(EDIT: This column originally ran April 21, after two games of the Bulls/Celtics series, but the majority is in relation to the re-birth of the NBA for Nick Mendola in the last decade. The Howard Simon Show covers the topic this Friday morning).

For the next few minutes, I want you to hit the kill switch on your preconceptions of sport. Take a deep breath, and open your mind. If I promised you that a major American sport is starting to become as good as it ever has in terms of talent, effort and game play, and told you exactly where to find it, would you watch?

I hope you would, because for the last few years, I've remembered what it was like to be 8 years-old, in hand-me-down Larry Bird basketball player card shirts and sweat shorts, watching tall people amaze me, and hoping I could grow an ugly blonde moustache like the legend.

My younger cousins knew how cool I was.

But it wasn't about Larry, Big Chief and McHale... it was about the enemies. Michael Jordan, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson and Dominique Wilkins were among the Starting Line-up action figures I had, playing one-on-one on the living room floor, a game in which Bird would undoubtedly win with a three or a dunk from this unlikely shooting position, into a mini-hoop that was a gift to a young ring bearer from his Uncle Larry and new Aunt Kim:

Magic had the same pose, so they almost never got the play each other. A true shame.

Well, for three consecutive days, I have been magnetically drawn to the NBA playoffs, and this is the first round, the one where bogus teams are supposed to be run over by powerhouses. For the most part, they will, but the emerging young stars against an old-guard-that-really-isn't-that-old has led to some stunning basketball... the kind you watched growing up, only with guys who can jump higher and cut faster.

So you miss the pick and roll? The Celtics and Bulls have run it at least 100 times in the first two games.

You miss rebounding and active defense? The kids are playing like suitcases of money are bounding off the rim.

You want future Hall-of-Fame talent in its early twenties? This is way more than Lebron.

You miss travelling being called? Me, too. Can't help you there. It's ridiculous. Heck, in the NCAA Tournament, Syracuse's Jonny Flynn travelled every time he drove to the hoop, like some sort of misplaced Ernie Davis.

Tonight's not necessarily the night to start, unless you want to watch a guy who may deliver on the Jordan promise decimate a bunch of veterans. Lebron James is legitimate. He has the thick body of Magic, the stubbornness of Jordan and now a supporting cast that doesn't include Drew Gooden. If he continues to -- essentially -- demand victory with every strong-armed drive to the hole, he could stay on a recently-found path to Legendtown.

He's good.

How about young point guards that look like Isaiah Thomas on steroids. The "street ball" mentality that failed Stefon Marbury and Stevie Francis, woefully over-hyped by a attention-starved early 2000s NBA, has evolved into a "hey, we can bounce pass, too" mindset. Chicago's Derrick Rose and New Orleans' Chris Paul look, quite simply, brilliant.

Even the worst series you can pick in terms of end-to-end entertainment, the Rockets and Blazers, features Brandon Roy, a player so talented and underhyped -- because he's in Portland -- that he's reminding me of being young, and wondering why no one was talking about Indiana's young gun. His name was Reggie Miller.

If you never liked basketball, today's league isn't going to win you over. But if you're a guy like me, who eschewed the NBA in the late-1990s to focus on college ball, and the fascination of Big Four hoops and Christmas-time tournaments, then it's time to give this game a shot. Heck, the West's two and eight seeds finished just a few games apart.

I wrote about it last year, and previewed the playoffs with Dan Hager this year, but if you find yourself wandering by a game on television, and wish you could ask me which players to watch to feel good about hoops, here's a cheat sheet:

Bulls/Celtics -- Just watch. The first two games have been "yelling-on-your-couch-and-waking-up-your-wife-who-has-a-job-interview" good. Derrick Rose has been unbelievable, Ben Gordon is like a 48-minute Robert Horry when he's on, and Tyrus Thomas can jump out of a gym.... and I'm typing this about guys who are playing against my favorite team, the team that won it all last year.

Hawks/Heat -- Atlanta has a team of college stars that plays team ball... maybe the closest thing to a NCAA-style team you'll find in the playoffs. Dwyane Wade has been stunning for the Heat after being written off after a bad shoulder hampered him for a spell last year.

Cavs/Pistons -- Just watch Lebron. Even when he's off, he's been on.

Nuggets/Hornets -- If you can ignore the uniforms attempting to make your HD puke, you'll find a real solid match-up. Chris Paul and New Orleans are hurt by a lack of depth, but he is so, so good.

Blazers/Rockets -- Watch. Brandon. Roy.... and some other guys. Try and figure out why Greg Oden is already considered a failure. He isn't very good yet, but the national media's hoops writers should be karate-kicked.

Magic/76ers -- Love big men? Watch Dwight Howard. Like Thomas in Chicago, only better, he jumps effortlessly.

Spurs/Mavs -- I'm not going to lie. It's like watching in 2001. The Spurs are the New Jersey Devils of basketball, a systematic team that won't go away. Plus, Mark Cuban is funny.

Lakers/Jazz -- Of course, Kobe Bryant is very good, but in the midst of a slaughter, keep your eyes on Utah's guard Deron Williams.

Either that, or just do what you do when I talk about soccer, and wait for the week's hockey, baseball, football and other columns. It's draft time... and I've reached my basketball quota for the month. I texted Jerry Sullivan after the game and, unprovoked, he said, "It's like the eighties again."


So there's at least two of us.

Email: nick@wgr550.com

P.S. If one of your criticisms regards "too many tattoos," you need to rethink your life stance.