Agreed. It doesn't matter how many times an in-state rival defeats us - if we win the 'ship at the end, they really have no ground to stand on, regarding who the better team is.
Ideal, would be beat the Mavs and Spurs in the playoffs and then whoever to win the NBA championship.
Are you sure fans were throwing stones in a basketball game? in Israel? I don't remember any incident like this, though I do remember a basketball game where a fan threw a thunderbolt at someone from the security. I know in certain countries in Europe fan bases are truly crazy and sometimes games can end up with people injured and arrested. But as far as I'm concerned in Israel they usually curse each other and sometimes there are brawls between fans, but it doesn't happen frequently.
Personally, while I don't like how underwhelming the crowd is at Rockets games, I like the show concept. It's a game, not my life. At the end of the day, the millionaires go home and collect their paycheck and I go home to my wife and family. Here, it's about the championship and nothing else compares.
In the professional league, you have more teams and more games. You build your team to beat all of those other teams, not the one next door. In college, rivalries are a bigger deal.
While beating San Antonio and Dallas is always enjoyable for Rockets fans, it doesn't come close to hoisting that much-coveted Larry O'Brien trophy and championship banner.
They do that in Philadelphia. In Houston we show up at player's houses, burn jerseys, and throw beers on the player's family at the games but that's mostly football. We don't do that for basketball.
