Those who think the Miami Heat turned a corner in their Game 5 win can't be faulted. Pat Riley's crew probably played their best 48 minutes of defense all season; they managed to overcome injury, foul issues, and a pesky bunch of Chicago Bulls on their way to a superficially convincing 14-point win. They're up 3-2 in the series, James Posey is playing his best basketball of the season, Antoine Walker is determined to act like a franchise talent (with dubious results), and Gary Payton was hitting clutch baskets all throughout the fourth quarter of Tuesday's win.

Marvy, fab, top gear, and all that -- I just ain't buying the about face. This team is not out of the woods, they're in for a huge struggle to just close out this series with Chicago, and Miami has yet to stumble onto any form of chemistry they can bank on.

And I'm not talking about the Dwyane Wade/Payton/Walker yammering. That sort of silliness hardly has an impact on these sorts of athletes, men who boast elephant-worthy memories when dealing with perceived disrespect from opponents, fans or team executives -- but the only time they'll stay sore at a teammate is when one happens to nick his Skin-So-Soft. I'm more interested in the consistent lack of rhythm to the Heat's offense. Too many chefs in the kitchen, not enough guys moving off the ball, nothing to bank on when the going gets rough.

Chicago blew one tonight, no foolin' there, showcasing the exact sort of bugaboos that left them with a 29-39 record with one month to play. Specifically, we're referring to too many turnovers (19), an ice-cold touch (35 percent from the floor, 25 percent from beyond the arc), and fourth quarter issues (a 31 to 17 disparity tonight). Ben Gordon, who entered the game averaging 42.3 minutes in the postseason (up from 31 in the regular season), was spent by the end of the first quarter. Each of the team's eight first half 3-point attempts spun in and out of the rim. None of the important loose balls seemed to come their way. A saint beneath the paint? Not tonight.

But just as these kids haven't the foggiest as to how to close out a playoff game they should have won, they're just as inexperienced at rolling over and letting the opposition prevail without a fight. In a postseason that has seen team after team call it quits rather than rage, rage, rage against the dying of the light, these Bulls will hardly be going gently into the sweet Chicago night come Thursday. The Bulls are too blissfully unaware of what sends these other, "veteran," teams home. They've yet to be nutted by reality, cynicism has yet to set in, so bank on a pair of exciting contests to close out what has been a brilliant first-round series.