The Miami Heat is very well on the way to break one of the most treasured records in NBA history----the 33 game winning streak by the ’71-’72 Los Angeles Lakers. They are knocking on the doors of history, and knocking hard.
As of today, they are just six games shy from breaking that record, and they look very capable of doing that. All the investments that the management and the players have done over the last couple of years seems to be coming into fruition. LeBron James seems sure of himself, exhibiting that quiet confidence that was never his greatest strength when he was in Cleveland. Dwayne Wade, well, he always plays hard, we all know that but more importantly, he is relatively free from any serious injury this late in the regular season except for that knee that ‘bothers’ him a bit. Chris Bosh seems to say the right things in front of the media these days, sparing the team from unnecessary distractions. Of course, it is impossible to forget their role players----Ray Allen has been doing great, Mario Chalmers has been a steady hand at the backcourt, Shane Battier and all the rest of the guys seem to complement each other pretty well.
This is definitely not the same team who celebrated like they won a championship when not regular season game has been played. There is so much maturity, so much confidence. There is so much controlled swagger that it is easy to love this team for what they are now. It also helps that their late game heroics and defensive intensity is as good as any other in the league, making them win games with flair and drama that are not as often seen right after Michael Jordan retired.
When they celebrated after James and Bosh signed for Miami in the preseason, those who love old school basketball felt offended at the way they disrespected the other teams. They looked really arrogant, probably thinking a championship is a birthright, and perhaps, at that time they did. However, that does not seem to be the case now. They no longer look like a bunch of talented but out-of-focus egos. They are showing the world that they are willing to pay the price, whatever it is, to win the championship. They stayed together at times when public perception was mostly against them, and that is enough to earn teams some respect.
Most importantly though, witnessing records being broken is not the most uninspiring thing to watch.
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