30 for 30: Bad Boys
**** (out of 4)
Excellent documentary covering the rise and fall of the Detroit Piston who would become known as the "Bad Boys" due to their hard-nosed style of play, which included hard fouls, fists being thrown and, in their most controversial move, walking off the floor before an Eastern Conference Championship game was over. This documentary covers the early days of the Pistons when they were playing without many fans and how everything changed when they drafted Isaiah Thomas.
With Thomas on board they got Dennis Rodman, Bill Laimbeer, Rick Mahorn, Joe Dumars, Adrian Dantley and head coach Chuck Daly. The documentary features all the main guys back for interviews with the exception of Daly who of course passed away before this was made. The film does a terrific job at explaining who this team was and why it was so hard for them to reach the top. The highlight of the film comes over the course of a two years period when they were trying to get pass the Boston Celtics. Then we get to their Championship run and their battles with the Los Angeles Lakers before Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls coming after them.
If you were too young to remember this team then the documentary is going to be excellent at showing you their rise and fall. The film features some terrific interviews with the Pistons but also features interviews with the teams going up against them including Jordan. The documentary mainly focuses on their rise with the last portion talking about the break-up and of course the controversial walking off the court against the Bulls is covered. If you do remember this team then you're going to enjoy looking back at the footage of all the fighting and fouls, which is certainly something missing from today's NBA when we see "rivals" hugging each other before, during and after the game.
