Many Miami fans think this series is already over.  There are some Chicago fans that fear that it’s over, while others cling to hope.  Tonight in Game 4, if the Heat take down the Bulls, that hope is gone.

From the first minute played, this series has been somewhat unfair.  The Miami Heat have the best roster in the NBA and entered the playoffs at full strength.  The Chicago Bulls on the other hand, limped in to the postseason and continued to have health problems stack up as the playoffs have gone along.  Derrick Rose continues to suit up in a suit.  Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich will both be out again tonight.  Even with these key players missing, the Bulls have managed to stay competitive, with the obvious exception of the 37 point demolition that occurred in Game 2.  They have been relentless on defense and utilized a very physical style to try to both slow Miami down and take them out of the game mentally.  Tonight however, is the Bulls’ last stand.  They will be playing at home for possibly the final time this year.  If the Heat win, the series is over, but if Chicago can pull off another miracle, the series will be tied 2-2 as the teams head back to South Beach.

So what happens?  Barring LeBron James and Dwyane Wade both being ejected from the game for falling in to the Chicago mind game, Miami will win this game.  Ever since the Boston series last year, this team has delivered a knockout blow whenever they have had the chance.  The Bulls have put up a valiant effort, but they are done.

Like many nights on South Beach, this one started off festive.  LeBron James had just been awarded his fourth NBA MVP award and the Miami Heat were jacked up about playing their first game in over a week.  But like many mornings on South Beach, the Heat and their fans woke up to find themselves with a headache and looking up asking how this happened.

The Chicago Bulls, a team that resembles a patchwork quilt due to all their injuries, outhustled and outlasted the world champs to win Game 1 93-86.  Derrick Rose didn’t play.  Neither did Kirk Hinrich or Luol Deng.  It didn’t matter as the Bulls used essentially a six man rotation and simply wouldn’t give in to the Heat.  Even as Miami carried a lead in to the fourth quarter, Chicago refused to be put down.  During the year the Heat were 33-0 when leading after three quarters.  It didn’t matter to the Bulls, who scored 35 points in the final quarter on over 52% shooting.

Defense has been the Bulls calling card since the arrival of Head Coach Tom Thibodeau and they clamped down on the boys from South Beach big time.  The MVP LeBron James had 24 and Dwyane Wade, who did come out looking refreshed, added 14.  They were the only two Heat players in double figures as Chicago held Miami to less than 40%FG for the game.  By comparison, five of the six players who logged big minutes for the Bulls scored in double figures.  The Heat have been the best team in the NBA all year, but the M*A*S*H unit that is Chicago was the better “team” on Monday night.

Now Bron and Co. find themselves down 0-1 for the third time in the “Big 3″ era.  The previous two times(Bulls ’11, Thunder ’12) Miami ran off four consecutive wins to take the series 4-1.  I’m sure Heat fans are hoping for just that kind of response, however, given how brutally unwavering these Bulls have been, that’s not very likely.  No, the Heat have just entered a dogfight.  One that will be hard fought and probably go at least six games.  Chicago is a beast when it comes to rebounding and have found some unexpected scoring from the likes of Jimmy Butler(21 pts).  Miami has to counter and we can expect a much better effort in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

The NBA Playoffs only have two series decided so far.  Both Miami and San Antonio swept through their first round match-ups easily 4-0 over Milwaukee and the Lakers.  Now these two teams have been resting up for their next opponent, and as they have there have been some pretty big developments that make the Heat and Spurs look to be your two NBA Finalists.

Oklahoma City looked great until Russell Westbrook went down.  Actually, they looked pretty good for one game without him as they took a 3-0 series lead over Houston.  Now they have lost two straight to the Rockets and have to travel to Houston for Game 6.  Meanwhile, the Knicks are trying to pull a typical New York choke move against the Celtics.  The are also up 3-2 and heading on the road for Game 6, after losing two in a row to Boston.  The Knicks probably have more to worry about in terms of getting to Round 2, but OKC now looks really vulnerable in a very tough Western Conference.  Neither one of these teams has any shot to beat the Spurs or Heat, even if they make it to the Conference Finals.

