Going for Greatness

It's happened once in the history of the NBA. Does that help you understand how impressive this feat is?

It was the 1995-1996 season and the Rockets were coming off back-to-back championships, but someone wasn't playing basketball in the league at the time. Ever heard of Michael Jordan? His Airness? I thought you did...

It's been heralded as one of the most dominant dynasties in all of sports. The Chicago Bulls reign in the NBA during the 90s secured the team, Jordan, and a few teammates' hall of fame ballots. However, they did something no other team had.

Ever.

That was to win 70+ games.

The magical season finished 72-10 for the Bulls that year. Never mind the fact they had won the first championship of their second three-peat in an eight-year span. It was about doing something no other franchise had done, but now, company could be on the way...

The Boston Celtics are leading the pack for now. Already 26 games into the regular season, they stand at 24-2. With a second championship in the works, the Eastern Conference hardly has any contenders outside Cleveland. Let's circle back around to them a little later though. The Celtics have three of the best to play the game -- Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. They ride a solid 16-game winning streak and have an outstanding margin of victory just over 10 points per game.

Our second bright-eyed team looking to shine even brighter is the LA Lakers. It doesn't matter that they're 21-3 right now because many considered them to be the repeat Western Conference champion before the season started. The west is a bit harder to contend in though, and even with the best home record (14-1), the Lakers still have to battle with the stiffest competition in the League. It's a good thing they have arguably the best player in the NBA -- Kobe Bryant.

Finally, the Cleveland Cavaliers (21-4) have paraded their way through the past month. They rode an 11-game winning streak on the back of Lebron James and have an undefeated home record (13-0). Did I mention that James sat out the fourth quarter in six straight games? James is second in the NBA in points per game (27.3) and hasn't scored under 25 points in the last six games.

These teams are having their way with competition. Rarely do you ever see one team clearly dominating by such an overwhelming margin of victory, but having three is unheard of. At the rate all three are going, each team will be over 70 wins by the end of the season. It wouldn't surprise me if one of them sets the new record because I fully expect all of them to reach the unthinkable.

No longer is it just a race to get to the playoffs. That won't be satisfying enough. Now, it's a race to get to 70 along the way.

*The Celtics have established themselves as the first team to ever go 27-2 in the NBA to start a season. They also are riding a current 19-game winning streak that set a new record for the club.