The breaks of the game is a 1981 sports book written by pulitzer prize winning reporter david halberstam about the portland trail blazers 1979 1980 season the trail blazers are a professional basketball team which plays in the national basketball association aside from a recap of the blazers season the book attempts to give a detailed history of the nba the 1976 77 portland trail blazers championship team the injuries faced by departed star bill walton and the life of kermit . Halberstams the breaks of the game chronicles the turbulent season of the portland trailblazers two years removed from their championship season the book doesnt tell the story of the cohesive team as much as the individual stories that make for a tediously long nba season. A new york times bestseller david halberstams the breaks of the game focuses on one grim season 1979 80 in the life of the bill walton led portland trail blazers a team that only three years before had been nba champions. The breaks of the game november 12 1981 the breaks of the game by christopher lehmann haupt the breaks of the game by david halberstam hy did david halberstam the best and the