In between nonstop vomiting and breathing exercises to keep his (Level 5) Napoleonic complex under control, Nate Robinson did…that. What a hero.

Aaron Weiss: Emotions are a little high for me on this one, y’all. My face is getting flushed and I feel like crying even as I write this. I’m a frustrated Bulls fan, because I feel scared for the future. Let me say right now, I think the Bulls will win this series. I think they’ll win it pretty cleanly. The defense is tough, and the will of these guys is amazing. The Nets, to be frank, are not really a good team, or at least aren’t good against the Bulls. Look at the game when a Bulls team without Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, or Marco Belinelli beat a completely healthy Nets team just a week ago, 92-90. It was a hard-fought win, but a big discrepancy came in the rebounds. The Bulls won the glass 46-30, a testament to their defense, but also to how simple of a team the Nets are. Built around a center who scores a lot and rebounds none and a point guard who misses shots then sulks about it, it’s actually confusing as to how they ended up getting this far and have this good of a record. Gerald Wallace and Kris Humphries have been unspeakably bad, with the well-paid Humphries riding the bench, while Reggie Evans plays in his place. Reggie Evans, who does nothing but rebound.

It’s all he does, but they have to play him 30+ minutes per game, because Brook Lopez certainly can’t rebound. Together they make for a healthy Dwight Howard, but it leaves them with four players on the court… kind of. I guess I’m also down on the Nets because they don’t seem to have any kind of personality or fight in them. They were born out of fat contracts, two owners with their own cult of personality, and a new stadium that needed a team to attract fans to pay off its unbelievable cost. The Bulls were born out of cheap management, a gutsy, then injured, then cowardly point guard who’s made more appearances dominating teammates in practice than on the court, and a coach who plays 82 Game 7’s every season. They are wounded, they are frustrating, but they are the definition of Spartan soldier. There is no quit, even if it ends with their bodies being carried back on their bloody shield.

They are Jeff Hardy in his ladder match with the Undertaker. You know how they really won that game against the Nets? It took Carlos Boozer playing 46 minutes, Jimmy Butler 43 minutes, and Luol Deng 42 minutes, with a lucky as hell layup from Nate Robinson, who has been a godsend for this team’s offense. For every stupid question about D-Rose coming back from local columnists looking for gossip, for every inexplicable loss to Charlotte or Toronto, this team will not be broken. They will be forgotten once Derrick receives his sign from God or from his agent to grace us with his presence. He will get the credit for every win. He’ll stand at the podium. He’ll pose for the pictures. But it was THIS Bulls team that got us here, and it’s that team that I am proud to root for.

Prediction: Bulls win 4-1

Spencer Lund:  I’m scared to predict this series because  the emotions of the beaten down (but not really) Bulls fans make me uncomfortable. It’s hard to feel sorry for fans that got a decade plus of MJ and Scottie then got a once-in-a-lifetime point guard who won an MVP award earlier in his career than LeBron. But, losing Rose in the first round of last season’s playoffs combined with all the back-and-forth about his possible return, and the injuries to Joakim Noah, Boozer and Gibson makes it a tough season regardless of their fortune earlier in franchise history. And so I picture every Bulls fan looking like Tom Thibodeau after a big meal: sweaty and unusually bothered by their shirt collars and needing an extra belt buckle hole. But that’s unfair—and slightly cruel—because Thibodeau and this gang have been [insert war imagery or warrior reference] during a trying regular season. Jimmy Butler might be the best late first round pick in a while, and Noah and Gibson are day-to-day without thinking about Rose’s return.

I never really understood the correlation between the boring way Brooklyn plays and their ability to win basketball games. Do they slow the ball down a lot and go to their (supposedly) plodding center a lot more than other teams? Yes, yes they do, but that doesn’t mean they’re any less of a threat to advance. Only the Hornets play at a slower pace than the Nets, but Memphis, a legit contender in the tougher Western Conference, only averages .19 possessions more per 48 minutes than the Nets do with the third lowest pace in the league behind Brookyn. So regardless of whether they are “fun” to watch, they’re dangerous. This series is gonna be really boring though because Chicago is almost as slow as Brooklyn and they have Nate Robinson on their team, a guy who never met a three-pointer he didn’t want to jack even when Thibodeau threatens to dock him TV time when he gets back to his hotel room.

If Noah is healthy—a big if—and if Gibson is back, they should negate the influence of Lopez on the game.** But the Bulls’ defensive tenacity and ability to pack the paint might not be able to withstand a streaking Deron Williams, who has been playing like a max contract guy since the All-Star break. Nate Robinson might shoot lights out in one game and steal it for the Bulls, and their defense and tenacity on the glass might win one or two more, but if Johnson plays up to his averages, and Williams continues to play like he’s back running a screen and roll with Boozer in Utah, the Nets will win this series. But it’ll be close, it’ll be really close, and you never know, Rose might suit up, in which case all this gets thrown out the window and Aaron finds God.

Prediction: Nets win, 4-3

Michael Pina: It appears Joakim Noah may not play in this series, and if he does he won’t be the same guy who made the All-Star team and established himself as a legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidate. So, that’s pretty significant. But throughout the season Brooklyn has been a slow, plodding team. Their offense is efficient, and contains one of the most lethal point guard/center combinations in the NBA (when healthy!), but will they have enough aggression to attack Chicago’s defense where it hurts?

Joe Johnson should have an awful series against Luol Deng. His game exists on an island of isolation; unfortunately for him, it’s the same island where Chicago’s defense dictates legislation. But in the end I can’t see myself picking the undermanned team, when heading in both were about evenly matched.

Prediction: Nets win, 4-2

Looking at the least compelling series an otherwise entertaining postseason has to offer. It’s Pacers vs. Hawks!

