Seasoned and Strengthened, Heat Hit Their Stride MIAMI - The Miami Heat, who were doubted and dissected after a disappointing finish in 2011, finally look to be the team everyone expected when they put together their Big Three before last season. "This is the team we really more anticipated," Coach Erik Spoelstra said Thursday before the Heat faced Jeremy Lin and the Knicks. Led by LeBron James, the most valuable player front-runner, and his fellow All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, the Heat were on track to head into the All-Star break with the best record in the Eastern Conference and without the uncertainty they faced last season. The only question these days has been their margin of victory. Miami has reeled off seven straight wins by an average of 17 points. "This is the best we've played as a team since I got here," James said. The Heat have the depth off the bench to lighten the load of the Big Three, an asset they didn't have last February. Power forward Udonis Haslem and the 3-point threat Mike Miller are back after missing a combined 110 regular-season games last season. Shane Battier, signed as a free agent, has added size (6 feet 8 inches, 225 pounds) on the perimeter and a defensive mind-set. That has allowed the Heat to avoid relying solely on their stockpile of offensive weapons. During its winning streak, Miami has held opponents to 90.7 points on 40 percent shooting. "We understand our recipe for success is to start with our defense, no matter how many offensive tools we have," Haslem said. Offense isn't going to be an issue. We have some of the greatest offensive players in the game on our side. James, who averages 27.6 points, led the league in scoring at one point but has lost ground to Kobe Bryant (28.5) and Kevin Durant (27.7) during the Heat's hot stretch. "I'm getting tired of sitting down in the fourth quarter, personally," joked James, whose 36.7 minutes a game are more than two minutes fewer than he averaged last season. It's messing up my averages. James, who on Monday was named the East's player of the week for the fourth time this season, has made the most of his time on the court. A career 48 percent shooter, he is making 55 percent of his shots and averaging 8.1 rebounds - one above his career mark. "He's playing the best basketball I've ever seen him play," Haslem said, adding, "He's the M.V.P." Fewer minutes could pay off for all the Heat players in the spring. Wade's attacking style always exacts a physical toll; it led to knee and shoulder surgery in 2008. This month, though, the 30-year-old Wade has been asked to play an average of only 30 minutes. He has responded with 25 points a game on 58 percent shooting. But one of the best months of Wade's career and one of the most dominant streaks in franchise history will be small consolation if the Heat don't win a championship. The Heat players want to avoid another long off-season of criticism and soul searching. Miami's loss to Dallas in six games in last season's N.B.A. finals raised questions about James's ability to close games, Spoelstra's ability to make adjustments and the Heat's lack of a supporting cast. "It left a bad taste in our mouth," Haslem said. This year is our chance to get it done. Miami's resolve seemed to be lacking in early January, when the Heat lost three games in a row to drop to 8-4. In two losses in 10 days to Milwaukee (13-20) in the last month, the Heat looked nothing like the team to beat. Unlike their problems last season, Miami's stumbles didn't involve controversy - like James's bump of Spoelstra near the Heat bench - or tears, as was reported after a narrow loss to the Chicago Bulls last March. The Heat have responded with their best basketball since Bosh, Wade and James joined forces and hinted the team would win seven titles - one more than Michael Jordan's Bulls in the 1990s. Spoelstra and the players say the strike-shortened, 66-game season has helped keep the Heat on track. "It's given us an absolute sense of urgency; every practice, every shootaround, every game we're trying to reach another level," Spoelstra said. With the six-day All-Star break ahead, he says he hopes this is just a beginning. "We don't necessarily want to put a ceiling on what's happening right now," Spoelstra said. "All the great teams have had multiple runs during a season, where now people say: "Are you peaking? Is it too early to peak? That's garbage.