Normally when you go over 21, you bust, but for Houston, Sunday’s #22 W over the Lakers brought instead a victory and with it a couple more days to stay alive and the opportunity to bask a little longer in the sensation that is their implausible 22 game winning streak.

Well, now they’ve managed to muscle a win over the Lakers despite Tracy McGrady being held to only 11 points in a 4-16 shooting. In fact, all of the unrenowned accessories sort of crept out of the woodworking to make up for what T-Mac was lacking in a charming basketball version of Rocky and Adrian (I got gaps, she got gaps, together we fill gaps). But with the most challenging scheduling test to manifest over the next 5 days, we are still left to ponder, “Are the Rockets for real?” While many members of the media are tripping all over themselves to declare the Rockets the Cinderella story of the century and journalists are busy sorting through title ideas for the next bestseller (Countdown to Take Off: The Rockets from 10 to 1), others are vastly skeptical of Houston’s sudden success, equating them to the 2001 Mariners winning 116 games and then getting beat like a dirty rug on a clothes line in the playoffs.

Certainly, it’s surprising, incredibly difficult to execute, and worthy of a nod of respect (no one’s ever played 22 easy games in a row). But does it make them a legitimate threat for the title? Should the West be concerned that they have a new powerhouse contender on their hands? No one will argue that the Rockets of the past 2 months have been on fire. But…

a) the playoffs are still a month away,

b) there are a lot more games to be played, the next five of which include the Celtics, Hornets, Warriors and Suns,

c) T-Mac is starting to limp around the locker room like Courtney Love after a long night in stilettos (48 minutes five times in the last eight games and he’s taking it about as placidly as he took last year’s playoff loss to Utah), and

d) while they are living by the 3-pointer right now, they will also die by it when the smart teams finally disable their one-dimensional strategy and force them to handle business inside the paint.

The reality is, the attractive competition around them is bound to catch up to their fling with dominance eventually, and T-Mac and company’s love affair should prove to be just as hot and just as short lived as the Tony Romo/ Jessica Simpson romance.

I’ll be honest, it may not be tonight, when the Rockets catch the Celts the day after a grueling date with San Antonio, and are forced to play sans Allen in Houston-friendly Toyota Center. But their historical narrative has to come to an end soon. New Orleans is practically salivating at the mouth at the opportunity to put a stop to the hot little team that defeated them twice in the past four weeks. But regardless of whether the Rocket streak ends tonight or at game 34, it’s not going to change the fundamental make-up of the team. You can only put so much perfume on the pig. It may smell good for a while, it may fool some people into giving it a second look, but it’s still the same pig. Let’s call this what it is: an impressive streak that required both an admirable amount of grit and a healthy amount of luck. We’re still not looking at a number one team, and that will demonstrate itself soon enough.

One possible result I’m looking at? Think about how much more intriguing playoff positioning would be, were the Rockets to finish first. Having somewhat of a weak #1 could really throw off the brackets where a lower seed might have an easier time navigating. It could pave the way for potential upsets, or in the least make for some interesting games.

I’m just going to sit back and wait for the Rockets to run out of gas…and hope they’re not driving a hybrid.