The NBA Playoffs: Where "Passing the Generational Torch" Happens

When you think back to what led up to one of the most memorable seasons of the NBA, it was all about the young guys.

"Where will LeBron go?"

"Will Wade or Bosh join him or Derrick Rose?"

"Can Carmelo force his way to the Knicks?"

"Who will get Amar'e?"

Now, of course, this isn't unexpected, as all of these players were free agents (sans Carmelo), and free agent buzz is generally the hot button topic that properly segues a summer of suspenseful drama into a season of sustained suspense.

This season, however, is when the parallels to other seasons stop and a new era of NBA basketball begins.

Just like a suspenseful novel or movie, the most encompassing plot line doesn't reveal itself until the very end.

In this case, it did so in the second round.

Consider, for a moment, that Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Paul Pierce, Manu Ginobli, Steve Nash and the other NBA playoff mainstays we have subconsciously come to expect around this time of the season are gone.

Left remaining are: Derrick Rose, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Russel Westbrook, Zack Randolph, etc..

The new faces of the NBA have finally arrived, and as much as people want to attribute this altered complexion of the playoffs to circumstance or injury, it's not.

Let's take a moment to recall our college years.

It's a period of time where unprecedented freedom presents itself like a red carpet, and we all walk across it with each passing step moving us closer and closer to unbridled hedonism, while, at the same time, posing as young, ambitious members of society.

Or, if you want to take out the 24-karat words, it's when we can all unleash our inner knucklehead.

Now, think about how these guys must feel when they go into the NBA.

Millions of dollars thrown at them. Becoming a household name almost instantaneously. Being able to go anywhere and at anytime.

These guys didn't come into the NBA wanting to seriously compete immediately.

They were only concerned about building their names. Establishing their images. And, though some of them worked hard, they had all the talent in the world to fall back on in proving their worth in the league.

The Miami Heat Big Three might be the best example of this.

To refer back once again to this offseason, when LeBron, D-Wade and Chris Bosh were treating their free agency period like a Beatles welcome back tour, everyone thought in the back of their heads, "These guys just don't get it."

From an image standpoint, everything went wrong, from "The Decision" to the televised pep rally they held on TV.

But what none of us saw until now was that their motives were just.

As LeBron and Wade have echoed again and again during their series with the Celtics, they realized that Boston and the Lakers were head and shoulders above everyone else from a sheer talent standpoint.

Up until the time they decided to join forces, it finally dawned on them that the biggest knucklehead delusion they were still holding onto was maintaining their stock in the "next Michael Jordan" race.

Speaking of which, there is no bigger misconception in the NBA than the link between "NBA purity" and "winning the title on your own."

Jordan had Pippen.

Before Jordan, Magic had Kareem, Worthy and Jabbar.

Larry Bird had Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.

At the end of the day, the shape of the league's elite is circumstantially determined by an even talent distribution.

And I've said it once, and I'll say it again: When the Lakers have Kobe, Gasol, Odom, Bynum and Artest, while the Celtics have Rondo, Pierce, Allen and Kevin Garnett, you can't expect to beat these guys unless you have the talent to match them.

The only thing you can hope for are the uncertainties of implosion or father time catching up to them.

LeBron knew this, and that is why he made his decision to go to Miami, ready to graduate from superstar to champion.

Now, as many of us already know, an NBA lockout seems almost certain to occur, meaning that it could be quite some time before we see an NBA basketball game once these playoffs are over.

For this reason, there has been a subtle tone of appreciation that has resonated among the media and the players during the course of this season, and particularly now.

Soon enough, many of the fans will begin to feel it too, whether consciously or subconsciously.

Years from now, though, we will look back on this season, and this particular time, not as the period that represented the sport's pending departure, but rather, it's overdue arrival.

The torch has been passed.