Aaron Weiss: First of all, big ups to the Hawks for getting to the playoffs with this team. I had them pegged as bottom dwellers this season, likely to dump Josh Smith for an unsatisfying player or two, and carry a funk around them all season long. Instead, they found a new leader in Al Horford, who took a nice-sized jump in his game, gaining the production he lost due to injury last season. Smith continued to be a consistent if unspectacular and sometimes-frustrating contributor. Jeff Teague took a little leap himself, averaging 14-7 while starting almost every game, and Kyle Korver brought production beyond PICK-AND-POP-PICK-AND-POP-PICK-AND-POP. It’s a shame Lou Williams got injured, otherwise he could be a nice little x-factor for them. Instead they are forced to turn to a bench with DeShawn Stevenson, Anthony Tolliver, and Johan Petro. They have some young talent that’s thrived when given the minutes in Shelvin Mack, John Jenkins and Mike Scott, but it’s hard to imagine them being trusted in the playoffs, or given the minutes with healthy starters.

They’re facing the eternally-forgotten threat, the Pacers. They’re kind of becoming the Spurs of the East, with inconsistent minute distribution, and inconsistent play from everybody, yet it has, by-and-large, worked out. At least well enough to get them the #3 seed. Even their wins and losses have been seemingly random. Take their schedule from January 23^rd to February 26^th: three losses in a row, followed by five wins in a row, then back-to-back OT losses followed by five wins in a row again. They’re doing it with guys like Jeff Pendergraph, Orlando Johnson, and Lance Stephenson getting significant minutes. Tell me that doesn’t sound like a Spurs team! The problem is that while the Spurs have consistency in Parker, Ginobili, and Duncan, the Pacers have a (uh oh) plateaued Roy Hibbert, a wilting Paul George, and David West, who’s consistent, but not meant to function as the best player on a team. What the hell Paul George is doing right now is anybody’s guess, as he can only seem to be consistently good for two or three games, before being consistently bad to mediocre for two to three games. The past three games he’s averaged eight points on 22% shooting (15% from three) in 35 minutes of play per night. That is awful, no two ways about it. Look at the three games before those, though, and you’ll find averages of 24 points on 52% shooting (31% from three) in 41 minutes of play. The good news is that he’s been able to nab rebounds every night, no matter his scoring output, something that the Hawks guard counterparts cannot do. The frustration with Roy Hibbert comes from the fact that he’s intelligent enough and athletically gifted enough that he should be the best center in the East, and instead has put in plenty of 30+ minute games where he’s made no impact at all, and it’s inexcusable. Averaging 12 points and eight rebounds with his body and his moves? What the fuck happened? This guy should be averaging Dwight numbers. Ridiculous.

On reputation, this series shouldn’t be close, but I think these Hawks are gonna bring it. The Pacers need to get every guy playing at 100% percent effort, or else we might see us an upset.

Prediction: Pacers win 4-3

Spencer Lund: These two teams are so similar it’s scary, but the Pacers play better defense and I’d rather take David West in the playoffs than Josh Smith—though not for fantasy purposes. Both are composed of the anachronistic notion of front court dominance with Josh Smith and Al Horford* doing the Durty Bird for Atlanta and Roy Hibbert, David West and Psycho-T in the front court for Indiana. Both teams also possess point guards who could be considered under or over rated depending on the night in question with Jeff (I’m gonna get a nice raise this summer) Teague and George (what did the Spurs know that we don’t?) Hill. Both possess wing players who can be streaky from three-point land, the sort of irascible charm that can ignite an opponent or totally psych them out, and who just so happen to share a homophone surname in Lance Stephenson and DeShawn Stevenson (no word on whether Lance is thinking about an ATM in his apartment). Both have players, Lou Williams and Danny Granger, that would change this series if they were healthy.

They’re very, very similar, but Indiana plays much much better defense as a team, and the Hawks aren’t that much better offensively. Atlanta gives up 5 points more per 100 possessions as the Pacers do, but that makes sense as the Pacers lead the league in defensive efficiency this season. But the Hawks are only 15th in the league in scoring efficiency. After being in the bottom 10 for most of the season in offensive efficiency, the Pacers have pulled themselves up to 18th in offensive efficiency. The Pacers score enough to win, and the Hawks don’t play good enough defense to change that.

That’s what it’ll come down to: Indiana’s defense will trump their similarities everywhere else, and afterwards we’ll all start the stupid debate about whether Josh Smith deserves a max contract (he doesn’t, but someone will offer him one).

Prediction: Indiana wins, 4-2

Michael Pina: The Pacers are the best defensive team in basketball. Paul George and Roy Hibbert are both legitimate Defensive Player of the Year candidates. Defense is important.

The Hawks score 102.7 points per 100 possessions, which makes them  average; since the All-Star break they didn’t show any signs of improvement (according to NBA.com/Stats they were the NBA’s 15th most efficient offense in 31 games after the All-Star break).  

These games will be morose and rightfully designated to the shadows of NBA TV. In the end, Indiana’s defense will hold its hands around Atlanta’s neck until the second round starts. If you’re the type of NBA fan who’s grossly sadistic, you’ll love everything about this series.

Prediction: Indiana wins, 4-1

*I would like to humbly adopt the nickname “Big Al” for Mr. Horford after not-so-big Al Jefferson’s drop in play in the middle of the season limited Utah’s offenive play and has them on the edge of missing the playoffs after making it back in last season.

Continuing on our journey through a massive playoffs preview, next up is New York vs. Boston. (Spoiler: These two teams don’t like each other.)

Aaron Weiss: With the Knicks’ front line being so old and injured, even Shavlik Randolph is licking his lips at the prospect of playing them. Yet while Celtics big men may be happy for the matchup, those tasked with perimeter defense will have to deal with a positively streaking Knick squad that just locked up their 13^th win in a row by sinking 20 three-pointers. Consider that Carmelo Anthony only made three of those and STILL scored 36 points, and Celtics may not have a defense in their arsenal that can handle the Knicks’ offensive barrage. The Knicks won the season series 3-1, including two of those victories coming in this streak. A potential x-factor can come in the form of Kevin Garnett, who didn’t play in either of those games, and has the kind of mid-range game and rebounding prowess the Knicks have had trouble counter-acting in the past.

