MIAMI – At this moment, this is probably the best Miami Heat team ever.
This Heat team, with superstar forward LeBron James playing as though he’s the best player in the world, and superstar guard Dwyane Wade playing as though he’s still a top-three player in the world, might be the best the franchise has ever seen.
Of course, that won’t mean anything if this Heat team doesn’t win the title. And keeping things in perspective, it’s not as though the Heat are the Lakers or Celtics or Bulls and have dynastic, storied teams in the franchise’s past.
Regardless, right now, this season’s Heat is better than the 2012 Heat team that won the title, better than the 2006 team that won the title, the 2011 Heat team that finished as runners-up, the 2005 team that lost to Detroit in seven games in the Eastern Conference finals, and the 1997 team that lost to Chicago in five games in the conference finals.
We all know LeBron is the reason this Heat team is rolling through the league right now. Well, LeBron and the resurgent Wade. No one in the NBA can match that 1-2 punch, and it works at both ends of the court as well as it does in the open court. They are beasts, and making this team almost unbeatable in a best-of-seven series.
And let’s give credit to coach Erik Spoelstra for deftly blending this array of talent into a winning machine.
When the Heat (44-14) hosts Orlando on Wednesday, they will be looking to extend their franchise-record 15-game winning streak. They have knocked off some of the best teams the league has to offer during their streak – Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers and New York Knicks among them.
They’re off to their best 58-game start in franchise history. They’ve led wire-to-wire in eight victories this season. They’ve never trailed in the fourth quarter in 28 victories.
Miami is physically gifted (because of James, Wade and Big Three buddy Chris Bosh), mentally tough, defensive-minded, offensively diverse and playoff-tested.