By Luke T. Johnson (China Daily)
Updated: 2008-03-21 09:23

It had to end sometime. With a loss to the Celtics on Tuesday, the Rockets' jaw-dropping run of 22 straight victories was filed away in the annals of basketball history, leaving them in second place, 11 shy of the 1971-72 Lakers for the NBA record of consecutive wins.

It's truly remarkable that the Rockets got so close in this era of unprecedented parity among NBA teams. Fans in Houston are no doubt unpacking their Hakeem Olajuwon jerseys, fantasizing about another trip to the Finals.

After all, "The Streak" puts Houston in some pretty good company. Each of the other three teams with the longest NBA winning streaks - including the Bucks of 1970-71 (20) and the Lakers of 1999-00 (19) - went on to win the league championship handily. Does the Rockets' membership in this elite club guarantee another title run?

Hardly. The Rockets were obviously playing some of the best basketball in the league as they rode The Streak to the top of a stacked Western Conference. But even though 22 straight wins is an unqualified accomplishment, the teams they were beating were not exactly the cream of the NBA crop.

It's a criticism that has been thrown at the Rockets for the past several weeks, one they have understandably rejected. But let's face the facts - of the 18 different teams Houston played over the course of The Streak, only seven boasted a winning record. Wins against playoff-caliber clubs like the Hornets, Mavericks and Lakers came without All Stars David West, Dirk Nowitzki and Pau Gasol, respectively. It's unfair to call it an "easy" schedule, but it was far from grueling.

The Rockets' obvious defense is that they were playing without an All Star of their own - the irreplaceable Yao Ming. It's a valid argument, and part of what makes The Streak so incredible is that nearly half of the wins came after Yao's season-ending foot injury. The difference is that those other teams will all presumably have their stars back in action come playoff time, and Houston will be the same scrappy but undersized upstart, albeit a highly confident and talented one.

The Rockets did not help their case in yesterday's 90-69 blowout loss to a Hornets team finally at full strength. Houston's offense was anemic as it shot a miserable 34 percent from the field and tied a franchise low for second-half points with 25. Losing back-to-back games to two of the league's best teams (Boston and New Orleans) is not in itself reason to panic. But losing those games by an average of over 20 points should sound the alarm.

Once the playoffs roll around in about a month, Yao's absence will really start to take its toll. Playoff series are won and lost in the paint, and as soon as Houston gets locked into a seven-game series with a dominating big man like Tim Duncan, Shaquille O'neal or Carlos Boozer, it will find its lack of an inside presence becomes a lethal liability.

The Bucks of 1971 won their championship with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain led the '72 Lakers to the title (as did Shaq in 2000). Yao's name could have been added to this list of championship centers had he stayed healthy. Now it looks like the Rockets will just have to wait until next year.