Truth is, these two teams are a very close match for one-another. As good as the Knicks offense has been, the Celtics defense has been just as good. Same goes for the Knicks terrible defense, which matches the Celtics terrible offense. What the series will likely come down to, then, is individual performances. If Melo can pitch in even a couple of the performances he’s shown this past week, with J.R. Smith staying sane, any of their bigs returning from the dead, and solid contribution from guys like Felton, Shumpert, Novak, or even Copeland, this might be over quicker than we think. It feels like that’s asking a lot, but when you look at this streak, that’s how it’s been. They’ve been that consistent, in ways that shouldn’t hold up. It’s not like they’ve been scoring 120 a night like the Rockets, or shooting particularly accurate. The team is just playing really well, with solid minute distribution and consistent gameplans from Coach Woodson. If you’re able to combine that with Melo playing possibly his best basketball, that can make for a very dangerous team, or at least one that’s good enough to beat the Celtics.

This Celtics team will fight valiantly, though. But they actually have a greater likelihood of beating themselves than anything else. They’ve gone .500 since the start of March, and the record really tells the whole story. The team actually has been a stronger unit as a whole since Rondo left, at least mentally, but there’s weak spots beyond the age of, ahem, certain players. Jeff Green has been quite good on offense, and seems to have matured into a critical player for Boston. It’ll be interesting to see who the Knicks throw at him to prevent him from having a major impact. Unfortunately, his defense remains spotty, to be kind, and it’s hard to imagine either him or Paul Pierce handling Anthony. Courtney Lee may be that defender, but then you have Lee’s offense, which ranges from non-existent to bad. Non-existent is probably what Celtics fans wish was Jordan Crawford’s game was, as it would be far preferable to what he’s doing now. Seriously, Jordan Crawford is bad, and he should feel bad. Instead, he’ll just keep shooting, and that drives me fucking crazy.

I can’t say this will be an easy series for the Knicks, but it’s sure as hell going to be a hard one for the Celtics. Both these teams need leaders to step up in legendary ways, and truly play like it’s the playoffs. For the Knicks, that will have to be Carmelo, with an average of at least 30/6/2. For the Celtics, they’ll need someone who can drive to the basket, coordinate things on the court while keeping a pace that favors the Celtics, and who thrives on national television with his fierce style of play. The only guy on the Celtics who can do that is Rajon Rond… oh.

Prediction: Knicks win 4-1

Spencer Lund: That’s messed up, mang. Mike is a big Celtics fan, and the Rondo dig cuts to the core of this lost Celtics season. I don’t think the Celtics are an opponent the Knicks wanted to face so early in the postseason because this Boston team thrives off of being the underdog. Garnett and Pierce are back—sort of—and Jeff Green has become a dependable wing scorer when Pierce needs a breather. Jason Terry is still a knucklehead, but it’s less amusing when he’s struggling to knock down a three-pointer. This is going to be a series though; the Celtics’ pride and defensive game planning will make sure of that.

The injuries to the Knicks’ front court players didn’t really affect them during their winning streak, at least until they faced the streak-busting Bulls, and they weren’t missing both Kenyon Martin AND Tyson Chandler at the same time like were against Chicago. Once both went down, there were lineups that have had Melo as the ostensible center (with Mike D’Antoni wincing at his crappy fortune from LA when he could have played small ball with ‘Melo). Carmelo’s rebounding has been incredible over the last week, but Tyson and Kenyon better be ready or Garnett and Green, and maybe even Brandon Bass, will have their way in the paint and on the offensive glass. Driving for a bucket will never feel this easy for the aging Celtics.

I love the Knicks, but I don’t trust them—even when their lineups featuring ‘Melo at  power forward  have destroyed teams offensively while Amar’e has been injured. This occured both at the start of the season and over the last month when the Knicks finally started returning to what works for them: spreading the floor with all those shooters and a center that can roll hard to the hoop and set high screens for Felton to do his thing. Felton is finally healthy again, and when he’s making smart decisions on those pick and roll opportunities, the Knicks are very hard to stop. Add in a focused J.R. Smith and the New York basketball community is justifiably escatic; although, I’m not sure the title, We’ll Always have Linsanity, makes as much sense now if they’re coming correct in April and May.

This is all without  even mentioning Carmelo Anthony’s ascendence to “he’s playing the best basketball of his career” over the last few weeks. Carmelo’s shot-happy still-mid-range-heavy onslaught of the Knicks’ Bernard King Folklore™  has been incredibly fun to watch, and his smirk has actually widened into a fully formed grin over that time, but the threat of a possible 12-for-35 performance with just 4 boards and a low-scoring loss in the Garden is hard to overcome. I think the Knicks will need homecourt advantage more than they realize. Paul Pierce will have one of those games where we remember he’s an NBA Finals MVP and 10-time all star whose mental toughness is unassailable. Garnett will dominate whichever front court players—not named Tyson or Kenyon—the Knicks trot out (James Singleton?), but he’ll only be on the court for 30 minutes a night, and he’ll be tuckered out in the last minutes. The Knicks will win their first playoff series since the sexier Van Gundy (big ups to McQuaid Jesuit) led another Marcus Camby team to the NBA Finals. But it’ll be a lot harder than it probably should be. This Celtics team is basically just a Welshman’s villanelle, but I’m loathe to repeat the clichéd idea that Father Time is undefeated. Screw Father Time, the Celtics are neverending, except when they end in seven.

Prediction: New York wins, 4-3

Michael Pina: I’m a Celtics fan, and damn proud of it. Can you blame me? I admit these still-chugging players with this still brilliant coach have taken a wrong turn into their darkest alley yet, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be rolling up their sleeves to throw well-calculated punches. Sure, it makes me nervous that Jeff Green is probably Boston’s greatest offensive threat, and that Avery Bradley’s up and mostly down offensive output has permeated towards the other end, where he’s still the best, but not his best, defending the ball. (This isn’t excuse-making, but in the end, it’s the referees who hold the greatest influence on how effective Bradley can be. If he’s permitted to bump Ray Felton up and down the court, the Knicks will feel it. If not, well, this type of box score could become a regular thing.)

