The NBA: Examining the Heat Streak

(Image from: NBA.com)

We know that the Miami Heat lost recently to the Chicago Bulls after winning 27 straight games in a span of 52 days. That defeat prevented the Heat from eclipsing the 33-game record of the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Still, the Heat ended with the 2nd best winning streak in all of professional sports. The Heat was tied with the NY Knicks before the streak started and now they have the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference (and best record in the NBA) all wrapped up with an 11-game lead over the 2nd spot.

How did the Heat win 27 straight this season? Here are some reasons...

1. LeBron James
The best player in the world started to separate himself from Kevin Durant as this year's runaway MVP by the start of the Heat Streak. LBJ received 3 Eastern Player of the Week awards and the February Player of the Month award (March will be his too) during the streak. James also had 2 triple-doubles and a handful of double-doubles (13) while averaging about 27 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists on 57% shooting during the streak.

2. Dwyane Wade
D-Wade was in fine form during the Heat Streak as he established himself as a top 5 player once again who can impact both sides of the court. Wade appears to have recovered nicely from his off-season surgery as he averaged about 22 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 2.5 steals on 53% shooting during the streak. Wade even got one Player of the Week award, his first since 2011. His efficiency allowed Wade to climb as high as #4 in PER and his improved defense landed him 6th in steals per game.

3. Supporting Cast
Chris Bosh is the only Heat player whose stats and contribution went down during the streak. Others like Ray Allen had a couple of 20-pt games and key treys during crunch-time  Shane Battier made his fair share of  clutch threes while taking charges and playing good defense. Mario Chalmers also had a couple of 20-pt games and averaged only 1.5 turnovers during the streak. Chris "Birdman" Andersen was their best bigman off the bench and the Heat has gone 29-2 with him in the lineup.

4. Health
The Heat was relatively healthy and injury-free during the duration of the Heat Streak. Miami has been fortunate enough to avoid major injuries throughout the whole season. During the streak, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh only missed 2 games. Meanwhile, Shane Battier and Ray Allen missed 1 game each. The most important stat: LeBron James missed ZERO games during the streak.

5. Luck
All winning streaks that go this long have luck involved with it. Miami was lucky enough to face teams without key players. Some examples are: they played the Celtics without Rondo and Garnett, they beat the Cavaliers without Kyrie and Waiters and they defeated the Magic without Afflalo and Vucevic. The Heat also got lucky playing inferior teams more than once during the streak like the Sixers (3x), Cavs (2x), Bobcats (2x) and Magic (2x).

6. Chemistry
This is the 3rd year together for their core players. Chemistry and confidence with each other have been established. This Heat team loves playing together and the numbers and minutes dont matter. The 2 best players are both unselfish and are willing to pass. James and Wade will defer to role players who have a better open shot. The Heat had only 1 game during the streak where they had less than 20 assists. Have you seen their Harlem Shake? Will you agree that doing a video like that shows great team chemistry?

7. Clutch
The Heat has been dominant during the 4th quarters of their streak. They turn up the effort and intensity during crunch time which have propelled them to multiple comeback wins when behind in the 4th. Other times, a close game becomes a rout like when they blitzed the Hawks by 20 points in the 4th or when they uncorked a 28-4 run vs the Raptors after being tied. The Heat has outscored their opponents by a staggering 150 points (more or less) in the last period alone.

8. Defense
Their defense was mediocre to average before the streak started, around top 15. Now, they sit at #7 in team defense and the Heat only allowed 6 of their 27 opponents to score over 100 points. They're now #3 in steals which typically translates into highlight plays for them like THIS. They also got around 5 blocks a game for a team without a true center or a shot-blocking big man. Lastly, they forced 2 more turnovers than they commit.

