Celtics, Lakers, Cavaliers all flirting with Bulls' record
Considering how much mileage the 1972 Miami Dolphins have milked from their undefeated season, how about this scenario:
Whenever the last of the 30 NBA teams loses its 11th game of the season, Bill Wennington, Ron Harper and Dickey Simpkins gather before television cameras and pop a bottle of champagne, celebrating the fact that the Bulls' all-time best record of 72-10 set during the 1995-96 season will stay alive for another year.
"The toast might happen anyway, but not because of the record," Wennington joked. "I'm a strong believer in records are made to be broken. I know some people think that will never be broken, but I think one day it will be. It will happen."
A number of teams have made threats to reach 70 wins during the last 12 years, but usually it's one at a time. This season, three teams are on pace to challenge the mark - Boston (24-2), the Los Angeles Lakers (21-3) and Cleveland (21-4).
The Bulls will get a chance to help preserve the record tonight when they face the Celtics at the Garden. Keep in mind, though, that Boston has won 16 in a row and forced the Bulls to shoot 29.8 percent from the field when the teams met Oct. 31.
Even if the Bulls fail to slow the Celtics' charge tonight, Boston still needs to win 17 of its next 18 games to match the Bulls' record pace of 41-3. That's right, they were 41-3 on Feb. 2, 1996.
"My antennae don't go up until after the all-star break," said Wennington, now the Bulls' radio analyst. "There are way too many games. It's a marathon. You get tired; you have injuries. You have to be prepared and ready to go every night. You can't have any lapses.
"We were talking about Boston last year at this time. After the all-star break, if they're still doing well, then I'll think more about it. We lost more in the last 30 games than we did in the first 50."
Wennington agreed that it's odd to see three teams so far ahead of everyone else. The Celtics have been rolling since Kevin Garnett arrived more than a year ago, the Lakers seem to have little competition in the West, and Cleveland's LeBron James has been playing the rim like a Nerf hoop this season.
Is any other team a legitimate title contender?
Maybe New Orleans, which is starting to pick up the pace lately. Denver has been better since adding Chauncey Billups. The San Antonio Spurs figure to be tough once they're healthy. But that's about it.
Does anyone really think Orlando would beat Boston or Cleveland in the playoffs?
"Is that because they're head and shoulders above everyone else or because everyone is so far below them?" Wennington asked. "I think there are a lot of teams that aren't up to par. Not to take anything away from those (three top) teams; they're all very good. But I think the level between the best and the worst is growing."
The Bulls (12-13) stand somewhere in the middle, but tonight's contest begins a stretch of eight difficult games, including six on the road, through Jan. 2.
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