If you go back through my archives, you know that no one was harder on this Miami Heat team last summer than I was. I wrote not one but two articles on “The Decision.”

A few of my direct quotes on LeBron were that he’d “always be a loser in the court of public opinion,” and I followed that up a few days later by calling him “A-Rod to Wade’s Jeter.” Simply put, I wasn’t very nice. If this were a second-grade classroom, I’d have been put in timeout and had my parents called in for a conference.

So with that as a pretext, it pains me to say this, but: I’m kind of enjoying this run by Miami.

Now understand, that doesn’t mean that I want the Heat to win the title. I was rooting for Boston last round, am rooting for Chicago now (even as the vultures circle overhead) and am still holding out hope that Dallas will be able to take them down in the Finals. To put it bluntly, I don’t want Miami to win the title. Not this year anyway.

Still, one of my favorite things about following a team in any sport is watching them grow over the course of a season, and take on a “personality.” I’ve mentioned this theory before, most notably in my college football writing.

For example, it happened this year at Auburn. Cam Newton knew he was the best player on the field, knew he would make the big play and knew that no matter what, his team was going to find a way to win. Eventually everyone on Auburn started playing that way, and that became their identity. It didn't matter who they played, where they played, or how they played for three quarters, they'd make the plays needed to win the game.

The year before, it was Alabama buying into Nick Saban’s “Process.” No player was more important than any other. Trust your teammates. Believe in “The Process.” It led Alabama to a title. And it’s happened countless times, in countless other sports.

As for this Miami Heat team, it’s been interesting watching them evolve and take on a personality too.

Amazingly, for a team that reportedly cried in the locker room after a regular season loss in March, that personality has become “The mentally toughest team left in these playoffs.” All those boos early on, all those losses that were dissected like a frog in an eighth grade science class, everything that happened those first few months, it all hardened Miami and made them tougher.

And it gave them the edge they’re playing with right now. For a team that couldn’t close big games the whole year, all of a sudden there isn’t anyone who makes more plays down the stretch than these guys. On offense, on defense, it doesn’t matter; when it’s late somebody is always coming through. Last night it was Bosh with a couple buckets in regulation and Wade in overtime, with Mike Miller coming out of nowhere to make plays too. LeBron did the rest on defense.

Whether you’re a Heat fan or not (and I’m certainly not), it’s hard not to appreciate a team where everyone steps up in the biggest moments of the game, instead of cowering from the spotlight.

Speaking of which, it’s the role players who’ve impressed me the most.

And to me, that’s the interesting thing nobody is talking about. Because when this group was thrown together last offseason, a lot of people (myself included) had this romantic notion that the Heat would come together from day one, everyone would know their role and they’d be unbeatable from the start.

Only it didn’t happen. Just like in life, nothing is perfect. These things take time. It certainly did for the Heat.

That is the scariest thing about the Heat right now—they are just starting to put things together. Joel Anthony is providing the bulk in the paint. Miller is hitting his jumpers all of a sudden. Mario Chalmers is playing great defense. This team is getting better by the day.

Again, I’m not saying that the Miami Heat will definitely win the title or even that I want them to.

But to turn things around this fast, to get this much commitment from everyone on both ends of the court—well, it really is something.

That said, I'm not ready to write off the Bulls just yet.

With Miami blitzing through Chicago in this series, the easy narrative to write is “Well, no need to watch the NBA for the next five years. Nobody is beating Miami.” Except, I honestly don’t believe that. Quite frankly, I think this is just the start of several fun years of Miami-Chicago playoff battles.

So what do we make of the Bulls after this series? They seem to be one year, and one player away from being a real threat.

On that “one year thing,” much like Oklahoma City (more on this coming) it seems like this loss is just part of the gradual evolution of this team. As the old saying goes, “Young doesn’t win in the NBA,” and it’s been proven time and time again. Everyone has to take their lumps. Jordan and Pippen’s Bulls teams lost to the Pistons in 1988 and ’89 before they broke through. Kobe and Shaq had some tough times too. It seems that this is it for the Bulls. They will be back.

And to their credit, one thing that’s been indisputable in this series is that they’re not afraid of Miami. Chicago isn’t as talented as the Heat, but looking the Bulls roster up and down, there are a whole bunch of guys that believe they belong on the court with them, and aren’t going to back down.

Derrick Rose isn’t afraid. Neither is Taj Gibson. Joakim Noah definitely isn’t (although since Noah is certifiably nuts, we need to take everything involving him with a grain of salt). The Chicago Bulls will be back, and when that happens, they’ll again be ready.

Still, they are one guy away. I’m not the first and won’t be the last to say that they really do need an upgrade at the shooting guard position. At his advanced age Keith Bogans isn’t the answer (although quite frankly, I don’t think he was the answer when he was young either), and neither are Kyle Korver or Brewer. Sure they’re like a basketball odd couple (“One can’t play defense. The other can’t play offense. See what kind of zany misadventures they get into when their two worlds collide, tonight on FOX!”).

But at this level, with this much on the line, you just can’t get away with any of them on the court at the end of the game. And right now, one of them always is.

Again, give the Bulls a year and a new shooting guard, and I firmly believe they can take Miami. These things are a process, and Chicago is at the beginning of theirs.

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