9. Effort
The Heat is a talented team and the defending champions so we know what they are capable of when engaged and motivated. At the same time, the Heat relaxes/coasts when their oppponent is a weaker team. That's just human nature and the Heat is known for that. The streak gave them something to play for every night so the effort was there most of the time. You could see it during their comebacks after being down by double digits (Cavs, Celtics, Magic, Pistons). Their defense was tenacious and they attacked the paint at will.

10. Coaching
The players will get most of the credit for the Heat Streak but Coach Spo and his coaching staff deserve a lot of praises too. Spo made sure that the Heat came in focused and prepared every game. The Heat was pretty good coming out of timeouts when executing a set play. Coach Spo also kept them humble and loose with the intent of "playing better" each game instead of targeting the streak. One more thing, the Heat often cancelled practice or shootarounds after wins. That could have allowed the players to rest more and avoid injuries plus it could have been extra motivation to go for wins to have more practices cancelled.

Overall, the Heat Streak was a historic event that I was very happy to see and follow. I did not think that they could actually beat the 33 wins by the Lakers (expected the Heat to lose in San Antonio) but 27 straight and 2nd best in the history books aint that bad at all. Here are some HIGHLIGHTS during their run.

Ultimately, their winning streak will only become a footnote if they dont win in June. The Heat knows that and their main goal is to become champions again and if they achieve that, then the Heat Streak will look even more impressive.

The NBA: Power Rankings: Week 21

The Miami Heat Streak is at 27 straight and counting. Their winning streak has more wins than10 other teams. Their next major test will be on the road versus the Bulls (#28), then the Hornets on Friday and finally the biggest test of them all, the Spurs (#30) on Easter Sunday. Nothing is guaranteed here and the Heat could lose before facing the Spurs but that will still be a big game regardless of a winning streak or not. Most critics believe that only the Spurs can beat the Heat in the Finals.

The "mini-streak" for the Denver Nuggets was snapped at 15 by the short-handed New Orleans Hornets (Pelicans) who could get a chance to snap the Heat Streak when they play them on Friday. The Nuggets had a couple of close calls and lucky wins in their past few games and they finally lost their good fortune in a rout. It boiled down to no Ty Lawson, no more winning streak.

Meanwhile, the Boston Celtics had a chance to move up to the 5th or 6th spot in the East about a week ago but 4 straight losses have firmly kept them on the 7th spot. That could be an awesome first round meeting with the Pacers or Knicks. Over in the West, the LA Lakers are holding on to the 8th by a game over the Jazz and the surging Mavericks The Lakers are facing another injury problem with MWP probably missing a week or more with a knee injury. Oh my, things are getting very exciting and interesting in the 10+ games left in the regular season.

The standings are current up to March 27, 2013. The rankings from last week refer to Week 20.

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Chris "Birdman" Andersen has taken flight in Miami.
The Heat has won 27 straight with him in the lineup
(Image from: NBA.com)

1. Miami Heat | 56-14 | Last Week: 1 | Same
The supporting cast of the Heat has been great during this Heat Streak. They are playing as a team with unselfish players who know their roles. One of them is Chris Andersen who gives them an able big man who can score on alley-oops and get key blocks. The Heat is 29-1 with Birdman in the lineup.

2. Denver Nuggets | 49-23 | Last Week: 3 | +1
The Nuggets are 15-1 in their last 16 games and they are tied for 1st in best home record (32-3). They have performed well vs the four other elite teams in the West (9-4). Wilson Chandler has given them a major boost off the bench (last 8 games: 14 ppg and 5 rpg).

3. San Antonio Spurs | 53-17 | Last Week: 2 | -1
The Spurs went 6-2 without Parker then he came back a week earlier than projected. They are 1-1 since his return with Parker going for 22 points and 6 assists. Duncan has been great too with 24 points and 13 boards in the last week. That game vs the Heat on Easter will be BIG!

4. Oklahoma City Thunder | 52-19 | Last Week: 4 | Same
The Thunder struggled with 2 losses against the Nuggets and Grizzlies but they recovered by beating weaker teams (Magic and Blazers). Kevin Durant and Westbrook are tied with shot attempts in their last 5 games but KD has been terrible with turnovers lately (4.8 turns to 2.6 by Westbrook).