J.R. Smith doesn’t scare me. He’s the the best sixth man in the league and scoring the ball in an unstoppable way normally reserved for perennial All-Stars…but he’s J.R. Smith. Does anyone who’s watched his career think he can string together bits and pieces of positive play for a minimum of 16 quarters? Smith is the type who can take care of himself in three games, but crashes as a tragic disaster in the other four.

(The one guy on New York who makes me more nervous than I probably should be is Chris Copeland, the rookie who, as it turns out, was placed on this Earth to destroy the Boston Celtics.)

But the real reason I’m going with Boston over New York, against almost every numerical dosage of empirical evidence that’s presented itself this season, is the human element. For the most part we know how the Celtics will respond to the pressures of playoff basketball. They’ll run their stuff, get the shot they want, clamp down on New York’s three-point shooters by the second or third game, and force Carmelo Anthony to do things he doesn’t want to do.

Meanwhile, the Knicks haven’t won a playoff series in a decade. Not to sound smug, but I’ll believe the Knicks can beat the Celtics four times out of seven when I see it.

Prediction: Boston wins, 4-2

Our first preview in a series by series breakdown of every first round match-up as we head into the playoffs, ShakyAnkles’ writers Aaron Weiss, Spencer Lund, and Michael Pina begin with the Miami Heat taking on the Milwaukee Bucks. Bucks fans: you know what you’re getting into. Tread carefully.

Aaron Weiss: It’s virtually a given at this point that the Miami Heat are going to slaughter the Bucks, what with the Heat’s best players getting rest, and an aura of confidence that I haven’t seen from any team in quite some time. This isn’t the kind of confidence the Celtics usually try to bring, where they legitimately believe they can win any game, but privately acknowledge it’s going to take them sticking to a game plan, playing tough D, being healthy, etc. The Heat, on the other hand, have mastered the art of not giving a fuck while simultaneously being so focused that they can decimate anybody (except when they don’t). Their historic streak was not a fluke, though many will point to the close games they had and some inferior competition. There’s a case to be made in that, sure, but is anybody saying the Bucks don’t deserve to be lumped in with that “inferior competition”? They’re an 8-seed in the Eastern Conference, with a fan base that even Atlanta Hawks fans laugh at. So what’s the challenge for the Heat?

There is none, but there might be a scenario in which the Heat have to earn it in the fourth quarter. Looking at the final game of the season series between the two, in which the Heat won 94-83, the Bucks were only down by one at the half, and even briefly had the lead. They were able to keep it close by sinking threes, courtesy of Brandon Jennings and JJ Redick. They were  avoiding low-percentage mid-range shots for the most part, and making the most of possessions. It’s all basic basketball 101 stuff, but there’s a reason it’s basic: because it works.

So how’d they lose? An atrocious third quarter can be blamed, in which they only scored 13 points and shot 4-for-17, including 1-for-8 from three. Throw in nine turnovers, and it’s a recipe for killing any momentum you had, and preventing any from being created. Credit should be given to the Heat’s defense as well, but seeing as seven of those third quarter turnovers were defined by Basketball Reference as “bad passes”, it’s clear that Milwaukee was not in sync. Considering how many players on the team have what could generously be called “offense-only” game, they’re going to need Larry Sanders, Goose Ayon, and Sam Dalembert (who was DNP-CD for this game) to step it up in penetrating the post, hopefully causing some kind of mismatch with Miami’s small-ball. It may be a moot point, though, if Birdman and Haslem are going to be playing. Both cleaned the glass against Milwaukee, nabbing 9 and 15 boards, respectively, and that’s with Haslem showing up a strong rebounder in Sanders at the center spot.

Basically, the likelihood of a sweep is very, very high, and considering LeBron only had to play 30 minutes in that final game, with neither of the other Big Three members, this series would allow Miami to give some bench warmers good playoff minutes and allow them to acclimate to the tempo, while resting their best for tougher competition… if there is such a thing in the East.

Prediction: Heat win, 4-0

Spencer Lund: Jim Boylan’s squad doesn’t have much of a chance, as Aaron already alluded to, and even the most casual basketball fan knows the Bucks are doomed. Their backcourt pairing of low efficiency shooters, Brandon Jennings and Monta Ellis, could justifiably get lumped in with an older NBA where “shots o’clock” was a staple at the club and on the court, and they have a tendency to rely a bit too much on Larry Sanders down low, but I think they’ll catch the Heat by surprise in Milwaukee. Predicting this series isn’t so much about determining who will win, but what the final tally of games will be.

Jennings and Ellis—despite their tendency to shoot their team out of games—can also shoot them into games, and the Heat could get caught believing this is just a warmup before the Knicks/Celtics/Pacers they’ll have to face later in the playoffs. If that happens, an offensive explosion by either of their guards, or possibly Mike Dunleavy and J.J. Redick could mean a surprise Bucks victory. But predicting anything more than a single Bucks win in this series is about as foolish as believing hard-nosed Scott Skiles was gonna last the season in Milwaukee after management decided not to extend him last summer. The Bucks are a stretch to avoid a sweep, but I’d like to think Jennings—perhaps playing for a *cough* max *cough* contract—goes off in at least one game, and Ellis continues his relatively hot end to the season and the Bucks get one win. It’s a prediction that’s at least more exciting than another steamrolled Heat opponent, but probably less likely.

Prediction: Heat win, 4-1

Michael Pina: This is the series that my mother (who believes Danilo Gallinari, Andrea Bargnani, and Marco Bellineli are actually the three greatest players in history) looks at and confidently predicts a Miami sweep. She’s right. The Heat have LeBron James, a player with no on-court boundaries or off-court boxes to sit in. He’s of the super-duper famous with super-duper talent, and he’s mastering the game right now in a way that the sport has seen maybe three or four times since its invention.

So, just how overwhelming is this match-up? If for whatever reason James wasn’t able to participate in the series, Milwaukee would still lose in six.

