Beyond the continuation of their winning ways, Friday's game
had a special significance for the Heat. Miami was embarrassed by a
hard-hitting Bucks team that bested them by nineteen points when the pair met
in December. Heat head coach Eric Spoelstra told reporters after Friday's game
that he had spent extra time with his players watching footage of that December
meeting, hoping to instill some kind of anger. Following the win, Miami's
Dwayne Wade confirmed that sense of vengeance, and added that the game was just
another stop on the team's tour of revenge.
Wade and company have most recently tied the Rockets
win-streak, and analysts around the league are debating the possibility of a
new all-time record. Others are more excited about a chance at back-to-back titles.
History shows that teams with unusually substantial win-streaks during the
season have about a fifty-percent chance of winning a title. History also
points to teams such as Houston who finished their record setting year just
third in their division.
Most of us expect veterans Dwayne Wade and LeBron James to
lead the Heat to within striking range of the Lakers record. Those two have
improved their play in March, putting a combined sixty points per night on the
board. Lesser-known players like Joel Anthony and Mario Chalmers have also
stayed consistent down the stretch. Players like Chris Anderson have
reinvigorated the bench.
Back in Milwaukee, the Bucks got one back on Sunday with an
afternoon win against the Magic. The loss to the Heat remains poignant though,
as the teams have become pseudo-rivals this season, splitting their two
meetings thus far.
Bucks Might Spoil Heat Win Streak
The pair could increase the drama in the next few weeks,
depending on how far Miami gets in its quest to thirty-four wins. Should the
Heat win-out to tie the Lakers at thirty-three, their chance at a thirty-fourth
win would come on an April ninth game against the Bucks in Miami. The meeting
would be a kind of league-déjà vu; coming forty-one years after the Bucks
halted Bill Shairman's Lakers in Milwaukee. Could Milwaukee be the team that goes on to spoil
two record win-streaks?
