Taking Measure of James and Heat For most teams, a trip to the N.B.A. finals would be considered a success, win or lose. But after landing LeBron James and Chris Bosh in the 2010 free-agent frenzy, expectations were sky high for the 2010-11 Miami Heat, and a stunning loss to the Dallas Mavericks triggered an off-season of hand wringing and amateur psychoanalysis. The Heat have managed to put the disappointment of last June behind them, though, and have emerged as the clear favorite heading into the second half of the abbreviated 2011-12 season. Given the lofty expectations, Miami's season got off to a rather inauspicious start. A loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Jan. 22 left the Heat at 11-5, tied for fifth in the Eastern Conference. Since then, though, the Heat have been on a tear, winning 16 of their last 18 games. In that stretch, Miami's average point differential is 10.6 points per game, with 12 wins by 10 or more points. Heading into Thursday night, the Heat had also won eight straight games by 12 or more points, the second-longest streak in N.B.A. history. With one more 12-point win, Miami will match the streak of the 2008-09 Cleveland Cavaliers, a team that finished with a record of 66-16 and was led by none other than James. Ever since his decision to leave Cleveland for Miami, James has been the target of a seemingly endless barrage of criticism. Through it all, James has continued to prove that he is one of the finest players in N.B.A. history. Win Shares is an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player through his offense and his defense. James has 8.4 Win Shares, 1.6 more than any other player in the league. Kevin Durant is second with 6.8 Win Shares. James also leads the N.B.A. with .331 Win Shares per 48 minutes, a rate that is almost 26 percent higher than that of Chris Paul, in second place. In fact, only one player in league history, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1971-72, has averaged more Win Shares per 48 minutes. But the statistic that might best demonstrate James's level of play is this: playing without the All-Star Dwyane Wade, who has missed nine games because of injury, the Heat are 8-1 with an average point differential of 12 points a game. That is not simply an artifact of the Heat's having played an easier schedule without Wade; Miami's strength of schedule is higher for the games that they played without Wade than the games that they played with him. The Heat are on a roll right now, but Miami and James will not forget the sting of last season until they win an N.B.A. championship. With the way the Miami is playing, that salve appears to be coming sooner rather than later. Justin Kubatko is the creator of Basketball-Reference.com, an online basketball encyclopedia.