Prediction: Heat win, 4-0

Metta World Peace made headlines last week when he injected himself with steroids made a miraculous recovery from knee surgery, not even missing two weeks’ worth of games after tearing his meniscus. Here, Jarrett Jack makes World Peace wish he stayed with his original timetable.

As the value of “superstars” in this league continues to rise, a separate stock has emerged as equally valuable: the Hercules. The players who are so good, they can win games on their own. Their will-to-win terminates any sort of advantage opponents had over them.

This isn’t referring to players who can have really, really good games on occasion, like Kobe Bryant when his shots actually go in, or Rudy Gay when the Raptors face the Bobcats. It refers to players who every night have the aura of greatness, as if angels should blow horns, heralding their arrival to decimate your pathetic team. LeBron James is the obvious prime example of this, effortlessly putting up 26 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists every night. While many choose to focus on Kevin Durant’s scoring, he has an exceptionally well-rounded game as well, notching 28 points a night, eight rebounds, and four-and-a-half assists.

Credit can be given to the maturity of these two guys, as well as their ability to lead their teams and command respect. Throw in their unique physical figures (LeBron’s super ripped, tight end body, Kevin’s bizarre lanky-yet-muscular stature) and they’re two unbeatable players. They are Gods amongst men.

After the week Carmelo Anthony has had, if he isn’t a God, he’s damn sure got a great-looking robe and a long white beard.

Most of the media and fans have pretty much accepted Carmelo Anthony as one of “those” players. Y’know, the ones who are great, all-star caliber, deserve a max contract, lead the team in scoring, blah blah blah. He’s a superstar, sure, but he’s a human one. He has flaws, so therefore he’s only really great until someone brings up LeBron or Durant, or better yet, Melo’s playoff record (one round and out in eight out of nine appearances). After a very, very hot start to the season, the Knickerbockers had quite the cold January, February, and first half of March. Not all Carmelo’s fault, mind you. In fact, it was barely his fault. It was hard to believe that if Carmelo was on the same level as Durant and James, that the collapse they had would have happened.

Yet, the Knicks have bounced back and are playing the best basketball of the season, and they’re doing it the same way they got those 6- and 5-game win streaks earlier in the season. They’re playing tough defense, and the threes are going down smooth. It doesn’t hurt to have JR Smith absolutely gunning for that Sixth Man of the Year award, either. It’s been agreed that this has been Smith’s best season anyways, but in during this win streak, he’s averaged 24 points, six rebounds, a couple of assists and a steal in about 35 minutes of play per night.

Throw in four games of over 30 points, while putting up 49% shooting and 35% from downtown over 12 games, and it seems Smith has secured his place as a key factor on this Knicks team. It’s been Carmelo’s play over the past four games that has got people noticing these Knicks, though, and may very well change the playoff picture.

There’s been no shortage of praise for Anthony’s scoring abilities, both in his jump-shooting and ability to get to the line. Prior to these four games, he already had 23 games in which he scored 30 or more points. That’s over a third of the games he’s played this season. It’s also not the first time he’s been able to string together multiple games of scoring 30+, having scored like that in back-to-back games nine times already. It’s the sheer amount of points, and more notably, the timing of his personal streak that has potential playoff opponents nervous, including those at the top

Over the past four games, Melo has averaged 42 points per game on, get ready, 61% shooting and 56% from downtown. Tack on eight rebounds, and the numbers are nearly gobsmacking. So who has he been demolishing? Well, it all started when he dropped 50 on a LeBron-and-Wade-less Heat while shooting 69% on the road. The next night (yes, the next night, not just the next game) he went into Atlanta and casually put up 40. 90 points in two nights is the stuff of legend. But he one-upped himself, putting in 41 points against the Bucks, and throwing in 14 rebounds for good measure, in just 37 minutes of play. Certainly plenty could scoff at a great player like Melo running down teams that are generously described as “playoff-caliber”, but there’s no ignoring what he did against the Thunder in the fourth game.

In what was hyped, rightfully or not, as a head-to-head battle for the scoring title, Carmelo easily beat out Kevin Durant on KD’s home turf. Scoring 36 points to Durant’s 27 put Anthony in the insanely slim lead for the PPG title, but going deeper than that, he outright played better on every level. He shot 51% to KD’s 41%. Twelve rebounds to three rebounds. Zero turnovers to four. True, KD got more assists, but considering how Anthony usually plays, nobody’s quick to point that out.

After the down season he had last year, it seems Carmelo Anthony is finally putting this team on his back, but he’s had a lot of help, too. For all the clamor and hype about “superstars” and contracts and markets, Carmelo has emerged as a leader above all else, and these Knicks are prepared to follow him. Currently sitting at the number two seed, the Knicks are projected to take on the Boston Celtics in the first round, a team they’ve been able to handle this season. The Pacers could provide a real challenge in the second round, but of course, everybody’s looking at the potential of LeBron vs. Carmelo in the conference finals. Can Anthony will this team, and himself, to a victory over a god? To quote Hercules himself, “Whatever Thor canst do, Hercules canst accomplish more mightily!”

Of course, that’s Marvel Comics’ Hercules saying that, but hey, anything is possible.

The best point guard’s in the game today played against one another this past weekend. Lost amid other games of note—particularly the Spurs-Heat matchup on Sunday night, which ceded most of its luster after the Bulls ended the Heat’s winning streak last week—the Los Angeles Clippers and San Antonio Spurs went at each other on Friday night at the AT&T Center, and it was everything you’d want in a late-season game between two of the best teams in the superior Western Conference.

The game itself lived up to its billing: it was tight throughout, and featured full rosters so you weren’t stuck imagining how much better or worse a squad would look in its playoff manifestation. The health of both rosters didn’t last though. Manu tweaked a right hamstring that’s been bothering him for a couple weeks and immediately headed to the locker room in only third minute of action. It didn’t matter in the end because Tim Duncan hit the game-winner, plus a foul, after putting up a stat line that looks more similar to his consecutive MVP seasons in 2002 & 2003 than this, his 16th year in the league.

