But the curtain got pulled back on Orlando in the final eight days of the regular season as they lost four of five games and missed out on a shot at the two seed. The strangely timed regression has more people believing they'll lose in the first round to the Sixers than believing they could actually beat Cleveland in the Conference Finals.

Things might be different if Orlando hadn't lost All-Star point guard Jameer Nelson in February, but Rafer Alston — while a nice player — isn't going to guide the Magic to a playoff upset of LeBron James and Co.

The truth is LeBron and Kobe were probably going to play in this year's Finals no matter what. They are the best players in the league, leading the best teams in the league. They should square off the Finals.

But it would have been nice if there had been the possibility of a little pre-Finals drama.

As it stands, David Stern can send out those embossed invitations and place an announcement in the New York Times.

LeBron James and Kobe Bryant. It's a slam dunk.