Heat edge Bulls in East finals rematch

If you think anything can be proven in the 22nd game of an NBA regular season, then perhaps Sunday proved that nothing has changed since June.

The Heat were a little bit better than the Bulls in the 2011 Eastern Conference Finals, and they were a little bit better in Sunday's nationally-televised rematch, winning 97-93. Of course, the result may have been different had the Bulls not been without the injured Luol Deng. The result may have been different had Derrick Rose not uncharacteristically missed free throws when they mattered most. The result may have been different had the officiating in the final few minutes not been absolutely putrid.

Let's be real. Sunday meant nothing. I got much more into the game than I have any Bulls or NBA game this season, but even in the moment I knew the consequences weren't very big. The result doesn't even mean the Heat are, today, the best team in the East — the Bulls, at 17-5, are still a full game better than Miami in the standings. It certainly doesn't mean that the Bulls are doomed to fall short in the very likely event that the teams meet again the playoffs.

The only consequence that could, or should, possibly concern Bulls fans from Sunday is that the Heat retain bragging rights — at least until the teams meet again on March 14. That means we'll have to hear it from the eight real Heat fans in the world, and from the 6 million that jumped on their bandwagon in the wake of this. Come to think of it, I don't know a single admitted Heat fan, or if I do, I don't know of their allegiance. I'm not too worried about facing a barrage of smack talk in the near future.

If you want to be concerned that no other Bulls other than Rose scored more than 11 points Sunday, OK, I can see that. If you're worried that the Bulls had no answer for LeBron James (other than in the final minute, but everyone seems to have an answer for James then), don't — things would likely have been different had Deng been out there. And if you're worried that two missed free throws and a missed 12-footer in the final seconds are indicative of Rose not being clutch enough to lead the Bulls, I don't know what to tell you.