Bernucca: Rooting for the Celtics to beat Heat, preserve an “unbreakable” record

That is why I am rooting for the Celtics. And this should not be confused for rooting against Miami. I am not one of the millions of Heat haters out there. I like LeBron James. I had no problem with him leaving Cleveland, although I wasn’t crazy about how he did it. While many have pointed to his shortcomings in the clutch, I have often countered with the awesome playoff performances he has had against Detroit, Boston and Orlando. When he finally won his first championship last season, I was happy for him.

And I will readily admit that what the Heat has done since Super Bowl Sunday is pretty darn special. It’s just not special to me.

My love affair with the NBA began with the 1971-72 Lakers. My team allegiances shifted – to Bob McAdoo and the Buffalo Braves after Chamberlain and West retired, and to Julius Erving and the 76ers after McAdoo was traded to the New York Knicks.

But if it were not for the 1971-72 Lakers and their record winning streak, I might have never developed a true passion for the NBA, let alone one of its players or teams. I could have become one of those idiots running around out there – and you will hear a lot of them in the next couple of weeks – claiming the college game is better.

I probably wouldn’t have pursued a career in sportswriting. I probably wouldn’t have maintained my grip on the NBA while letting go of my passion for other sports to make room for a wife and kids and other matters of adulthood demanding my attention. I probably wouldn’t be a teenager pushing 50.

So tonight, I am putting aside my long-standing hatred of my favorite team’s archrivals and rooting for the Celtics. In addition to their extremely solid fan base, they have become quite a bandwagon team over the last five years and I hope they can scoot over a little and find room for one more person to get behind Gang Green.

Because if the Heat break an “unbreakable” record, there might be a zombie apocalypse.

TRIVIA: Who is the only player in NBA history to be part of two 20-game winning streaks? Answer below.

THE END OF CIVILIZATION AS WE KNOW IT: Hall of Fame wingnut Dennis Rodman has become the contemporary Rock ‘n’ Rollen Stewart, complete with the multicolored hair. The only difference is Rock ‘n’ Rollen used to show up at every nationally televised sporting event in the 1970s and 1980s, and Rodman is making his appearances at huge current news affairs. His trip to North Korea earlier this month – and subsequently ridiculous appearance on ABC’s This Week with George Stephanopoulos – has been well-documented. This week, he was in Italy to film aa commercial and chimed in on the selection of the Pope, predicting the next leader of Catholics worldwide would be black.

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: Spurs swingman Stephen Jackson, downplaying Ricky Rubio’s first career triple-double that spearheaded Minnesota’s 107-83 win over San Antonio with some serious sour grapes:

“He all right. You know, I mean, I’m into winning championships. I’m not into guys playing all right, averaging 30 and 20 on sorry teams. I’m into winning championships. He got some upside, I’ll say that. But it’s all about winning to me. It’s not about what you do on your personal stats.”

LINE OF THE WEEK: Dwight Howard, LA Lakers at Orlando, March 12: 38 minutes, 7-13 FGs, 25-39 FTs, 16 rebounds, two assists, one steal, three blocks, zero turnovers, 39 points in a 106-97 win. Subjected to “Hack-a-Howard” in his return to the Magic Kingdom, Howard made Orlando coach Jacque Vaughn pay. After making just two of his first nine free throws, he sank 23-of-30 for a .767 percentage, nearly 300 points higher than his season mark. He also dominated the defensive backboard and had an obscene 3.0 points per shot, all in a hostile environment. Where is this focus and mental toughness on a regular basis?

LINE OF THE WEAK: Utah Jazz starters at Oklahoma City, March 13: combined 102 minutes, 9-35 FGs, 3-5 3-pointers, 5-8 FTs, 17 rebounds, seven assists, seven steals, one block, 11 turnovers, 13 fouls, 26 points in a 110-87 loss. The quintet of Al Jefferson, Paul Millsap, Mo Williams, Randy Foye and DeMarre Carroll was just awful. None cracked double figures, Carroll was held on the donut and Jefferson was minus-24.