Definitely the Suns. But again, that's more on Phoenix' part than us. When they had Marbury, they were definitely a rival. Now, I'm not sure. I just know that Phoenix fans hate the Rockets more than any other team, judging from other boards.
The Spurs is the most logical choice because of the location. Those of us who don't live in Texas don't have that baggage. And in terms of competition in games, it was never really that close. They never beat us in the playoffs during the Hakeem era. And we seldom beat them after Hakeem. Apart from Spurs' obnoxious fans, I think a lot of Rocket fans hate the Spurs because of the Robinson MVP thing. We felt that Hakeem was snub because of Robinson. And after Robinson faded, there was that other big man, Duncan. Houston has always been proud of our legendary big men. That's probably it. To me, a rivalry should be "I beat you, I brag; you beat me, you brag" kind of thing. I never feel that about the Spurs personally. I voted for the Lakers (not surprisingly, if you know my bias). We beat them twice in the 80s even when they were at the pinnacle of their history. And we have always been pretty even in our matches even when we were not a very good team.
I'll always hate the Lakers and Jazz, especially the Jazz. Right now it'll most likely be the Suns if they get good again. At this time, though, it's the Spurs, kinda the Mavs. Those two beat us up more than any other team, but it's a whole new team now. Plus, the Mavs are worse. That's why I voted Spurs.
No question, Spurs will be Rockets biggest rival for the next 5-8 years. Both teams are built with big man with low post play. Both teams play terric defense. Perfect models for championship runs. Spurs had Rockets numbers over the last few years. But I expect things to change with the T-Mac trade.
a lot of votes are because the Spurs have Duncan and are favored to win it all. Thus as we get better they will be the team to beat. I like having an in state rivalry, I live near Houston, interesting though when we were losing it was hard not to root for David Robinson and Duncan just because they didn't seem arrogant. They were hero types you wanted to see them win. Of course Hakeem killing Robinson was sweet. I can see us battling them hard in the west for the next 5 yrs.
The question is.. do the Spurs think of us as their chief rivals now? The Lakers are no longer their main rivals.. and the Mavs aren't really ever taken seriously as title contenders, especially now.. the Kings are pretty much done.. and they don't really have a history with any other competitive team in the west (Twolves, Nuggets, etc) except for us. So aside from the Pistons who now have the title, who else could be their main rival except us?
If anything, this thread suggests that we flat-out don't have a rival. Sure, the Spurs have the greatest potential for a real rivalry, but it's not there yet. We'll need a couple of playoff series first.
It's the Spurs. Just b/c they've been kicking the Rocks' arses the last few years, doesn't mean we can't hate them. Dream and Co. destroyed the Spurs in the mid 90's. Mad Max hit that game winning trey in '93 from halfcourt after the Admiral went for inbounds steal. Robert Horry nailed the Killer game 5 (or was it game 2) shot after a fake pass pump from the top of the key in the WC finals 95 (his only made FG that game if I remember it correctly). Mario Elie nailing some killer 3's against the Rocks in 99 and blowing his Kiss of Death. The Rocks peaked in 2003 beating the Spurs for like the 1st time in forever when Air Bull went crazy hitting treys. That was the highest they ever were in the stangings that year before the Rudy thing and the Rocks sucking themselves out of the playoffs thing. I've been a fan since Winston Garland in '92 and whenever Dream got that Quad double in 92 or 91 i think (i remember it was against Mil. and the last thing was an assist to Kenny Smith...a bunch of failed assist attempts before that). Ever since then, I've considered the Spurs to be the rivals and it's always a fun/big game when they play. Add to that, Spurs fans are idiots and ignorant, even more than us here at the CC.Net, not to say there aren't great ones among us, but to be fair, most of us aren't the greatest bball minds. The Spurs fans, warped by their crap ass homer announcers, and their Jesus Parkers, and ...well, they just suck suck suck suck suck. Dallas is crazy and Mavs fans don't know basketball...it's more of Sports Entertainment up there. They've never won it and not with their current makeup will they win it again. So Dallas doesn't count. The Spurs, the hated Spurs, even with Mr. Nice Guy TD, who I like...they are the Rocks' rivals. I like TD; I hate the Spurs.
I think with the addition of McGrady, the Laker rivalry will grow even more. I think this is the season the media forces the rivalry of T-Mac vs. Kobe on us.
Spurs will be the Rox rival in the long run, but we still aren't in their class as of yet (it pains me to say). I long for the old I-10 Rivalry days & we should see them soon on the horizon. I see our rival as the Lakers for this year. Rox have personal history (Rudy) & team history (many big playoff battles going both ways) with them. More importantly they should be fighting it out with us for the upper half of the middle of the Western Conf pack. Spurs' rivalry now is the T-Wolves. Just have to watch their games of the last few years to see it. The Garnett / Duncan thing is there, plus now that they are odds on favorites in the West it guarantees their rivalry.
Well, wouldn't you if your team got their ASSES beat again and again by the Rockets? This is kind of a difficult question to answer, though. Utah will always be the team farthest from my heart, but I think that's in large part because I live here. I have a hard time developing a solid hatred for San Antonio, although I delight in them losing. And I agree that Houston vs. Denver MIGHT become a huge matchup, but right now I think most of us kind of like Denver and I think they could give a rat's ass about us. I really hate Dallas though. Definite potential there.
The only team I really hate is the Jazz. I kinda hate Phoenix. I useda hate the Lakers, but now they have Rudy T. I like beating our I-10 rivals AND our I-45 rivals. Of course, now we have a new WC I-10 rival in New Orleans, but how long will it be until they move?
