[DaKCMan AP]

Beat the Heat Four Times? Good Luck With That... .

The Miami Heat are eight wins away from repeating as NBA champions, so there's plenty of time to debate whether LeBron James could beat the "Space Jam" Monstars by himself. In the meantime, here's a simple reason why it's ridiculous to expect anything other than a Heat romp: Miami would have to lose four times in seven games. This is a problem for the rest of the NBA because the Heat have just three losses in their last 48 games—the longest run without four losses in league history, according to Stats LLC.

Miami entered the playoffs having won 37 of 39, including 27 straight at one point, and is 8-1 so far in the postseason. Chicago beat the Heat twice in that span, once in the playoffs, but Miami rolled off four straight to eliminate the Bulls last week. The Knicks also beat the Heat on April 2—except James and Wade didn't play.

The Heat's streak is just as outrageous in the context of other sports. Hockey is most comparable to basketball in terms of playoff structure, and Miami's run is longer than any NHL team's in more than 30 years. The 1906 Chicago Cubs' stretch of 42 games without four losses is MLB's best since 1900.

This Heat wave has even topped Michael Jordan's run with the Bulls in 1996, when Chicago finished with a 72-10 record. That team went only 44 games without losing four times.

—Ben Cohen

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...?mod=djemITP_h