NBA Conference Finals 2000: A Reminder of Great Basketball that's Since Passed

I consistently defend the NBA as a fan who watches EVEN the regular season games. The game has evolved and changed, as all sports, but the NBA comes under more scrutiny for the erosion of the basics. Today I was watching a replay of the Lakers vs. Blazer game 5. The Blazers trotted out Scottie Pippen, Detlef Schrempf, Steve Smith, Rasheed Wallace, Brian Grant, Bonzi Wells, Arvydas Sabonis, Damon Stoudamire, and former UNLV stars Greg Anthony & Stacy Augmon. The Lakers brought Kobe, Shaq, "Big Shot" Bob Horry, Ron Harper, Glen Rice, Brian Shaw, Derek Fisher, Rick Fox, and then rookie Devean George. Two powerhouse lineups loaded with stars and veterans. I was enjoying excellent basketball featuring simple things done beautifully. Brian Grant perfectly feeding Steve Smith in the post as he drew 3 fouls that caused Kobe to foul out, got the Blazers in the bonus, and was just great to watch. I remembered the collapse of game 7 when the Blazers somehow lost a 15-point lead in the 4th quarter. On the other side the impressive Knicks vs. Pacers series was underway. Latrell Spreewell, Patrick Ewing, Larry Johnson, Marcus Camby, Allen Houston, Charlie Ward, and Kurt Thomas. The Pacers trotted out Reggie Miller, Rik Smits, Mark Jackson, Dale Davis, Chris Mullin, Jalen Rose, Derrick Mckey, and Sam Perkins. The Pacers hid Jonathon Bender (who Larry Bird called the best one-on-one player on the team), Al Harrington, Travis Best, and Austin Croshere for an amazing youth movement to back the stellar veterans. On paper it's disturbing the Blazers and Pacers lost to that Lakers team, but depth doesn't always matter in a best of 7. I was nostalgic and missed the depth and quality of play that I didn't see in today's game. The corner 3 wasn't utilized as the smart, statistical play and essentially the goal of every possession. There wasn't a huge pick-n-roll presence, but offense was still fluid and beautiful. The play was more physical, but also more skillful. I just found myself soaking it all in realizing that perhaps my 15 year-old self couldn't fully appreciate what I was watching at the time. I'm an ENORMOUS Michael Jordan fan, but the playoff matchups witnessed in 2000 eclipsed anything I remember from that era in terms of both conferences throwing great teams at each other in the Finals. Heavyweight slugfests for both the Eastern and Western conferences. It reminded me of the amazing fun of the strike-shortened Knicks team wearing the 8-seed as a badge of honor as they fought their way to the finals before losing to an unreal Spurs team that simply rolled Duncan and Robinson out and the Knicks had no answer. Bottom Line: Loved soaking in some old basketball from an era that I don't think is recognized and appreciated as much as it should be. I remembered some nuances like Travis Best being a really solid backup point guard and how the Blazers had several EXCELLENT scoring options that bounced around being option 1, but that ultimately was their undoing as in Game 7 NOBODY could grind a basket out to keep the healthy 15 point-lead safe from the Lakers. LOVED IT.