The game started with offensive fireworks, and the team’s went into the half  with the Clippers slightly ahead 62-61. It also featured a dizzying array of point guard showmanship in the preceding minute before the halftime buzzer. That’s what we’re witnessing above. In the end, Parker won the game because of Timmy’s blast from the past, but both point guards show on this small sample of possessions why you’d be hard-pressed to find a floor general that’s their equal. Overall, they’re 1 & 2 in PER among the league’s point guards. Statistically speaking Paul shot worse than Tony on the night, but had a better overall game: Paul finished with 14 points (on 5-for-16 shooting), 12 dimes, 5 rebounds a block and a steal; Parker had 24 points (9-for-15), 8 dimes and 3 assists in just his fourth game back after a tough high ankle sprain knocked him out for most of March.

Regardless of their final numbers, with just a minute left in the first half, these two showed why they’re arguably the two best at the most important position in the contemporary game (even Russ, Kyrie, Stephen, Rajon etc take a back seat to these two right now). In the first sequence, despite less-than-stellar shooting on the night, Paul shows off his handle, forcing Tony further and further into the key before he rises up to shoot a high-arcing 20 footer that snaps the twine. Then it’s Tony’s turn. As Matt Bonner sprints out to set a high screen at the top of the arc, there’s miscommunication between Bonner’s defender, Blake Griffin, and Paul because Blake jumps out on the side it looks like Bonner’s setting the screen for, but instead Bonner goes behind Paul, and Parker crosses both Blake and Paul up before driving into the paint. Once past both defenders, Parkers lofts his unstoppable floater over a rotating Ryan Hollins. Nothing but twine.

Paul, understandably upset at the confusion on defense, gets even more annoyed at Tony’s pesky full-court defense after the inbounds, especially when Tony briefly taps the ball away. So Paul uses his big ol’ butt to knock Tony to the hardwood, and when Parker falls hard—mimicking a Paul staple by trying to sell a foul—CP3 takes off with Parker in his rearview and the Clippers now with a 5-on-4 advantage. Paul doesn’t waste any time and drives right into the teeth of the San Antonio defense drawing Danny Green from the wing to help, before whipping a perfect pass to Green’s man, Matt Barnes, in the corner for a short three.

Parker comes back, though. San Antonio again runs the high screen with Bonner, and Blake gets switched on to Parker, which is exactly what Popovich wants. After crossing Blake up, and hesitating a second at the elbow to get separation, Parker goes all the way in for a lefty lay-up in traffic with under 10 seconds left. Paul again grabs the ball and pushes it back up the court, but his attempt to get Barnes a second short-corner three bounces off a leg and falls out of bounds.

In just one minute of game action, we get to see what separates Chris Paul and Tony Parker from everyone else in the league at their position.

Who would you rather have handling the ball for your team: Chris Paul or Tony Parker? There are no wrong answers.

The Miami Heat’s 27 game–and counting–win streak is the talk of the NBA, as it should be. It’s one of the most difficult things to do in a team sport, and it should be cherished like it rightfully has been. They’re beating everyone, and even when it seems like they’ve let down their intensity–ahem, Cleveland–they still find a to right the ship and get the victory.

But they’re still six games away from tying the record held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers, who won 33-straight before falling to a Bucks team led by Lew Alcinder and Oscar Robertson (coincidentally, the Heat’s 34th game would also come against Milwaukee, but Larry Sanders is no Kareem and Brandon Jennings only wishes he was as good as late-career “Big O”).

The Heat are currently in the midst of a 4-game road swing that has them in Chicago Wednesday night, in New Orleans (a team, it should be noted, who ended Denver’s winning streak last night) on Friday and in San Antonio Sunday night. That tough road stretch could spell the end of their historical run.

A lot of people are talking about how this Heat squad is too focused to falter this late in the winning streak, but Chicago is a playoff team, and San Antonio is still the top team in the West, plus now they have Tony Parker back from his high ankle sprain. The Spurs are also 30-4 at home this year, which is just slightly worse than the Heat’s own 32-3 mark in a season of this epic run. Even if the Heat do manage to reach the 30-straight win plateau, the level of difficulty in maintaining their edge cannot be overlooked. And while it might look like the Heat’s final three games to equal the Lakers’ record aren’t imposing: New York at home, Charlotte on the road and Philadelphia at home, it doesn’t matter because even the laughable Bobcats are an NBA team, capable of putting a group on the floor that could end the Heat’s run at any time.

If you were a betting reader, I’d still tell you to take the house; it’s just too hard to bring it for every game, with the travel, the media distractions and that every team you face will be revved up for your visit. The Heat have managed to do it so far, with more than a couple close calls along the way, due to their own streaking commitment to the game at hand. Whether the Heat can keep it up is no foregone conclusion like a lot of observers are writing. It’s just really hard to do this, which is why the Lakers’ consecutive wins streak has withstood Larry’s Celtics, Magic and Kareem’s Lakers, Michael’s Bulls and Kobe and Shaq’s Lakers, all of whom have won three or more titles over the last forty years since Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Gail Goodrich and Co. went on their run, but none of whom even approached what the Heat are doing right now.

If we look at the way the Heat have won during The Streak, you’ll see that it hasn’t been as easy as it’s appeared over the last week, when they haven’t been significantly challenged since the scare in Quicken Loans Arena.

In just their second victory of the streak, the lowly Bobcats were only trailing by 2 points with 1:38 left in the game after a pair of Ramon Sessions free throws. The Heat went on to score the next three baskets, but they were still challenged, and this is the Bobcats after all, a team they’ll have to beat again in Charlotte if they’re going to match the Lakers’ mark. Also a team that is pretty awful again this season. Even the bad NBA teams can beat the Heat.

After that minor scare, the Heat rattled off four games at home against a few Western Conference playoff teams including Houston, both LA squads and Portland. Houston had the Heat lead cut to 3 with 2:24 left in the fourth after James Harden drew a foul on “Rio” when he pump-faked a 3-pointer and got Chalmers to bite. This cut the Heat lead to 104-101 with a little over 2 minutes to play. The Heat responded with a Battier three, but Harden wasn’t done. He hit another jumper, and then hit a step-back three-pointer with 1:11 remaining to again cut the Heat lead to 109-106.

