>I haven't liked Golden State since about 1975 when they had Rick Barry....but I'm rooting for them like mad to beat the Dallas Mavs. As I type, they look like they're going to take a 2-1 lead on the Mavs.
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>I've discovered that I want to see a Mark Cuban team lose, even more than I root for anyone that goes up against Jerry Jones and George Steinbrenner.
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>Go Warriors!!!!!


They smoked 'em by 18. Dallas, the team with one of the dozen best regular season records in NBA history, is in a near-death experience if they don't win game 4. They have some matchup problems with the Warriors and Don Nelson knows how to exploit them as well as anyone. You identify the weak links and you exploit them. Some nights you exploit them so well you score 109 points on an alleged title favorite.

The series I am most interested in could not be going any better. The Bulls have been SO up and down, especially on the road. Which is why game 3 was a statement game: we have arrived. The Bulls jumped out early, the Heat came back to take a comfortable lead in the second half, and then the Bulls took it back. They looked faster, younger, more athletic. It hurts the Heat that D-Wade is still playing at whatever % but nobody around him stepped up. They looked old.

Of course I am cheering for the Bulls to take it as far as they can. They are a fun team to watch. John Paxson has built a team consisting of guys who work hard, are unselfish, have their heads screwed on straight, and come from college teams with winning traditions. Round it out with seasoned, hard-nosed pros like Ben Wallace and P.J. Brown and you've got a team to reckon with. The guy I really like on this team is in the "none of the above" category -- Andres Nocioni. He was born several thousand miles from Chicago but epitomizes the spirit of this city -- hard working, gritty, fearless. No wonder the fans love him. He is a perfect fit in his faraway city.

Will the Bulls win it this year? No, I don't think so, although I would love to be wrong. The team I am really cheering for back in the world of reality is the Suns. I love their relentlessly uptempo style of play. I also like the specific coaches and players based on Jack McCallum's pieces in Sports Illustrated. They granted him inside access and it has been a rare opportunity to see how the real NBA-ers approach the game. It's a lot more cerebral and a lot less highlight reel than casual fans think. Anyway, I would love to see the Suns win it if the Bulls don't.