Miami Heat Winning Streak; Does The Streak Guarantee LeBron James Will Win A Second NBA Title?

Does size matter...when it comes to streaks?

Prior to Sunday's loss, not many teams this season could say they had a handle on the Miami Heat. However, the Indiana Pacers were one of those teams. Despite not having star small forward Danny Granger, the Pacers had managed to beat the Heat in Indiana on Jan. 8 and Feb. 1. 

That was the last time the Heat lost a game. 

Miami has been on an 18-game win streak since then, but despite being world champions and having arguably the best player in the game in LeBron James, how much does a streak like this even matter? 

Their current streak is admirable, but far from unheard of. It currently is a tie with the Chicago Bulls (1995-96), Boston Celtics (1981-82), New York Knicks (1969-70), Philadelphia 76ers (1965-66,66-67), and the Rochester Royals (1949-50, 50-51). 19 game win streaks were both achieved by the Los Angeles Lakers (1999-00) and heated rival Boston Celtics (2008-2009). Besides the Celtics, the longest regular season win streak in modern times is the Houston Rockets' 22 game win streak during the 2007-08 season. 

Despite the Rockets going on a tear that year and doing it without their injured center Yao Ming, it was for naught. The Rockets finished the season 55-27 reaching the 5th seed in the playoffs. That season, they were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs for the second straight year by the Utah Jazz. 

The longest NBA win streak has held firm for over 40 years, and despite Miami's formidable squad, they've seen challengers to the record come and go. The Los Angeles Lakers won 33 games in a row for the 1971-72 season. Nine games into the season, Lakers' star Elgin Baylor announced his retirement after 13 years in the game. The Lakers would go on to win the next 33 games, the longest win streak in NBA history.

The Lakers would go on to win the NBA championship that year over the New York Knicks, thanks to the play of Hall of Famers Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain and Gail Goodrich. 

So win streaks equal championships, right? Not necessarily. 

The Rochester Royals were winners for the 1951 season. The Boston Celtics won nearly all the championships of the 1960s, save for the 1967 season win by the Philadelphia 76ers, when they posted their Miami Heat-esque win streak of 18 games. The Knicks would grab the crown in 1970. The Lakers would would start their legendary three-peat with their win in 2000. The 2008 championship went to the Boston Celtics with the next two going to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Win streaks don't guarantee championships, but they can be an indication of the health of a franchise. The long-suffering Los Angeles Clippers were a joke for years in the league, but in November 2012, they went on a 17-game win streak further solidifying their rise towards respectability.

Whether it's a superior players, guys buying into a coach's game plan, a favorable schedule, or all of the above, win streaks keep fans cheering and Vegas casinos humming. Streaks can be exhausting, especially for players who are tired of hearing questions like "How long do you think it will last?" or "Are you peaking too soon?"

Right now, the Miami Heat are being asked those questions. Not only are they defending a streak, but also a world championship, which has its own set of pressures. It remains to be seen how long this streak will last, but until then, the Heat will ask "Who's next?"