NBA Playoffs 2011: Does Chicago Bulls' Season Sweep of Miami Heat Mean Anything?

The Miami Heat will tell you it doesn't.

The Chicago Bulls will tell you the playoffs are a brand new season.

But the mere fact is that the current Heat outfit is yet to taste victory against the league-leading Bulls.

How much can we make of the 3-0 season series?

If recent history is anything to go by, not a whole lot.

Last year's conference finals saw the Boston Celtics take out the Orlando Magic in six games. The Magic had taken the regular season series 3-1. Not that any of those games had been blowouts.

More recently, the Celtics beat the current Miami outfit in three of four regular season games. But we all know what has taken place since.

If anything, it's not the scoreline of the regular season series, but rather, the trends which developed that should point to a particular playoffs result. 

During the regular season, it was Dwyane Wade who struggled against the Celtics, averaging just 12.8 points in 39 minutes.

Any fan could have told you a dynamic Wade could well tip the series back in the Heat's favor. And he was arguably the series' MVP. No surprise the Heat emerged as easy 4-1 victors.

The main trend that developed during the Bulls and Heat season series was the inability of Miami to close out games. In fact, only eight points separated the teams in three meetings.

The Celtics-Heat series should be evidence enough that the Heat have addressed that concern.

Undoubtedly the biggest individual struggle was that of Chris Bosh.

Bosh went just one of 18 in the teams' February meeting. He shot 34 percent during the season series. The improvement seen in Carlos Boozer's Game 6 against the Atlanta Hawks suggests this matchup will be the most pivotal of all.

The Heat's other two stars lived up to their top billing.

Wade was his stellar self, dropping 29 points a game on the Bulls, while LeBron James had 29 and 26 points in the two games he played.

The fact James missed the first meeting in Chicago surely gives less weight to the Bulls' victory.

While Derrick Rose dropped 29 points a game on the Heat, he did so without shooting a particularly high percentage from the floor—or distance.

If Chris Bosh can win the battle at the four, I can't see the Bulls advancing to the NBA Finals.

Even if he struggles, Wade and James are the best one-two show in the league.

The Heat are also the NBA's best road team, which means home-court shouldn't count for much.

We'll have to wait until Sunday to see how far the Heat have come from the regular season embarrassment, but I imagine it will count for little.