Heat face Bulls on the road in renewal rivalry tonight

After improving their win streak to 27 on Monday night with a 108-94 rout over Orlando, the question still stands as to whether or not the Miami Heat (56-14) can continue their success long enough to beat the NBA record of 33 straight wins, the record that hasn’t been touched in four decades. The difference between this Miami team and the 1971-72 Lakers is the fact that Miami has won several close games; a one point win (97-96) over the Magic earlier in March, a close seven point game over Memphis (98-91), six points over New York (99-93)…

98-94 over Philly….105-103 to top the Celtics…

Miami trailed Boston by 17 early and by 13 in the fourth quarter. The Cavs were ahead by 27 points in a match up earlier this season before the Heat came back, and against Detroit and Charlotte, Miami trailed by 11 before really showing up. On Monday night, the Magic and Heat were tied late in the third quarter.

The trend is unmistakable.

Time to examine Wednesday night’s match up against the Bulls, a team who had no trouble routing their old rival 96-89 in Heat territory back in January. In this match up, Chicago (38-31) has the home court advantage, but they still lack a few key parts of its team due to the amount of injuries as of late. Point guard Derrick Rose still remains out of the lineup, as well as guards Richard Hamilton, Marco Belinelli, Daequan Cook and center Joakim Noah. This number of assets watching from the sidelines is a huge factor from a pre-game standpoint, especially when compared to the confidence and depth Miami is bringing to the court. Despite being without guard Dwyane Wade, Heat star forward Lebron James said that his team has faith in each other offensively, but he still understands the challenge they will face playing in Chicago.

So, while the hype and anticipation may not be going anywhere anytime soon, the spotlight on the Heat’s hot streak is not to be confused with their ultimate goal as a team. James said that their concern is not with winning streaks, but rather winning rings.

Tip off at the United Center is set for 8 p.m.