The rest of the teams on both sides are playing very competitive, entertaining series, but none of the teams, other than possibly the Memphis Grizzlies pose any real threat to the two big dogs currently idle.  No, Miami and San Antonio look much better than the rest, even when they are not playing.  This would be an interesting Finals though.  Tim Duncan and crew won their fourth and last NBA Championship back in 2007, one year after Dwyane Wade and the Heat won their first in 2006.  Now if LeBron, DWade, and the rest of the crew can topple the Spurs, it would be Miami’s third NBA Title, and the team’s second in a row.  San Antonio has never won back-to-back Championships and this is probably their final shot.  Of course, experts have been the Spurs have been too old for years, yet here they are with a big inside track to a showdown the Heat.  This could be a great 2013 Finals.

The Miami Heat are off the radar.  That seems a little weird for a team that just tied their franchise record for wins(61) last night with a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks, but it’s true.  The Heat have had the #1 seed in the East clinched for a while now and they are right on the brink of clinching the #1 overall seed in the upcoming NBA Playoffs.  Nobody is really paying any attention to a team that went on a 27-game winning streak earlier this season.  I think that’s just fine with all of the Miami players.

In fact, the only national discussion regarding the Heat has been centered around whether some of their players have actually been hurt as they sit out games toward the end of the season.  LeBron James has missed a couple of games, while DWade has missed five in a row and might sit out the rest of the regular season.  Now, it should be Eric Spoelstra’s right to rest whoever he wants to rest before the playoffs begin, but some NBA folk around the country think otherwise.  There has been speculation that Commissioner David Stern might even levy some sort of fine against Miami, similar to the fine he hit San Antonio with earlier this year when Greg Popovich sent star players home before a game in Miami.  That seems borderline Communist, but Stern has come across as a dictator from time to time.  Of course, it’s hard to fine a team for sitting star players when they continue to win anyway.  The Heat went to San Antonio and beat the Spurs without James, Wade, and Mario Chalmers.  The Commissioner needs to just let Spoe coach his team.

So as Miami gets set to break the franchise record for wins, wrap up the #1 overall seed, and coast to the playoffs, let teams like New York and the Lakers dominate the conversation nationally.  The Knicks have won 13 straight, yet will probably never get to play Miami in the postseason.  They would have to reach the conference finals to see the Heat and that is highly unlikely.  Kobe and the Lakers might not even make the playoffs.  Meanwhile, Wade and the rest of the guys are resting up for another title run.  This team would rather dominate the conversation in June, not April.

It’s funny what a 24-game winning streak will do to people.  No longer is the talk of another NBA Championship the dominant topic of conversation in South Florida.  The idea of back-to-back titles has actually slipped back a little now that it appears Miami actually has a shot at what was considered an unbreakable record.  Now the focus and the questions revolve around whether or not the Heat can break the early 70′s Lakers single season record of 33 straight wins, and if they do will that launch them in to the conversation as one of the best teams of all-time?  The answers are yes and yes, although the second question is certainly more complicated.

If the Heat win 34 or 35 games in a row, but fail to win another title this year, then the season will be considered a failure.  Let’s face it, nobody outside of Shane Battier really remembers the Houston Rockets winning 22 straight games back in 2007-08.  But if Miami breaks the record and successfully defends their NBA Title, then yes they will be in the discussion of “best teams of all-time”.  Yes, this team that was put together around three superstars has actually defined the team concept more than any team in the league.  For instance, as well as DWade and LeBron have played during the streak, both guys have had off nights, but somebody has always picked up the slack, whether it’s the other guy or simply another guy, like Mario Chalmers or Ray Allen.  The bottom line is that Miami finds a way to win.

Defense.  That was Pat Riley’s calling card, and it is definitely Eric Spoelstra’s as well.  When the Heat turn up the defense they are as good as any team in the last 30 years.  I maintain that Wade and James are the modern day equivalent of Jordan and Pippen, except that the Heat stars fall in between the Bulls’ Hall of Famers.  Both Heaters are better than Scottie, but neither is as good as MJ.  That’s ok, what we are looking at right now is the best teams of all-time and Miami will be in that discussion if they break the record and repeat.

The Heat have been playing great defense and moving the ball phenomenally in the offensive set.  They have looked like far and away the best team, not just in the east, but in the entire league.  There is also little question that LeBron James is playing the best basketball of his career, not that his play in Cleveland was bad at any time  All of that said, the Heat are not a lock to win at all.  Bron didn’t start playing clutch until the end of the Boston series last year, and the health of Wade is seemingly always in question.  At this point maybe the question is “Can they get the record?”  Well, they can take a step towards that by not falling behind by 27 points to a team like Cleveland on the road.

