"And The Heat Goes Onnn!"

  After last night's 107-94 win over the Milwaukee Bucks, The Miami Heat have now won 21 straight games, the 3rd best winning streak in NBA history. I won't bore you with the numbers that the Big 3 have been putting up because it goes without saying that they are phenomenal. Not only have Wade, James, and Bosh been productive but Miami's bench has consistently been reliable for them over this outstanding stretch. I'm more concerned with the residual effects and questions that stem from a streak like this though. What does this say to rivals? What are rivals saying about it? When will it end? When should it end?
  Once Miami hit about the 12 game mark, analysts began to try to predict when this could end. Indiana and Milwaukee were both teams that were thought to be possible teams to snap the streak up to this point and the Heat defeated both teams convincingly (beating each team by atleast 12 points). Monday night Miami will face their conference rivals: the Boston Celtics. The last time the clubs met marked the first game Boston would be without their starting point guard Rajon Rondo for the remainder of the season due to an ACL injury. The Celtics didn't fold though and are now 15-6 without Rondo. Boston is a sure threat to snapping the Heat's streak. Assuming the Heat win tomorrow night in Toronto and the streak builds to 22 games, this will be the second team the Celtics have faced in the last 5 years on a 22-game winning streak. What was the result last time? The Celtics snapped the 2007-08 Houston Rockets team's winning streak in an 94-74 blowout win. Miami enters the Celtics' building on March 18th. exactly 5 years to the day that the Celtics beat that Rockets team. Yesterday Boston Celtics players Paul Pierce and Jason Terry were asked by the media how they felt about the Miami Heat's streak and they replied respectively:

"I really don't even care. I hope they lose every game the rest of the season. I just worry about what this team does."

"Not really impressed with it or anything they do."

  Wow. Pretty salty and unprofessional statements in my opinion. I'm all for competition and rivalry but I think those comments did more fueling to the Heat's "fire", if you will, and conveyed more of a jealous undertone than hype up an anticipated showdown. But we will surely see what happens on Monday night. Unfortunately for Miami, that game will be on the back end of a back-to-back road game trip.
  When will the run end? I believe the Heat will prevail against the Celtics. They are simply a better and different team since their last meeting on January 27th which was a double OT win for Boston. For future games however, whether the streak is still intact or not, as a fan I would hope that if Miami is to ever get down into a deep hole late in the game, they will give it a rest. With only 18 games left until the playoffs and the injury bug very busy around the league lately I'm much less concerned about the glitz and glam that come with a record breaking winning streak and more considered with the physical health and durability of each player on the roster during the time that matters: the postseason. This team was assembled to win championships and that's what fans want to see. I can do without watching LeBron and Dwyane making Herculean efforts and doing Olympic gymnast moves in an attempt to erase a 10-point deficit with a minute and a half left to go in a game. It's just too big of a risk. If that kind of situation doesn't occur, I would say the sky is the limit for this run. The only other credible and viable threats left for Miami to face are the Bulls and the Spurs (not including Boston).A loss is possible though, however unlikely it may be, because streaks often end when they're least expected to. Surely every team from this point forward will put on their A-game when facing Miami, more than ever before.
   The NBA's longest winning streak in history is 33 games held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers. Gail Goodrich, guard on that '72 Lakers team, said himself "This is the most serious challenge we've had to our streak. Miami will make a very, very, very serious run at our record." It's good to know everyone isn't on the negative side. Miami's streak the longest streak in NBA history by a defending championship team. So much for that sophomore slump right?
   What do you all think of the comments and how Miami should physically handled themselves from this point forward? Let me know: @RealRundown, @iDreamofJaylee , e-mail me or comment below.

Sources: Bleacher Report, Boston Celtics, ESPN