NBA Playoffs: Miami Heat's Dynasty Beginning to Make Its Way to the Summit

Amazingly, people began to write them off after the first game of the season. How will they learn to share that orange ball? Will their egos adjust?

The Miami Heat stumbled out of the gates with an unimpressive 8-7 record in their first 15 games of the season, but that was only the beginning of a long trek up the treacherous mountain that is an NBA season. In sports today there is an uncanny tendency to react without any sort of objectivity towards the overall big picture.

The Miami Heat are going to be good: the unfair kind of good. It was never a question of if, but when. There was never a question of will they reach the summit, but how many times?

Before the season began, I remember telling my dad that if the Heat win the title their first year, they are going to be scary, unfathomably good. The ceiling for this team is remarkably high. Teams around the league know it, players and general managers know it, and the Heat know it.

On the cusp of a "golden era," the NBA has their new standard of excellence transforming into the new era's next dynasty: out with the champion Spurs and Lakers of the 2000s and in with the Miami Heat of the 2010s.

No, they have not won anything yet, but the trail to the mountain top has been cleared for the remainder of these playoffs. Miami has an irreplaceable advantage over most teams in the NBA outside of a handful. They have continuity coupled with experience in their organization.

The owner, GM, head coach, assistant coaches, players, and training staff have been there for the past 16 years. Some have been around longer than others, but have nonetheless been groomed in the same environment. Coach Eric Spoelstra commented on how their team’s core has “been through a lot together as a staff.”

This organization built from the ground up has "been to the mountain top" before and they know what it takes to get back. They have experienced the highs of winning a championship in 2006, and the lows winning only 15 games two years later.

Last night’s game spoke volumes about the way the Heat methodically carried themselves throughout the game. It seemed very evident that the Heat were simply going through the motions. LeBron and Wade coasted while their often criticized third wheel, Chris Bosh, earned his paycheck.

The Heat have hit their stride and created a culture of a team of us versus the world. Cliché, I know, yet true.

Miami has exorcised their demons from the regular season during these playoffs. The Chicago Bulls better start praying. That's their only chance.

The Heat figured out how to close out games down the stretch, as a team. They have adjusted their learning curve as a unit and with 718 collective playoff games under their belt, are refusing to exhaust any unnecessary energy.

Right now, the Heat are doing the minimum they need to do to advance to the Finals. Yes, they are playing 100 percent, but they are masterfully starting to assert themselves at will. The ability to strategically choose when to go full-throttle and when to save your gas for the home stretch is what separates champions from contenders.

This series has been a match-up of two outstanding defensive teams with all-star scorers forced to dig deep into their repertoire. There’s no hiding that points come at a premium in this series.

The savvy veterans that fill the Heat locker room know two things about the Bulls: their youth is exploitable and as Derrick Rose goes, Chicago goes.

The latter they adjusted after game one. Just like the previous two series, Miami has made subtle, yet crucial adjustments after Game 1.

That does not mean the league’s MVP can’t have another breakout game, but Rose cannot carry his team past a two-time regular season MVP and an NBA Finals MVP by himself. He will get his robin to his batman this summer.

The former has reared its ugly head to the trained basketball eye or to every bratwurst stuffing fan in Chicago coping with that unwelcomed voice in the back of their head telling them their team is in trouble. The astute playoff veterans that are littered throughout that organization down in the sunshine state have seen the light. Last night, Miami orchestrated a calculated game plan beautifully.

Before the game, I wrote down some keys to winning for both teams. For Miami, they were getting Boozer and Noah into foul trouble and taking advantage of the the fortress built by Chicago around the paint, which will open things up for the Heat's All-Stars. In particular, Bosh would become the greatest beneficiary. Check.

For Chicago, they needed to stay even keeled and not let their emotions dictate their play away from home. That one slipped away as the game went on.

Noah teetered on the edge of a technical all night and quickly learned his lesson after naively shouting a gay slur towards a fan. Call Kobe to confide after you receive your hefty fine from David Stern's office this week big guy.

Provoked by Wade, Bosh continued to reap the benefits of drinking some pregame hot sauce and stirred up some temper stew with Taj Gibson. Maybe Wade's kids are still poking fun of their dad after getting the bad end of a disgusting dunk by Gibson in the first game. Or Wade has recognized that he can stroke the ego of the Chicago Bulls' youthful emotion

Everything in the playoffs tends to be under a microscope. Players, coaches, and referees all get scrutinized after each possession. Veteran players know you get certain calls in the playoffs and Miami has begun to exploit their undeniable advantage over the Bulls.

Noah's outburst tipped off Chicago’s glaring weakness. They don’t know how playoff basketball works. Gibson's need to be restrained after Wade walked past him after a hard foul with a glaring face-to-face stare that seemed to say "boy, don't make me angry” as he walked to the foul line. The Bulls frustration with handling playoff calls and the mounting pressure surfaced last night.

        During Chicago’s last series versus the athletic Atlanta Hawks, Rose, a man amongst boys, made an interesting statement going into game six of that series. Paraphrasing Rose’s comments he said “this is the biggest game of our lives.”

Really, the second round game six against the Atlanta Hawks was the biggest game of your life? Yes, it is the biggest game of most of their lives up until that point, but you don’t concede that to the media. Has every game since then been the biggest game of your life? You sure are not playing that way Mr. Rose.

The Bulls are still learning to navigate their way through the playoffs as a team and as individual players, but have reached an impasse. The Miami Heat have climbed this mountain before. Certain individuals have seen the view from the top; others have not, but as a team they have figured out which paths to take and have learned to do so as a cohesive unit.

This series will be over in five games like the previous two series for the Heat. This time around, the Miami Heat have learned how to get back to the top. Let’s see if having "The King" on their side this go-around allows them to rule the summit for years to come.