     Normally, if Mario Chalmers is your best player you are going to lose.  And normally if LeBron James is on your team and he is your 4th leading scorer, you are going to lose.  Well, both of these things happened on Sunday night as the Heat took on the Pacers, yet Miami beat down Indiana, 105-91, and extended their NBA season-long winning streak to 18 games.

     Many media members around the league were talking about this game as if it were almost a must-win for Miami, just from a mental standpoint.  The Pacers had already beaten the Heat twice this season, and they appear to be the one team in the East that might be able to put a scare into the defending champs.  The only people that were scared of anything on Sunday night were Pacers’ fans who watched (C)Roy Hibbert go down with a twisted ankle in the 4th quarter.  The good news for them is that he seems to be OK.  The bad news is that they still got lit up by Chalmers and Chris Bosh to the tune of 50 points combined.  Super Mario was just that.  He looked like a reincarnation of John Starks from many Miami nightmares.  Chalmers shot 7-9 from the field, including 5-6 from 3pt land.

     LeBron and Dwyane Wade both logged in 36 minutes, but yet neither was in the top two players in scoring(Wade was only 1 point behind Bosh with 23).  Both players played well though and D3 almost equalled his career high in steals in a game(7).  He swiped 6 from Indiana on Sunday.  It’s interesting to note that his career high came against James and the Cavaliers back in 2009.  LeBron put up numbers that looked like his normal halftime stats, 13 pts, 7 asst, and 6 rebs.  Probably the most important stat though was FG%.  Miami shot 56% as a team, while Indiana was held to under 42%.  Whenever your team is on the positive side of that disparity, your going to win that game.

     Now Miami has beaten every team in the NBA this season.  That’s the first time in franchise history that they’ve ever done that in a single season.  The current 18-game winning streak is also a franchise best.  Yes, this season continues to exceed expectations, even though that in itself seems almost impossible.  Of course, the downside is that anything less than another NBA Title will be viewed as a failure.  Then again, they have been dealing with that reality for three years.  The biggest difference now though, is that this team looks like their having fun as they roll through the season.  That is not good news for anybody outside of South Florida.

The Miami Heat came in to tonight’s game with Memphis riding a season-long twelve game winning streak.  The longest streak since the Bosh-James-Wade merger back in 2010, and the second longest in franchised history.  During this run Chris Bosh was good, Dwyane Wade was great, and LeBron has been otherworldly, so the Heat have been unstoppable.  Not the case tonight.  Wade led the way with 22 points and was efficient(9-16 FG), but certainly not superb.  Chris Bosh was pretty average(13 pts, 6-12 FG) and Bron was awful for 3 1/2 quarters.  He appeared to be building a house with all of the bricks he was throwing up, and halfway through the 4th he was stuck in single digits scoring with 7 points.  The fact that he finished with 18 points and 10 assists is a testament to the fact that this year, unlike years past he doesn’t seem to get too discouraged when he is having a rough game.  In fact, the play of the game was the 3-pt shot he knocked down with less than 30 seconds left that really sealed the game.  That is a shot he never would have taken in the past when he was struggling so mightily.  He made it and the Heat beat the Grizzlies, 98-91.

This game was plenty ugly for both teams shooting the basketball.  Memphis shot at less than 43% for the game, while Miami was at 46.6%.  The Heat number doesn’t sound so bad until you realize that they were 10-19 from 3-pt land(52.6%), which certainly help their overall shooting percentage.  The 3-pt shooting of Miami, especially Shane Battier(4-5 FG, all from behind the arc), is what won them the game.  These offensive struggles shouldn’t be too surprising, however, as both of these teams are great defensively.

The Memphis Grizzlies have the type of team that can beat the Heat.  In one game, sure, but in a series, probably not.  The truth is that right now, nobody is good enough to beat this team in a 7-game series.  The Heat are nearly unbeatable when Wade and James are playing at their best, but if they can win when one of those guys is off, they are even more likely to repeat.  Magic Johnson even said it on ESPN, ” if you want to repeat as NBA Champions, you have to win these types of games.”  The Heat won and now own a 13-game winning streak, and maybe the most impressive part of this run is that 6 of those 13 wins have come against teams that are playoff teams right now. No question, right now Miami is scary-good.

The Miami Heat emerge from the all-star break as the clear cut favorite to win the NBA Championship, again.  LeBron James is playing at an MVP level, Dwyane Wade appears to be healthy, and the Heat have been taking down some of the top teams in the NBA before the break.  So can they be stopped?  Are there any teams that pose a serious threat to the reigning NBA Champs?

