Episode 3 of HBO’s “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty” Season 2, now streaming on Max.
After being unceremoniously bounced in the first round of the 1981 NBA playoffs, the spirits of the Los Angeles Lakers sink even further in the cold open of this week’s “Winning Time.” Unable to defend the championship, the team can only seethe in their living rooms as they watch the dreaded Boston Celtics take home gold.
But the indignity doesn’t stop there. The newly crowned champs don’t just snag the title from the Lakers; they practically hijack the HBO series for an episode.
While the Los Angeles organization licks its wounds, a series of flashbacks interrupt the aftermath, stretching the frame to widescreen and sending viewers to 1970s Indiana, telling the story of a young man named Larry Bird (Sean Patrick Small) who went up to Boston to become a Lakers killer.
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