What Heat's win over Lakers taught us

LOS ANGELES -- Now that that's over -- the Heat's 96-80 crumpling of the Lakers -- the NBA can go back to its regular programming, which for better or worse is the long slog toward the playoffs.

As for the playoffs, they're still nearly four months off, which can be an eternity. Except for the Lakers, for whom it's longer.

So, besides learning why Kanye West was wearing sunglasses (Kobe Bryant's shoes) or what game film Ron Artest was studying (WWE), here's what we gleaned from Christmas Day:

1) The Evolution of Chris Bosh When he arrived, Bosh was more like the bellhop -- all but willing to carry the bags of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. Now he's carrying his weight.

After watching Lamar Odom throw down a couple of dunks early on, Bosh took over. He was a focal point of the offense early, particularly finding a soft spot in the defense just beyond the foul line. He contributed 24 points and 13 rebounds and neutralized a tough matchup in Odom.

"He went through a struggle the first two or three weeks trying to fit in and wondering how much he had to adjust his game," Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. "But we need him to be aggressive. And just because of the style of his play, we're able to move the ball, facilitate and run the offense through him. I think the players see with Chris now why we went after him in July."

2) Don't confuse lack of effort with a lack of execution It wasn't that the Lakers were not trying -- they were. But when you're confused, lacking confidence and not sure what the other guys on the court are going to do, playing basketball isn't much different than chasing your tail.

3) The Heat may be the new Celtics When Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen joined Paul Pierce, they immediately bought into Doc Rivers' two tenets: share the ball and defend like banshees. In winning 14 of 15, even mostly against softies, Wade, James and Bosh have done the same on both fronts.

It still won't be easy getting out of a fortified East, although a healthy Mike Miller would fill a huge need: an off-the-bench scorer who can get his own shot. But it's easy to see the pieces starting to fit together that would give the Heat more than a puncher's chance.

4) At least the Lakers are healthy They may have looked old and out of sorts, but their practice Thursday is believed to have been the first that every player participated in this season. Andrew Bynum, a real difference maker defensively, is getting his legs back the way he does everything else -- slowly. Home-court through the playoffs would be nice, but does anyone think a fifth-seeded Lakers team with a healthy Bynum and a rejuvenated Bryant, Pau Gasol and Odom wouldn't be the team to beat in the West?

5) Christmas Day means nothing Just remember last year: James and Shaquille O'Neal bulldozed the Lakers, and afterward James said the victory made a statement to the Cavaliers themselves: that they were real contenders.

Well, we know how that turned out: The Cavaliers finished the regular season with the best record in the league, meaning all roads ran through Cleveland. In the end, so did the one to Miami.

As James skipped out on Cleveland, the Lakers skipped into summer with another trophy.