If six championships in three major sports since 2001 for Boston's teams haven't convinced you that the Sports Illustrated cover jinx is a myth . . . well, then you'll probably take issue with this week's issue.

As you can see right here, Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo has the honor -- and yes, the supposed burden -- of appearing on the front of the May 31 issue. The superstitious among us might wonder if this cover became public last night given that Rondo played with unusual lethargy in the second half of the Celtics' 96-92 loss to the Magic in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference finals. He scored 9 points and dished out 8 assists in 43 minutes of playing time, and left the court a minute before halftime to go to the locker room with what the team said were back spasms.

You may say "uh-oh." We say there's no reason to be alarmed -- after all, when the Celtics won the title in 2007-08, Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen, and Paul Pierce appeared on the cover of the SI NBA preview issue that season. And after the Celtics won the title, Garnett shared the cover with the Larry O'Brien trophy and and another rather notable champion.

From our recent experience following Boston sports, the supposed SI jinx only applies if you're vain enough to post shirtless.

So . . . no worries, Celtics fans. Right?

(FYI, Rondo isn't the only Boston athlete on this week's cover. Can you spot the other one in the background?)