Over the next minute, LeBron would travel, Harden would get whistled for an offensive foul on Chalmers, James Anderson would forget Udonis Haslem gets his paycheck largely off drawing offensive fouls, and then there was just 18 seconds left and the Rockets had to foul. James and Wade both made a pair and that was it. There are so many what if’s in this game it’s useless to even go through them all, but the Rockets had a chance to win or go to OT and failed to convert. As you’ll see this is a theme running through most of the Heat’s close calls during the streak.

In the last two games of February, a month where they went 12-1, they had back-to-back scares and the first was with LeBron’s old team Cleveland. After getting out to an 18-point halftime lead, the Heat stumbled after the break. They were outscored by the Cavs, 36-17 in the third quarter as Cleveland took a 1-point lead into the fourth. The Cavaliers continued to gain momentum and even led by as much as 8 with under 6 minutes to play before Wade led the Heat back. But the Cavaliers didn’t fold, either. A long Dion Waiters 2-point jumper put the Cavaliers back up by a point with only 1:17 remaining, 101-100.

A Battier three put the Heat back up, but the Cavaliers missed some shots in that last minute (including three of them by a cold Kyrie who was only 6-for-16 on the night) and the Heat made their free throws again to get the win. If Kyrie had been on with his jumper, that could have ended the streak right there, just like if the Rockets hadn’t picked up those offensive fouls in the final minutes, they would have at least stretched that game to overtime.

Just two nights after the first Cleveland scare is when they had their 2 OT thriller against Sacramento. I repeat, Sacramento, a team in about as much disarray as you can be without actually folding as a franchise (rooting for you KJ!). But a hot Marcus Thornton (8-for-12 from deep and 36 points), an engaged Cousins (24 points, 15 boards), and a slashing Tyreke Evans (24 points, 5 steals) forced the first OT after the Kings stormed back from an eight point deficit with 1:39 left in regulation.

In the first overtime, an Isaiah Thomas three-pointer with 1:07 left gave the Kings a 124-123 lead. Thomas missed a potential game-winner in the lane after Bosh blocked it. A blocked James shot and a miss from Bosh meant the second overtime where the Heat blew the Kings out, but Thomas had a good chance at it in the first overtime. This is the only overtime game during The Streak, but the Heat handled it well against an inferior team.

The Heat’s next brush with mortality was at Madison Square Garden in early March. J.R. Smith shot 5-for-18 on the game and yet the Knicks were within range after a driving Raymond Felton lay-up cut the Heat’s lead to 93-91 with 2:27 left in the game. From there, Smith missed a three to take the lead, Felton turned the ball over then hit a couple free throws, Smith turned the ball over and missed a late three-pointer that wouldn’t have even tied it.

You’ll notice Carmelo Anthony, who scored 32 points on this day (on a respectable 9-for-19 shooting), didn’t shoot the ball once in those final two minutes, but Felton and Smith sure did. If the Knicks had found a way to get their star the ball, this might have been the end of the Heat streak before we even got into the second week of March.

The next scare was just 3 days later when the lowly Magic came to American Airlines Arena. It was a common pattern, similar to their first scare against Cleveland: The Heat got out to a 15-point lead in the first half, but Nikola Vucevic’s domination of the glass (21 boards to go with 25 points) led the Magic back as they outscored the Heat 34-22 in the third quarter to get the momentum in their favor heading into the fourth quarter only tailing by 3. The Magic even extended a brief lead late after a Jameer Nelson fadeaway with 1:16 left put the Magic ahead 96-93.

After James missed a 3-pointer and Battier got his only offensive rebound of the game, James again missed a tying 3, and the Magic had a 3-point cushion inside of a minute to play. A pair of Bosh free throws after both Wade and Allen missed game-tying three’s cut the Magic lead to one with just 38 seconds remaining and the Heat’s streak in major jeopardy. A DaQuan Jones shot in the lane was blocked (or maybe fouled) by Wade, saving the Heat the improbability of coming back from a three-point deficit with 20 seconds remaining. Here’s the play in question:

Personally, I think Wade got enough of Jones’ right hand to necessitate a foul, but I’m not an NBA referee. Regardless, the Heat were down by one with the Magic in possession and only 20 seconds remaining. After the in-bounds, Bosh got dragged down low on Vucevic, and that left Al Harrington open. Bosh just recovered in time to contest Harrington’s 3-point attempt that would have all but ended the game, and the streak, if it had fallen, but the shot drew too much iron and the Heat had the ball down 1 with 12 seconds remaining. That’s when LeBron did his LeBron thing, driving for the game-winning lay-up with just 3 seconds remaining.

An Aaron Afflalo prayer from half-court bounced impotently off the backboard and the Heat had their 16th consecutive win.

After three more wins at home against the middling mediocre class of the Eastern Conference, the Heat went on the road again in Philadelphia and experienced their next scare as they sought to get their 20th consecutive win.

In a lot of ways it was the same old story with another opponent. The Heat built a 12-point lead going into the half after blowing the Sixers off the court in the second quarter. Then, like against Cleveland and Orlando, the Heat relaxed in the third, and the Sixers got 7 of those points back to go into the fourth down just 5. The Sixers continued to play Miami tough, and with just 1:20 left in the game, an athletic dunk by first time all-star Jrue Holiday tied the score at 91-all. After Nick Young fouled LeBron, he hit just 1-of-2 free throws and the Sixers had the ball down 1, with just 1:12 remaining. That’s when Jrue Holiday dribbled the ball off his leg and out-of-bounds.

After a series of misses at the rim for LeBron, Wade finally grabbed a rebound and laid the ball up for a 94-91 lead with just 29 seconds remaining. A pair of Dwyane Wade free throws extended that lead to 96-91 before a Dorrell Wright 3-pointer with 18 seconds remaining cut the lead back to 2 with 18 seconds remaining. But LeBron hit both of his free throws after the Sixers were forced to foul, and they weren’t able to score again. But if Jrue Holiday hadn’t turned the ball over with the score tied and just outside of a minute remaining, that could have been it for the Heat streak. Holiday turned it over though, and the Heat got their 20th victory as they were looking ahead towards equaling the Rockets’ second best mark of 22-straight from the 2007-08 season (of which, Battier was also a member).

