"The state of the game today is better than it's ever been," Heat president Pat Riley said. "It's a different collection of characters, of players, of philosophies, a different culture, and it's more exciting than it's ever been. As a matter of fact, it reminds of what it was like during Showtime, and Showtime reminded me of what it was like when the Boston Celtics were dominating during the 60s."

It reminds few of the successful but aesthetically-unappealing grinding style that Riley employed with the Knicks and then the Heat last decade, a style that found more favor among coaches than observers.

Scandal fades: The officiating scandal that threatened to sink the league has faded to the background, at least for now. Tim Donaghy was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison in late July, but Stern has insisted that the corruption stopped with one official, and so far no indisputable contrary evidence has surfaced.

"The league has shown tremendous resiliency," Stockton said.

The next thing to test that resiliency?

The economy.

The NBA did cut 80 jobs this month, laying off roughly 9 percent of its workforce, citing a modest season-ticket decline in a difficult environment. Still, Stern said last week that the league would be "about flat in attendance, which is good news, we think," and that "sponsor renewals and presentations are very strong." Sports business expert Rick Horrow, citing a 79 percent renewal rate and a solid TV deal, said "the league is in pretty good shape."

"With the economy the way it is, there's going to be a lot of people staying home and watching on television now," Collins said.

Those viewers can vote, with their remotes, on whether the league has just cause for all of its good cheer.

Also on NBCSports.com PFT’s Picks: Patriots will roll, Chargers will survive Circling the Bases: Handicapping the Halladay race College football: What was Yale coaching thinking? Opinion: So far, Nowitzki is NBA’s MVP  |  Fan Ranker Twitter: Follow us @nbc_sports

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