Miami Heat: Why LeBron and Company Will End Their 3-Game Skid Against the Spurs

The Miami Heat are on a three-game losing skid that includes losses to notable Western Conference playoff contenders like the Los Angeles Clippers and the Denver Nuggets.

In those two losses, the Heat have given up an average of 106 points per game, a point average that is only six points away from the 100.8 ppg season average of their next opponent, the always dangerous San Antonio Spurs.

The Spurs sure fit the built of the kind of team that has been giving the Heat trouble all season long. They average 100-plus points per game, they are a legitimate playoff contender from the Western Conference and they are a team that is strong in the front court with PF Tim Duncan an C DeJuan Blaire leading the way.

I know it's hard to believe, especially without Dwyane Wade in the starting lineup, but the Heat are going to do two impressive things regarding three-game streaks on Tuesday night against the Spurs. They are going to put an end to their own three-game skid, and in doing so, they will end the Spurs' three-game winning streak. Pretty amazing how that works out, isn't it?

How are the Heat going to top the 9-4 Spurs without Dwyane Wade and coming off of an arduous road trip out west?

Well, the first thing in the Heat's favor is that the game isn't being played in San Antonio; it's being played in South Beach, and that all but guarantees a Heat victory because the Spurs have yet to win a road game all season.

It's interesting that the Spurs are 8-0 at home and they are 0-4 on the road, and if the past tells us anything about the future, it is that the Spurs will have trouble getting their first road win of the season against the Heat. Last season, the Spurs throttled the Heat in San Antonio to the tune of a 125-95, 30 point blowout.

When the Spurs traveled to South Beach, the Heat returned the favor by crushing the Spurs 110-80, for a 30-point victory that evened the regular season series at 1-1.

Sure, history doesn't always predict the future, but when you combine last season's performances against the Spurs and the fact that the Spurs have yet to win a road game all year, the possibility of the Heat's losing streak reaching four games appears to be slim to none.    

Secondly, the Heat are going to beat the Spurs by doing something that the Spurs have had trouble with all season, and that is transition offense. Three out of four of the Spurs losses have come against teams that thrive off of running a fast-break transition offense whenever they get the chance, the Oklahoma City Thunder, the Milwaukee Bucks and the Houston Rockets.

Without Dwyane Wade's nagging injuries holding the Heat back in the transition, Miami will be able to control the pace of the game by running their incredibly successful transition/fast break offense off turnovers and opportunistic rebounding opportunities.

If the Heat want to beat the the Spurs, they have to help LeBron James get into the paint, where he averages a league best 14.6 points per game, and the best way for the Heat to do that is to push the pace of the game with their transition offense.

The final reason why the Heat will end their three-game losing streak against the Spurs on Tuesday night is because it's time for James to prove to the basketball world that the Heat are his team and they are at their best with him running the show.

In two games without Wade, James averaged 32.5 points and 11.0 assists on 60.9 percent shooting, which are all improvements from his season averages of 29.5 points and 7.4 assists per game with a shooting percentage of 57.8 percent.

Sure, those two games were against the Indiana Pacers and the New Jersey Nets, but it goes without saying that LeBron has proven this year more than last that he is capable of carrying the Heat without Wade in the lineup, and he will continue to prove that against the Spurs, who struggle mightily on the road.

Spurs small forwards Richard Jefferson and Kawhi Leonard will provide an interesting defensive challenge for LeBron with their adequate size and athletic ability, but ultimately, they won't be able to hold him under 30 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

That kind of production out of LeBron will be enough to get the Heat a much-needed win against a Western Conference playoff contender, subsequently putting an end to their three-game losing streak.

With a much-needed win against the Spurs, the Heat will get their young season back on track, as they head into an important two-game stretch against Kobe and the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night, followed by an Eastern Conference matchup with the surging Philadelphia 76ers.

The Miami Heat still have a lot left to prove in the 2011-12 NBA season, and it starts with ending their losing streak on Tuesday night against the San Antonio Spurs.