I’ve lived in Houston since 1985, the year I was born. I’ve followed the Houston Rockets since 1994. To those landing here residing somewhere not in Texas, allow me to explain something: there is no Lone Star State solidarity. Dallas and Houston do not like each other. We do not like anything about each other’s cities; there is no love loss. Up until today, I would have preferred that a team led by Scottie Pippen advanced to the Finals rather than seeing the Mavs victorious. I’m having second thoughts.
Despite my local pride, I just can’t bring myself to dislike this Mavs team. I can’t fight off the urge to…gasp…like them. Josh Howard is gone – that was the enabler in this entire process. Tyson Chandler is a big I’d kill to have. Shawn Marion gives us all hope that maybe your elbow doesn’t really have to be in and Barrea’s an icon for us little guys. You then have Jason Kidd, the only guy in this league who deserves a title as much as Grant Hill, and Dirk, the most underrated superstar in league history. You can’t help but love Kidd and Dirk: there’s a beauty to Kidd’s narrative that inspires – anyone can learn to shoot with hard work and injuries can be conquered through self-reinvention; Dirk is beauty through understanding of spacing and angles.
I admitted to myself today that I love watching the Dallas Mavericks play basketball. This took a lot out of me but the denial was too much. This begs a crucial dilemma: my viewing interest vs. local bragging pride. What hurts matters is that I find Oklahoma City absolutely unbearable to watch. As I tweeted earlier, Russell Westbrook might be the only man alive capable of making Steve Francis look like Steve Nash. I want to keep watching Dallas play, but more than that, I just can’t bear any more Thunder basketball this summer. At the same time, I can’t risk Dallas winning a title. I have too many friends from Dallas. In this case, one trumps two, when the most recent of the two came in 1995. If the Mavericks win the NBA title this year, the Houston Rockets do not even get to sit at the adult table in Texas.