It would not come easy, either. It’s not long enough ago that many will have already forgotten, but Boston had Miami on the ropes in the Boston Garden TD Bank North Garden  while Miami sought to best the Rockets mark and win their 23rd consecutive game. Unlike in scares past, the Heat came out sluggish. They were outscored 31-19 in the first period, as Jeff Green was on his way to a career night 43 points on 14-for-21 shooting. After their slow start, the Heat cut the Celtics lead to 6 by the break, and cut the lead even more–to 4–by the time the fourth period rolled around. But after a pair of free throws by Pierce, the Celtics had kept their 4-point lead, 100-96, and there was only 3:25 left in the game. A rare Avery Bradley 3-pointer put the Celtics up again 103-101 with 1:49 remaining.

On the ensuing possession, a LeBron drive resulted in two missed lay-ups, partially blocked by Jeff Green (whose defense on James shouldn’t be overlooked despite James’ big game) before LeBron finally converted after grabbing all those offensive rebounds. It was now tied 103-103 with 1:21 remaining. After both team’s failed to score, it was still 103-103 with under a minute to play. Brandon Bass missed a driving shot before James connected on that cold-blooded 21-foot jumper in Green’s mug to give Miami the lead 105-103 with just 10 seconds remaining; still plenty of time for Boston to answer. That’s when Shane Battier blocked Jeff Green, we all spent 20 minutes making jokes on Twitter as they reviewed whose ball it was, and Pierce missed a fadeaway off the in-bounds after they gave the ball back to the Celtics. The Heat collected the rebound and that was it. The Heat had won their 23rd straight game and now owned the second longest winning streak in NBA history.

Then came the Cleveland comeback in the very next game where, down 27 points mid-way through the third quarter, a couple Shane Battier three’s and some cold Cleveland shooting allowed them to get the deficit under 20 before Bosh, ‘Bron and Wade throttled the Cavaliers through the rest of the third and fourth quarters. They had gotten their 24th victory in as dramatic a fashion as you’ll find. During Cleveland’s incredible first two and a half quarters, Twitter was lit up with prognostications that this was it: the end of The Streak. Sure, the Cavaliers got cold at the right time, but the ability of Miami to switch it on and amp up the defense while finally starting to connect on their outside shots (LeBron had three-straight 3′s in the fourth to tie the score) was impressive, to say the least.

But as we’ve just shown you, the Heat are human. They’re not infallible even if they’re playing without the dint of a loss over the last two months. Something to keep in mind: the 1995-96 Bulls team that won 72 games, never had more than an 18-game winning-streak that season. They also had a streak of 13-straight earlier in the year, but nothing approaching what the Heat have done so far during the last couple months. Last year, the San Antonio Spurs ended the regular season on a 10-game winning streak (even as Popovich was resting his starters in the final couple games) and won their first 10 playoff games before losing in four straight to Oklahoma City in the Western Conference Finals.

Good, even great teams like MJ’s first full post-retirement season for Chicago, and last year’s offensively dominant Spurs team, lose sometimes. It’s the nature of the NBA, the highest level of basketball in the world. This is also important when the LeBron vs. MJ discussion starts to get written about in light of what we’re watching.

Comparing LeBron to Jordan isn’t as ridiculous at it once was. LeBron’s 55 plus percent shooting percentage this season, a PER over 30—plus his MVP, Finals MVP and Gold Medal all in 2012—at least puts him in that discussion now; I write that as someone who is old enough to have remembered all of Jordan’s titles vividly (unlike the slightly younger, Mr. Sharp). But while individual comparisons are fun for bloggers and analysts, what’s truly remarkable about this streak is that it’a team record, which we don’t get to enjoy as often. Comparing LeBron and MJ or LeBron and Kobe or LeBron and Durant isn’t as much fun as talking about what the Miami Heat team has done.

Still, there’s a long way to go before the Heat win 33-straight to tie the Lakers’ record, and it’s even longer before they reach their ultimate goal: a championship, because they don’t want to be stuck with an asterisk next to this incredible regular season run.  On any given night, against any given opponent, the Heat can be defeated, just like Jordan’s post-first-retirement Bulls teams.

That’s why you shouldn’t miss any of the Heat’s remaining six games to tie the record because they could falter at any moment, despite the win-loss record of their opponents. But it’s that same any given night dice throw, which is also why we should revel in what we’re witnessing™ (sorry). The Heat are doing something most of us weren’t even alive to remember watching in the early 1970′s (although Jerry West was and so was former Boston Globe reporter, Bob Ryan).

The Heat are winning every game, sometimes in dramatic fashion, and until they lose it’s unlikely we’ll come up with any qualitative reason for why it will end; the streak itself is without much precedent despite how a few of those earlier games mentioned should—and could—have been lost. I want to see the Heat eclipse the Lakers’ record because who doesn’t like to experience something that—even as we’re watching—we’re also aware that we’ll be talking about it for the rest of our lives? I know I do, even as I know they’re still a long way (maybe not in terms of games, but in terms of hype and pressure) from reaching the record.

Like DiMaggio’s 56-game hitting streak, Ripken’s 2,632 consecutive games streak, Roger Maris’ 61 home runs in a single season, the Chicago Bulls’ 72-win season, Bob Beamon’s old long jump record, and all the other records that appear unbreakable, . That’s the same for the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers 33-game winning streak. But—knowing that, and even believing that—doesn’t make it any easier to actually do so when so many years have passed without no one able to pull it off. We’ve finally got the team and the player who could break this particular unbreakable record.

We’re not likely to see another run by an NBA team like this in a long time, so savor it even while knowing it all might end tomorrow.

Steph Curry is basically the “next” Steve Nash, and here’s the official passing of the torch moment.