5. Memphis Grizzlies | 47-23 | Last Week: 5 | Same
Marc Gasol is out indefinitely with an injury and their team defense could suffer without one of the best all-around centers. Zach Randolph is healthy again and playing well while Jerryd Bayless has been impressive off the bench (15 ppg in last 10). The Grizz are still 2nd in team defense.

6. Los Angeles Clippers | 48-23 | Last Week: 6 | Same
The Clippers are 5-5 in their last 10 games and they are holding on to the 4th spot by just 0.5 games ahead of the Grizzlies. Blake Griffin has been quiet offensively in his last 3 games: 11 ppg and 8 rpg. Their 17-game win streak in Nov-Dec has long been forgotten.

7. Indiana Pacers | 44-27 | Last Week: 7 | Same
The Pacers have endured the season-long injury to Granger and they have been winning without him. The injuries to David West and George Hill could cost them a couple of losses, thus allowing the Knicks to grab the #2 seed. Roy Hibbert has started to contribute more lately: last 10 games: 15 ppg and 9 rpg.

8. New York Knicks | 43-26 | Last Week: 13 | +5
The Knicks have won 5 straight making them the 2nd hottest team to the Heat. Kenyon Martin has been great of late, scoring double figures in 3 of his last 5 games. JR Smith has been hot too as he torched the Celtics with 32 points and 7 boards on 54% shooting plus a win.

9. Brooklyn Nets | 41-29 | Last Week: 10 | +1
Brook Lopez has been in the top 5 in PER for most of the season. He has been very efficient in their last 10 games: 20 points on 56% shooting. His frontcourt mate, Reggie Evans has been a beast on the glass. He has grabbed 10+ rebounds in 11 of 12 games in March.

10. Golden State Warriors | 41-31 | Last Week: 11 | +1
Steph Curry and Klay Thompson are ranked 1 and 3 in threes made while the Warriors are #1 in in three-point shooting. Andrew Bogut has struggled scoring but his defensive presence (2 blocks) and rebounding (9 per game) have been a great boost to the Warriors.

11. Houston Rockets | 39-31 | Last Week: 12 | +1
The Rockets have won 3 straight and they are putting distance between them and the 8th spot. They have 3 tough games coming up versus playoff teams including a back-to-back against the Grizzlies and Clippers. James Harden has scored at least 20 points in 10 of 11 games including the last 5 games.

12. Atlanta Hawks | 39-32 | Last Week: 14 | +2
Kyle Korver has made at least one trey in 63 consecutive games for the Hawks. He leads the NBA in 3P% at 46 percent. The Hawks have a chance to catch the Bulls for a higher seed and distance themselves from the Celtics with wins in their upcoming games (Raptors, Celtics, Magic).

13. Chicago Bulls | 38-31 | Last Week: 15 | +2
The Bulls have a chance to end the Heat Streak but they will have to do it possibly without Joakim Noah and Richard Hamilton. Derrick Rose is still not expected to play unless a big surprise debut is planned. Nate Robinson has been solid lately: 19 points and 7.6 assists in his last 5 games.

14. Los Angeles Lakers | 36-35 | Last Week: 9 | -5
A week ago, the Lakers had a chance to climb up to the 6th spot but 3 straight losses to weaker teams including the Suns and Wizards have kept them at the 8th spot. Their core group of Nash, Howard, Gasol, MWP and Bryant is 6-13 when playing together.

15. Boston Celtics | 36-34 | Last Week: 8 | -7
The Celtics have lost 5 straight and Kevin Garnett could be out another week while Courtney Lee has a sprained ankle. The Bucks are lurking by 1.5 games behind them and their once decent record since Rondo was lost for the season has been reduced to 16-11.

