Filowitz's Friday Five

1) Wanna hear something crazy? The Houston Rockets have won 20 games in a row. Twenty! The other teams in NBA history that have won 20 had Wilt and Kareem on them. The Rockets have just McGrady, who is very good, but is no Wilt or Kareem. Yao is no Wilt or Kareem, either. This is a wonderfully baffling phenomenon. And it’ll probably be 21 after they beat the eminently beatable Charlotte Bobcats tonight. Then it’ll end sometime over the next four games since they play the Lakers, Celtics, at the Hornets, and at the Warirors.

2) Wanna hear something crazy? Look at the standings in the Southwest Division in the NBA. Four out of the five teams are well over .600. Any one of those four teams is a legit contender to win the Finals (and who would have said that about the Rockets before this streak?) And if not for the putridity of the Memphis Grizzlies, or maybe even in spite of it, you can make the argument that this is one of the strongest divisions in any sport ever.

3) Wanna hear something crazy? Britney Spears is on the cover of the Atlantic Monthly. What’s next? Arthur Schlesinger on the cover of Star? A story in US Weekly about Reinhold Niebuhr?

4) Wanna hear something crazy? Here at this blog, we have a writer, a guy who calls himself the Innovator, that works in college basketball, that knows college basketball better than anyone we know, and conference tournaments are going on, and the big tourney is coming up. And yet, have we heard from this Innovator here? Has he not a few minutes in his busy schedule to impart some college basketball wisdom upon us? Is he too busy innovating? That’s right, I’m calling you out, Kris. This is supposed to be your time of the year to shine. Start shining!

5) Wanna hear something crazy? Isiah Thomas is still employed.