Yes and yes.  As good as the Heat look, there are a couple of teams that could pose problems for Miami.  Indiana and their size cause the Heat fits, while LA, the Clippers not the Lakers, could be a total nightmare for Bron and Co.  In addition, San Antonio cannot be counted out as of yet.  The Spurs have continued to develop throughout the years, and while their core is still Tony Parker and Tim Duncan, they have a lot of good players and play the best fundamental basketball in the NBA.

The Heat enter the home stretch of the season on a 7-game winning streak and own a 4-game lead over New York for the #1 seed in the East.  All signs point to a third consecutive Finals appearance, and for the first time in three seasons, nobody is questioning if the pieces of the Heat’s “big 3″ fit together.

It’s not very often that Kobe Bryant is the third best player on the court, but that was the case on Sunday in Miami.  LA came in desperately needing a win and that will pretty much be the case for the rest of the season.  Bryant brought a newly armed Laker squad to the AAA, including Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, with the intention of making a statement that he and his team were not done yet in terms of making a run at the playoffs.  Bryant did his part by leading the Lakers with 28 points on 11-19 shooting.  Unfortunately for Kobe, there were two guys in Heat uniforms that were better.  LeBron James finished with 32 points, while Dwyane Wade added 30.  Both Heat stars shot 12-18 from the floor and Miami took down LA, 107-97.

This game wasn’t about the Lakers struggling.  No, it was more about Miami being great.  Dwyane Wade is the greatest player in Heat history, and during the past several games he has returned to form as one of the five best players in the NBA.  LeBron, however, has reached an entirely new level of elite(if that’s possible).  James just became the third player in NBA history to have five consecutive games of at least 30pts and 60%FG shooting.  The other two were Moses Malone(1982) and Adrian Dantley(1979).  In addition, Wade and Bron each scored at least 30pts twice in the last three games.  Again, LA didn’t play a bad game, but Miami led by the very best duo on the planet, were just better.

During the past week the Heat have taken down some of the best teams in the West are 34-14 and now sit 2.5 games up on the Knicks for the #1 seed in the East.  Meanwhile the Lakers dropped to 24-28 and 3.5 games out of the 8th and final spot in the West.  Many “experts” expected these two teams to meet in the NBA Finals in June.  Note to the Lakers; you can’t make The Finals if you don’t make the playoffs.  Behind LeBron’s extraterrestrial play, Miami looks almost unstoppable en route to a third consecutive Finals’ appearance.  Their biggest obstacles are injuries and the Indiana Pacers.

Miami Heat 105, Brooklyn Nets 85.  That was the score in Wednesday night’s game played in Brooklyn, and it wasn’t even really that close.  These Nets looked less like a contender from New York, and more like the hapless team that has played in New Jersey the last several years.  The Heat came out hot, stumbled in the 2nd quarter, and then just dropped the hammer in the 3rd quarter, outscoring the Nets 36-14.  Miami had good solid play from just about everybody on their roster.  In fact, eleven players in total pitched in points for Miami as they got the second half of the NBA season underway.

During the first half of the season, Miami has looked very good even if they haven’t looked dominant as they try to defend their NBA Championship.  LeBron James has played outstanding for the most part, although he is still subject to questionable decision making when he has the ball in his hands at the end of quarters, or games.  He will still dribble around and settle for a fadeaway 85 foot jumper.  Dwyane Wade has struggled to be consistent.  Sometimes he looks like the DWade of a couple of years ago, while other times he looks borderline bad.  Chris Bosh has also been a question mark through 41 games, yet the Heat find themselves in 1st place in the Eastern Conference.

One thing that has continually evolved over the course of the past three years has been the “Big 3′s” supporting cast.  Pat Riley has gone out and added some key pieces like Shane Battier and Ray Allen, not to mention picking up Norris Cole in the draft last year.  Miami is now actually a deep team, even if they are undersized.

After Wednesday night’s victory, Miami is at 29-13.  Best in the East, and close to the best in the NBA.  The scary thing for the rest of the league is that the Heat still have plenty of room to improve.  Of course, the next stop on the schedule is Indiana and the Pacers have already beaten Miami earlier this season.  This is a big game for the Heaters, because Indy is probably the biggest threat to them in the Eastern Conference, despite what Knick fans are hoping.  Friday night, Bron, Wade, and Co better be ready.