16. Dallas Mavericks | 35-36 | Last Week: 18 | +2
The Mavs are suddenly back in the playoff hunt for 8th spot. They will play 6 of their last 11 games at home and 6 games will be against playoff teams. The will play the Lakers next Tuesday and a win would give them a tie-breaker edge on the Lakers. Dirk Nowitzki scored a season-high 33 vs the Clippers in a win.

17. Milwaukee Bucks | 34-35 | Last Week: 16 | -1
The Bucks have lost 3 straight but they are safely in the playoffs since the 9th spot in the East is behind by 7.5 games. Larry Sanders had 3 double-doubles in his last 5 games and he still leads the league in blocks. Sanders also leads the league in ejections at 5. 

18. Utah Jazz | 35-36 | Last Week: 17 | -1
The Jazz need to catch the Lakers and simply end up with the same record since they own the tie-breaker against them. They have winnable games vs the Blazers and Suns coming up, plus their remaining schedule features only 5 of 11 playoff teams down the stretch. 

19. Portland Trailblazers | 33-37 | Last Week: 19 | Same
It seems that the Blazers are a long shot to squeak into the playoffs unless they win all their remaining games especially the ones vs the Lakers, Mavs and the Jazz twice. It will be very tough since 9 of their remaining games will be against playoff teams.

20. Washington Wizards | 26-44 | Last Week: 25 | +5
John Wall erupted for a career-high 47 points and 8 assists vs the Grizzlies in a win. That was the first 40+ point game allowed by the Grizzlies for the season. The Wizards are a decent 21-16 with Wall in the lineup. If he played for the whole year, the Wizards could certainly be in the playoffs.

21. Philadelphia 76ers | 27-43 | Last Week: 23 | +2
Spencer Hawes is not on the same level as Bynum but at least Hawes is playing and healthy. Hawes has been solid in his last 10 games: 15.5 ppg, 10 rpg and 2 bpg. The Sixers might be better and safer by sticking with Hawes instead of gambling on Bynum again in the summer.

22. Toronto Raptors | 26-44 | Last Week: 20 | -2
Rudy Gay will still try to play in their remaining games instead of being shut down for the season. That aint good news for rookie Terrence Ross who needs minutes to learn and improve. Jonas Valanciunas has been effective in his last 5 games: 13 points and 7 rebounds.

23. New Orleans Hornets | 25-46 | Last Week: 27 | +4
The Hornets have won 3 straight including a rout of the Nuggets minus Vasquez and Gordon. The rookie, Brian Roberts had a career-high 18 assists in that win. The Hornets could have another crack at snapping a long win streak, since the Heat is in town on Friday.

24. Minnesota Timberwolves | 25-44 | Last Week: 24 | Same
Since his triple-double 9 games ago, Ricky Rubio has only had 10+ assists once and the T'wolves went 3-5 during that stretch. Nik Pekovic seems healthy enough and his 2 double-doubles in the last 4 games affirms that. Derrick Williams has started to play inconsistently again.

25. Sacramento Kings | 25-46 | Last Week: 22 | -3
The Kings dont have a lot of good things happening on the court as they are headed for another 50-loss season. Off the court, things are looking good for the city of Sacramento since a plan to keep them there has been launched and a new arena could be part of the deal.

26. Phoenix Suns | 23-48 | Last Week: 21 | -5
The Suns followed up their big win vs the Lakers with 3 straight losses. Micheal Beasley continues to be inconsistent while Wesley Johnson has been okay in thier last 10 games: 13 ppg and 4 rpg. Goran Dragic missed out on a triple-double after getting 31 points, 12 assists and 9 rebounds in a loss to the Nets.

27. Cleveland Cavaliers | 22-47 | Last Week: 26 | -1
The Cavs had a 27-point lead vs the Heat in the 3rd quarter without Irving, Varejao and Waiters. The Heat woke up and managed to erase that deficit in less than 9 minutes to eke out a win. Tyler Zeller and Tristan Thompson are good players for their future to go along with a young backcourt of Irving and Waiters.

