Impressed Yet?

The Yao-less Houston Rockets matched the 3rd longest winning streak in NBA history last night. The other team with 19 straight wins was the 1999-2000 LA Lakers, who went on to win the Championship. The 1970-1971 Bucks won 20 in a row, and they too went on to win the NBA Championship. Sitting atop the mountain is the 1971-1972 LA Lakers, with 33 straight wins. They were also NBA champs. In the modern NBA, winning 19 straight games--heck, winning 10 straight games--is impressive. And the Rockets are doing it without Yao. For some strange reason, no one seems to care. It could be that Houston plays in Texas alongside the flamboyant Mavericks and the dynastic Spurs. It could also be that people generally don't care about the NBA anymore until the Playoffs. I'm not sure what it is, but I for one, am impressed. Rick Adelman is showing his genius, and Tracy McGrady is finally doing what people have expected of him for years now. This doesn't make me want to watch the NBA just yet, but I'm interested in the story and am excited to see how it plays out (without, of course, watching it on TV).