My 2nd Favorite Team

I entered a contest on Ball Don't Lie Dot Com to win a free subscription to League Pass. The request was to write why you just can't miss an upcoming game on League Pass that you wouldn't see if you didn't have League Pass. Here's my half hearted entry:



My 2nd Favorite Team:

The December 16th, 2009 on NBA League Pass will begin the battle for my second favorite team: the Houston Rockets vs. the Denver Nuggets. A San Francisco Bay Area born and raised bleed-orange/blue/yellow Warriors fan at heart, the need for a second favorite team to follow has been always been apart of my NBA fandom dilemma. Heck, the Warriors are every other true NBA fan’s 2nd Favorite Team so it’s about time I choose one, starting this season. Relying solely on the soap opera that is this season’s Golden State Warriors without a backup team certainly points to an incredibly frustrating hit on not only my love of the Dubs (WHY IS RANDOLPH NOT GETTING MINUTES?!?!), but for my love of the NBA as a whole. I need a 2nd Favorite Team.

Basketball Prospectus devouring, daily Ball Don’t Lie reads, True Hoop RSS feeds, and intense analysis of Shoals prose on Free Darko and The Baseline have brought me to the epic December 16th, matchup between Houston and Denver.

Not a mortal enemy of the Warriors? Check. A solid organization who is trending upwards? Double check. A team that isn’t routinely touted by all of the talking heads on TV (Oklahoma City)? Oh heck yeah.

I am letting this matchup decide who my 2nd Favorite Team will be for the remainder of the season because at this point, I am honestly stuck on who to choose. Do I take a crew of outcasts and misfits that play with more intensity and swagger than anyone else in the league? A crew that somehow George Karl, of all coaches, has figured out how to harness and direct their craziness towards winning? Or do I go with the Dork Elvis created role players who will morph into a team that does whatever it takes to win. Ariza? Brooks? Scola? Will these guys emerge as top tier NBA producers? I need to become a true fan of one of these teams.

It won’t even say that the winner of this game will win my fandom. It will be a battle for my emotions which do not only recognize the score.

Skeets and KD, I need to see this game to decide! And without League Pass to see this game, this decision will haunt me for the entirety of the season.