Matt Buckler: 'Winning Time' has aversion to the truth

May 2—There was a disclaimer that used to air every week on the classic TV Show, "Dragnet" — "The story you have seen is true, the names have been changed to protect the innocent."

In "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty," just the opposite is true. Parts of the story we see every week aren't true, but the names haven't been changed. HBO has left it up to the viewers to determine whether what we see actually happened or is fabricated.

In Sunday's episode, however, NBA legend Spencer Haywood is cut from the Lakers right before the start of the playoffs because of a cocaine problem.

How does Haywood handle it? By putting out a contract against the entire Lakers roster.

Haywood is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and you don't get voted into the Hall if you threatened to knock off your teammates.

HBO, however, is looking for drama, not truth.

Haywood supposedly put out a contract on Coach Paul Westhead, but that was never proven.

HBO, however, doesn't have to prove it. Things are much easier when you just make them up. As a result, an A series has turned into a D- series.

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