I think when you hit a certain age, and if you’ve probably been asked this same question more than any of us could fathom, grace isn’t a priority.

A “real dog” to me implies that they are one the worst teams in the NBA. The use of the word “real” makes it sounds like you’re describing them as especially bad. The real dogs of the NBA are the Nets, Lakers, Heat, Suns, and Mavs. Teams going absolutely nowhere that have no business winning games.