Hello Rockets fans and other readers of my favorite NBA blog. I'm pleased to be joining Lee, Dave, Tom and Laddie (until I learn a name, he's going to be Laddie) writing for The Dream Shake. My name, by the way, is Christian. The Xiane handle come from the X-mas abbreviation applied to my name, and sadly not, as some suggested, a Madarin-ish way of saying "Shane". I'm not that clever. But you can call me Shane if you want, and I'll likely come back.
When I first read the name of the blog, I knew I was going to like it. I'm a seventh generation Texan, from Houston, and my first basketball memories center around the U of H and the Phi Slamma Jamma - it was an easy step to loving the Rockets from there. Much like Laddie, as I choose to call him, I'm interested in statistical analysis applied to basketball. I got my start in baseball analysis as well, with Bill James and the early days of Baseball Prospectus, when they were much snarkier than they are now.
I'm also interested in the business of basketball, and trying to discover other hidden facets of one of the most interesting games on earth. I'll also take a stab at humor.
I hope you'll enjoy what I have to say.