Polynice4Pippen wrote:-= original quote snipped =-
Good point. But my personal feeling is that an individual "unbreakable" record will always be more attainable than a team "unbreakable" record for the obvious reason that only one person has to be counted on to get the job done. With a team record so many things have to come together and work out perfectly. It goes beyond ability and even the desire and drive and proper mentality. Team records involve chemistry and everyone remaining on the same page. They involve a whole collection of players staying healthy, not just one person. They involve the coach/players communication to remain strong and intact for a collection a varying personalities. They involve multiple egos being held in check and leadership emerging. That's an awful lot to ask over the course of a 6 month season whereas one baseball player could just get into a zone and pound out line drives everyday for 2 months straight. I believe that's far more plausible.
In almost any other sport besides basketball, I'd agree with you. But there is such a scarcity of championship-level talent. If you're somehow lucky enough to get two future (first tier) Hall of Famers and a solid third or fourth wheel, you're in the ballpark.
Now, most teams aren't as motivated as the 96 Bulls or the 73 Lakers. But just looking at it mathematically, I think it's more likely that at some point down the road, some lucky NBA team will somehow end up with two first-ballot Hall of Famers at their absolute physical/mental peak and with a reason to go pedal to the medal for 82 games.
I also think that we tend to romanticize past baseball eras, and that it'd be a lot tougher to hit in 56 straight games now than it was in DiMaggio's era. DiMaggio may have faced a better caliber of starting pitching than a player does today, but not all the specialty pitchers. I don't know how many times DiMaggio extended his streak in his final at bat of a game, but those at bats today would be coming against flamethrowing closers, not a starter throwing his 150th or 160th pitch of the game. Just to give one example.
