But there was more. The horrendous handling of the Seattle SuperSonics franchise after 41 years being uprooted and moved to Oklahoma City also created a pall over the league, with Stern seemingly more concerned about revenues from abroad than the broken franchise model in the U.S. It not only created the destruction of the Sonics, but threatened franchises in Memphis, Charlotte, New Orleans, Atlanta, Indiana and Milwaukee, among others.

On came the Celtics and Lakers. No, we didn't see Sam Jones and Jerry West battling it out, nor were there Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. We weren't going to see Magic and Larry either ... but they were certainly around.

Essentially, it took the edge off for Stern and the league, finally. It became time to ignore this perception of a thug league -- real or perceived -- and back to traditional basketball.

The Celtics had a superstar trio, Garnett and Allen had a therapeutic effect on the frequently petulant Pierce, and the national fans of the Celtics came out of the woodwork.

The Lakers were a different story altogether, with Bryant throwing fits publicly and privately about the direction of the team. Finally, Bryant calmed down, and Gasol came aboard as the perfect fit for Jackson's triangle offense. The move changed the balance of the Western Conference, forcing the Phoenix Suns to make a big trade of Shawn Marion to Miami for aging and disgruntled center Shaquille O'Neal that completed transformed the dangerous Suns. And the Dallas Mavericks uprooted some of their core young players for aging point guard Jason Kidd that sent them cascading out of the first round for the second year in a row.

And once the Lakers solidified the No. 1 seed in the West opposite the Celtics in the East, it was apparent the league and all of those misty-eyed sentimentalists had a shot at the unthinkable Finals. Strangely enough, the Celtics had a more difficult time getting out of the East than the Lakers did in the West, if only because of their uneasiness on the road until the conference finals.

The Lakers required only five games to get through the defending champion Spurs and after a rocky start, the Celtics blew through the Detroit Pistons in six. And though the series itself wasn't anything spectacular, with Pierce winning the Finals MVP playing against his hometown Lakers, it proved to be just enough of a glimpse from years gone by to recapture the fans' imaginations.

Whether or not that will carry over into this season for either team remains to be seen, but at least for that two-month trek to the Finals, it was the good old days again ... and the NBA never needed it more.