Still Feeling the Heat Wave

  First and foremost I want to start off my applauding the Chicago Bulls. Last night they snapped the Miami Heat's 27-game winning streak in a 101-97 victory. Regardless of if Heat fans agree with the Bulls physical play, officiating calls (or lack thereof), etc., they still pulled of a win with a significantly undermanned roster and they deserve credit. At this point, I'm almost not even sure which team is more resilient between the Celtics and the Bulls. Just when we may think it's ok to count them out they show up time and time again. This isn't the first time the Bulls have dominated the Heat without key players either. Last season on March 14th, the Bulls defeated Miami 106-102 in Chicago without Derrick Rose who was out nursing a sore groin. To many spectators surprise though, John Lucas III was very present in Rose's absence finishing with 24 points on 9-of-12 shooting including 3-of-5 from 3-point land. With all that being said, I am not interested in spending time recapping the Heat's streak and throwing out different stats that reflect it's impressiveness. Any real fan of the game, regardless of who you call "your team", will acknowledge the sustained excellence and credit Miami for what they did for the NBA over this run. I did, however, notice a few things that transpired as a result of the Heat Streak coming to an end which I find most interesting this morning.
  For starters, Miami took up nearly 50 minutes of the hour long SportsCenter that aired after the game. The team got almost the same amount of coverage after they won the title last year! Was I the only one that began thinking: "Ok this is STILL the regular season. Everyone knows that right?". The way the media covered this you would have thought the Bulls defeated Miami to win the 2013 NBA World Championship. I'm aware that due to the extreme popularity of the Heat, the media interprets such an occasion as extremely newsworthy but I just found it suffocating after awhile. I almost began to perceive it as if Miami was never expected to lose and the streak was snapped by the worst team in the league. Then I ask myself: why is Miami getting an 80/20% coverage elevation over Chicago when they are the ones that won the game? Again, I understand that the Heat were the ones on the streak not the Bulls but it just became more apparent to me that obviously even when Miami loses they still win.
  Will the effect of the media coverage stemming from the streak ending bother Miami's psyche at all? I wouldn't be too worried about it. This Heat team has faced overwhelming media scrutiny from day 1, literally. Aside from the celebration rally, in the first year of the Big 3 era the Heat lost 5 games straight which was a buffet for the media and Heat haters alike. That small stretch is almost nonexistent compared to the attention and criticism they got after losing the 2011 NBA Finals.This team is built to withstand this. Miami will square-off against two named threats to them in the San Antonio Spurs and the New York Knicks on Sunday and Tuesday respectively. I'm sure the streak ending is bittersweet; like a disappointing sigh of relief. But I also believe that it will propel them to perform well against the Spurs and Knicks to prove that they have stumbled but not fallen and can still continue to get better against elite teams.
  Although this 27 consecutive wins record will very likely remained untouched for decades to come, I do feel in order for it to be fully capitalized upon and solidified the Heat have to win the title again this year. They have done so many great things this season that it is almost hard for me to say that as if to say the other accomplishments don't matter. Nonetheless, at the end of the day we applauded the Heat for their consistency during the streak but when it comes down to it that what these superstars get paid to do! They are supposed to show up and play hard every night. Winning the title back-to-back would put a different and more memorable stamp on the streak. They did not break the '71-'72 Lakers record like some would have hoped but they would have an amazing document to record at the end of this season if it is sealed with a ring. The odds are in Miami's favor being that 2 out of the 3 teams in NBA history that held winning streaks of 20 games or more went on to win the NBA title.
 I have no problem with some people being happy the streak is over or the media spending time covering it. I just ask that it be treated with respect. If every team could do it, it would have been done before.