It’s what every other NBA team feared. The Miami Heat have figured it out and who knows when another team will come up with a way to stop them.
Earlier in the season, it looked like the Heat squad was intent on cruising through the 82-game campaign knowing that it would be judged on what happened in June and nothing else. There was quiet concern that the championship hangover was going to allow complacency to set in and derail their chances of another title run.
At times, Miami has looked like a sprinter in the 100-metre dash at the Olympics. You know, win but don’t show everything you have by doing just enough to advance. But somewhere things changed.
Even though it’s still the regular season, the Heat are no longer treating things like a preliminary race. Instead of holding back and not tipping their hand, Miami has taken the opposite approach over the last 20 games. In short, it’s as if they are saying “we have nothing to hide, here it is, go ahead and try to stop it.”
Miami has accomplished something that only three other NBA teams have ever done in winning 20 straight games. Two of the three teams, the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks and the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers both won the NBA title. The 2007-08 Houston Rockets notched 22 wins in a row but did not get out of the first round.
Make no mistake the man leading this charge is the game’s best player in LeBron James.
Previously criticized for having incomplete or inconsistent aspects of his game, that is no longer the case. There isn’t one facet of the game that James doesn’t have mastered. The Heat roster now has clearly defined roles and the other two stars, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, have sacrificed to help propel the team during this historical run.
Following last season’s title, the pressure was suddenly alleviated on James and his teammates. They now play without the specter of not having had success hovering over their heads. Miami not only knows they can win, but now understand how to win and may be even more difficult to stop going forward.
So when does the streak stop? Who knows because if you look at the list of upcoming opponents, is there a game where the Heat should not be favoured?
Heat president Pat Riley was a member of the Lakers team that established the record of 33 straight wins. Similar to another Miami team that had a bout of perfection, the 1972 Dolphins in the NFL, players on that Lakers squad would love to have the streak stay in the record books.
But as some confess, if there’s a group that could eclipse the mark, it’s this current Heat team.
With the historic run, the ultimate goal remains to win another title. The ’71-72 Lakers, the ’70-71 Bucks, the Bulls squad that went 72-10 will all point to historic feats in title seasons. Somehow to justify it all, Miami needs to win another championship. Like the words to the old song, “it don’t mean a thing, without the ring.”