The Hoop Life

Rarely does a television show falter for its directing; it's usually the writing that's to blame. But even if the texture of this drama weren't so reminiscent of an '80s made-for-TV movie, its story and characters still wouldn't live up to the expectations that producers Barry Levinson and Tom Fontana (Homicide, Oz) place on them. Perhaps it's easier to dramatize the lives of detectives and prisoners than the subject here--the lives of pro-basketball players. The show's philandering athletes and slimy agents just can't top a good Latrell Sprewell coach choking.