a local sports guy here who use to live in dallas, randy macilvoy's his name, said Cuban and Stern are much tighter than people think. That Stern thinks Cuban is good for the league and they actually spend time together when in Dallas. So a possible theory here could be that Stern does want to see his pal Cuban get rewarded and for his team to go far, sorta as a gesture of apperciation for all the revenue his scummy pal has brought in. maybe theres some truth to this and thats why he's so hot in the head.
Its pretty much a foregone conclusion that Miami/Detroit are coming out of the east. Both of these teams are known for defense. I think the NBA wants a counter style to the defensive approach brought by the east, and that means teams like Dallas, Phoenix, and Seattle are preferred. Dallas or Houston. Who has the better chance to beat the Suns?? Most think Houston does due to their better defensive presence and overall success against them during the regular season. Defense vs Offense = great ratings Defense vs Defense = bad ratings