28. Detroit Pistons | 24-48 | Last Week: 28 | Same
The Pistons are 1-9 in their last 10 games and they escaped with a 1-point win over the Bobcats last Saturday then they followed that up with a blowout loss to the T'wolves. The Pistons have clearly lacked interest in playing hard: 8 of their past 11 losses have come in routs.

29. Orlando Magic | 18-53 | Last Week: 29 | Same
The Magic has lost 7 straight and their injuries continue to mount. Arron Afflalo is out for the season and Nik Vucevic has missed the last week with concussion symptoms. On the bright side, Tobias Harris has played extremely well for them and the rookie, Maurice Harkless has shown signs of brilliance.

30. Charlotte Bobcats | 16-54 | Last Week: 30 | Same
The Bobcats are in the bottom 5th in all major categories. They are last in assists and 29th in defense. LBJ had more assists than their whole team when they played last Sunday. They still get credit for improving from last year which is a +9 in games won.

Biggest Rise: Knicks and Wizards +5
Biggest Fall: Celtics -7
Please hit the comments and follow me on Twitter @rollzter

The NBA: Power Rankings: Week 20

The Miami Heat Streak is still intact at 23 straight games and they now have sole possession of the 2nd best streak in NBA history. The 33 games by the LA Lakers of 1971-72 are still far away but the Heat have a rather favorable and easy schedule in their next 10 games where only 3 teams (Spurs, Bulls, Knicks) have winning records.

The "mini-streak" is also alive for the Denver Nuggets who have won 13 straight games yet have only moved up by one spot in the tough Western Conference. The Nuggets and Heat are tied for the best home record in the NBA at 30-3.

Meanwhile, the LA Lakers are holding on to the 8th spot even with Kobe missing a few games due to injury. Their supporting cast have managed to contribute (Jamison, Blake, Meeks) and the Jazz keep on wasting their chances by losing on the road.

The playoffs will begin in about a month and the playoff positioning have intensified.

The standings are current up to March 20, 2013. The rankings from last week refer to Week 19.

Shane Battier of the Miami Heat has been an integral part of their 23-game win streak.
He was also part of the Houston Rockets in 2007-08 who won 22 straight.
(Image from: Toronto Sun) 

1. Miami Heat | 52-14 | Last Week: 1 | Same
Have you seen THIS video yet? The Heat has clinched their division already and their next 4 games will be against inferior teams where they have had close calls due to lack of effort and motivation. Their supporting cast has been huge with big games from Chalmers and Allen while Birdman and Battier have been solid.

2. San Antonio Spurs | 51-16 | Last Week: 2 | Same
The Spurs could get Parker back by the weekend but they have been doing just fine without him. Kawhi Leonard has been great lately: 17 points and 7 boards. Meanwhile, Tim Duncan is playing at a MVP-level with 22 points and 12 boards while TP has been out.

3. Denver Nuggets | 47-22 | Last Week: 5 | +2
The Nuggets have won 13 straight games and they have beaten the OKC Thunder 3 times already. Andre Miller and Wilson Chandler have been solid coming off the bench. Chandler dropped 35 points on the Bulls while Miller had 20 points, 7 boards and 9 assists on his 37th birthday.

4. Oklahoma City Thunder | 50-18 | Last Week: 3 | -1
The Thunder failed to catch the Spurs in the couple of weeks that Parker has been out. Durant and Westbrook are still the highest scoring duo in the league but their supporting cast has struggled especially Kevin Martin who is shooting 38% and only 11 points per game in his last 10 games.

5. Memphis Grizzlies | 45-21 | Last Week: 4 | -1
The Grizzlies are #1 in team defense but they also struggle putting up points (26th). They had a bad week losing 2 of 4 games but they beat their playoffs nemesis (Clippers) which gives them a chance to tie their season series with the Clippers and possibly have a better tie-breaker for home-court advantage.