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“Warriors, come out to play…”

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Born in Austin, Matthew left soon thereafter and finally made it back after years of paying his penance wandering the earth. Before coming to Austin360, Matthew co-edited Austinist.com, worked as an advertising copywriter and led tours of the Roman Forum, among other things.

When not busy pounding away on his keyboard, he can be found at book readings, concerts, gelaterias, pizza joints, Barton Springs, movie theaters, the golf course, or home with a book. The M.O. gives readers a little insight into the world of this man without a plan.

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Home > The M.O. > Archives > 2007 > May > 03 > Entry

By Matthew Odam | Thursday, May 3, 2007, 03:00 PM

Some of my earliest memories come from attending Houston Rockets games with my dad. The memories began around 1980-1981 or so, back when Moses Malone ruled the paint (25ppg, 15rpg that season); Mike Dunleavy captured the hearts of female Houstonians; Allen Leavell proved that you didn’t need a pretty jump shot to have an effective one; Calvin Murphy couldn’t miss a free throw; Billy Joe Paultz was a testament to the fact that you could be overweight and still have game (kind of); Del Harris sat on the bench; and Robert Reid was still wearing No. 50 and styled the high socks and legendary afro. That season, the Rockets upset Kareem, Magic and Wilkes’ Los Angeles Lakers on their way to the first of two NBA Finals whippings from Larry Legend and the Celtics in the ’80s.

Why this stroll down memory lane? Well, many, including ESPN Page 2’s Bill Simmons (with whom I have a shockingly similar history re: the topic of this post, as I am sure myriad guys between 30-38 do), consider the Rockets victory over the Lakers as one of the biggest upsets in NBA history. Tonight, while the Rockets try to beat the hated Utah Jazz on the road and win their first playoff series in 10 years, another legendary upset could be in the making. The No. 8-seed Golden State Warriors (by most accounts, not your typical 8 seed) will play at home against the Dallas Mavericks for a chance to advance to the second round of the playoffs for the first time since 1991.

I have never been one to cheer for more than one team in any league. I’ve always been an Astros, Oilers and Rockets fan, but during my early years of high school, when my NBA fandom was at an all-time high, something special was happening in the Bay Area. Tim Hardaway, Mitch Richmond and Chris Mullin were playing a run-and-gun, small-ball style of basketball cultivated by their free-wheeling coach Don Nelson. All three players averaged at least 23 points and 4 rebounds per game. The rest of the team was a hodgepodge of lesser talents, with nobody averaging more than 24 minutes a game. It might have been a more high-scoring era then, but regardless, their scoring was legendary, averaging 116 points a game. That year they put together eye-popping numbers, having games in which they scored 162, 147, 143, 141, 137 and 135 points. Ridiculous!

Hardaway had the killer crossover, dubbed the UTEP two-step; Richmond gave opposing guards fits; and Mullin was a cold-blooded assassin with a mean streak cultivated growing up in Brooklyn. All three ranked in the top 10 in the league in scoring that season. As a sophomore high school hoopster who lived and breathed basketball, I watched in awe and fell in love with their style of play. Run T-M-C, as they were called, led me, for the only time in my sports fandom, to actively root for another team, testing my hometown allegiance. Of course, it helped that the Rockets did not beat the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs that year or I would have been faced with having to cheer against my newly beloved superheroes.

Fast-forward 16 years to the present day, and the Warriors are once again on the verge of making it to the second round for the first time since 1991. And once again, they are coached by the champion of the underdog, Don Nelson. Just as he sat on the Rockets’ bench in 1981, Dell Harris now works as a coach from the Mavericks’ bench. Mullin watches from the Warriors’ management box in his role as general manager. Mike Dunleavy, too, has an imprint on this series. His son, Mike, was traded from the Warriors to the Pacers mid-season to bring over Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson, the pit bull who sets the emotional tone for this year’s Warriors team. He also just so happens to be from Houston.

The Warriors are led by the modern-day equivalent of Run T-M-C: Baron Davis, one of the toughest guard match-ups in the league due to his size, speed, strength and tenacity, along with Jackson and the acrobatic Jason Richardson. Nelson has allowed them to play fast and loose and figured out a way to maximize the talents or Davis and Jackson, two players shunned by many in the league for being too mercurial. The Rockets, meanwhile, will rely on their two-man offense of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming to finish off the Jazz on one of the most difficult courts for an opposing team to win.

I won’t waste time getting into breaking down both of these series any further. If you’re a hoops fan, you know more than I could elucidate. I am just pumped for one of the most exciting nights of basketball for me personally in ages. My hometown Rockets will try and exact revenge on the team who has been their nemesis for the past two decades, while my former basketball mistress Warriors will attempt to shock the basketball world and give Mavericks owner Mark Cuban a heart attack. You can almost hear the nervous silence of Dallas fans from here.

Oddly, I am almost more excited to watch Golden State take down Dallas than to see my hometown team beat Utah on the road. But if the Warriors do win, and the Rockets eventually eliminate the Jazz, the avoided scenario of 1991 returns. Rockets vs. Warriors in Round 2. Of course, that is a lot of ifs and buts away. But I can assure you, if it happens, I will be cheering for my Rockets to win. In 7 games, and triple overtime.

I think.

The only thing left to say is, “Warriors, come out to play…”

Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Sports

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By Forehead

May 3, 2007 4:25 PM | Link to this

Where did you get that picture of Tim Hardaway and young Jeff Van Grundle?

By odam

May 3, 2007 4:59 PM | Link to this

Hilarious! I was JUST telling a guy at the paper, when he said i looked a bit like Agassi, that people used to tell me, when I started losing my hair, that I looked like Van Gundy. Nice timing, PDog.

By Jason

May 3, 2007 5:21 PM | Link to this

The Rockets and Warriors have a sort of interesting history as well for those of us who were Rockets fans in the 80s — the trade of Ralph Sampson to the Warriors for Sleepy Floyd and Joe Barry Carroll.

However, if both teams advance (which would rock!), won’t they re-seed, leaving the Rockets playing San Antonio or Phoenix?

By odam

May 3, 2007 5:29 PM | Link to this

the NBA does not re-seed like the NHL; so the Mavs-GS winner plays Utah-Houston winner. I could be wrong, but i don’t think I am. And who could ever forget Sleepy dropping 29 on the Lakers in one quarter while with the Warriors, and 51 for the game?

By Eric

May 3, 2007 6:41 PM | Link to this

Hardaway thinks Rocket fans don’t belong on Earth.

By jenn

May 4, 2007 12:20 AM | Link to this

I hate Game 7.

By adi

May 4, 2007 1:04 PM | Link to this

i am frikkin nervous for game 7. i hate the jazz.