I forgot also anyone who beats the lakers
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I forgot also anyone who beats the lakers
I would have to go with Detroit.
They play on both side of the court. They can be labelled as dirty in the same way we do (meaning playing physical defense).
The 05' finals were really one of my best bball souvenir.
Lakers
Bulls (MJ) and Warriors (BEATIN ALLAS). My wife is from the bay area and like the others seeing them beat Dallas in the playoffs was unreal.
The Lakers are my little dirty Mexican whore I go to when my wife isn't handling her shit right. The Hornets are my Creole hooker on the corner who gives me blowjobs once a month when the wife is on her period and the Mexican whore gets deported.
I lived in New Orleans for three years but before the Hornets were there, but I am also a Chris Paul fan, so I follow them a little bit. But, not hardcore.
I lived in SoCal for about two years and during the Shaq-Kobe years. Started following them then and always kind of was a fan of Kobe. The Lakers are genuinely my second favorite NBA team, but I just hate most Laker slappies so it's hard to reconcile the two sometimes.
The Rockets and any team A.I. is on.
Any team spanking the Lakers. :tu FTL!
Was the Pistons, but now the Nuggets and Trailblazers here in the Western conference.
Out of the East, loved the Celtics until they got Allen and Garnett - but the Magic are fun as hell to watch, and so are the Hawks.
Ever since Malone and Stockton left I've liked the Jazz for some reason.
They're not really a 2nd fave team(I only have room for the Spurs), but I do follow the Warriors since I live in the Bay area. I go to a few games a year and I must say that Oracle is a great place to see a game. All they lack is a good team and a competent front-office. Other than that, they're Golden! LOL
I'm a huge closet fan of the Rockets. I don't let anyone know, but I'll check up on them when the Spurs aren't playing.
I've also always liked the Magic and the Celtics, but don't actively follow them.
Raptors and Warriors - from the Run TMC days
Warriors. The arena is always loud and the fans are decent for the most part.
Kings. Not a popular choice but hopefully this is the year they start to turn it around.
Dallas mavericks are number one
Being from Phx, I know a lot about the Suns and what's going on with the team so I guess My second team is the Suns. But, if the Cardinals and Suns play at the same time, my TV will be fixed on the Cards game.
If you can't be with the one you love, love the one you're with
LA Times Lakers Blog
Henry Abbott over at the ol' ESPN True Hoop recently polled his fellow True Hoop scribes about the NBA squad they enjoy watching the most when their favorite team wasn't playing (in Abbott's case, the Portland Trail Blazers). For most of the T.H. family, the Golden State Warriors took the prize, which isn't terribly surprising.
As BK once described Nellie's bunch- with their "jacking up any and all shots/don't bother defending anybody because that drains energy better focused on jacking up any and all shots" style- they're the ultimate NBA Live team. And if you're able to treat the Warriors with the same emotional attachment as one typically affords a video game squad, they fit a very specific bill.
For Abbott, the poor man's "Seven Seconds or Less" Phoenix Suns didn't quite cut it, so he chose the original. I think I gotta agree with him.
Yes, I realize they were the "enemy," and whenever they played the Lakers, I regarded them as such. My loyalties never waned. But if you're willing to put aside misgivings towards specific Phoenicians (I never really had any, but for the sake of argument) objectively speaking, the Suns were one exceptionally fantastic team for an objective of being purely entertained with some high quality basketball. Hella points racked at a breakneck pace. Perpetual motion crafted by Steve Nash's creativity. Defense treated as a decided second priority, but better than typically credited. Matrix. Amare. Diaw. Barbosa. Q and Joe Johnson (for a whle). Even Raja Bell. Phoenix's success reducing the Lakers to second class Pacific Division citizens was admittedly annoying, but not so awful that I couldn't still appreciate them for who they were and how they played.
Other recent favorites include...
This decade's San Antonio Spurs: A far cry from of D'Antoni ball, but despite popular and uninformed opinion, never a "boring" team. Between Tony Parker's speed, Manu Ginobli's herky-jerky unpredictability, Bruce Bowen's defensive prowess, David Robinson's class, a touch of Robert Horry, and Tim Duncan's steady ability to do everything that didn't involve a free throw, sooooo much to enjoy. In particular, it never ceased to amaze and impress me how eerily methodical the Spurs remained under any circumstances. Up 20. Down 20. All squared. San Antonio played their game with ice water flowing through their veins and waited for the opposition to make a mistake first. Typically, that patience paid off.
The current incarnation of the Portland Trail Blazers: Again, I'm perfectly aware this crew will likely become the Lakers' chief rival over the next decade, but it doesn't change the fact that I dig these guys. A lot. In particular, I've got a big-time man crush on Brandon Roy. Extremely versatile, great in the clutch, good dude. In fact, the whole team is pretty likable, in addition to collectively impressive talent. As much fun as it was watching the Jail Blazers perpetually melt down- often at the expense of the Lakers- I hated seeing a historically great franchise in the gutter. The city, their fans and the league deserved better. Now they have it.
The Detroit Pistons, 2004-2006: By now, you've probably figured out that I have the capacity to forgive teams engaged in bitter battles against the Lakers. I seethed while these guys took out the Kobe-Shaq-Malone-GP Lakers in the 2004 Finals and took boatloads of grief from a Day-Twah buddy, but that sting can't change the fact that Chauncey-Rip-Tay-Sheed-Big Ben were an absolute joy to watch. One of the best starting fives in recent memory, these guys executed so well on both sides of the ball. In his prime, Ben Wallace was one of my favorite players in the Association and I loved how dangerous Hamilton became playing off the ball.
The early decade Sixers: A one-man team, but that one man (Allen Iverson) was a thrill to watch and the team (Aaron McKie, Dikembe Mutombo, Eric Snow, Theo Ratliff, etc.) was smartly assembled to compliment A.I. doing his thing.
I'm sure I could find more examples if I thought longer about it. Or, I could just stop yapping and let the blogosphere throw out some suggestions. Who ya got? And before anyone gets their "patriotic" bluster on, enjoying how another team- even a purple and gold rival- goes about their business doesn't make you any less of a Laker fan. It just means you appreciate basketball and I'd like to think the Lakers Blog readership does.
:toastQuote:
This decade's San Antonio Spurs: A far cry from of D'Antoni ball, but despite popular and uninformed opinion, never a "boring" team. Between Tony Parker's speed, Manu Ginobli's herky-jerky unpredictability, Bruce Bowen's defensive prowess, David Robinson's class, a touch of Robert Horry, and Tim Duncan's steady ability to do everything that didn't involve a free throw, sooooo much to enjoy. In particular, it never ceased to amaze and impress me how eerily methodical the Spurs remained under any circumstances. Up 20. Down 20. All squared. San Antonio played their game with ice water flowing through their veins and waited for the opposition to make a mistake first. Typically, that patience paid off.
I grew up on the Spurs so I don't have any team on the side. I do however usually go for the underdog unless they're the Lakers, Mavs or Suns :)
I won't support any other team in the west. I hate the Celtics and the Cavs, so I guess . . . Wizards, Bobcats and Magic.
Detroit is my secret mistress.
I kind of like Golden State as well. (Mainly for embarassing the Mavs.)
Oh, and now that karl Malone doesn't play there anymore... I like Utah's work ethic.
Olympiakos