So I'm sitting here watching Andre Iguodala being force fed a leather basketball by Rasheed Wallace. The question is a simple one. Is anyone watching?

NBA playoff TV ratings have fallen off the map over the last five years. We're not talking Lawrence Welk reruns on the local PBS outlet, but American Idol's ratings would do to the NBA's what Rasheed just did to Sir Vowels Alot.

While much of America is getting the rust off the grill, and trying to figure out if the price of gasoline will let the family get beyond the state line for this year's vacation, the NBA is hoping this is the year they get the Lakers and Celtics and some ratings for a change.

I will watch, no matter who makes it to the finals.

I am fresh and rested going in, not having watched hardly any of the regular season. And that's part of the problem. The regular season is now one long exhibition season, with most media action revolving around LeBron and Kobe. The Celtics came on the radar this season, but seriously, who got more media attention this year-Isiah Thomas or Kevin Garnett?

The NBA should just cut the number of games to 60 and follow up with one big playoff with every team in the league getting a piece of the action. Seed the playoffs based on overall records and forget about conference records. Do we really need 82 games to determine the Knicks won't be in the playoffs. Show of hands for anyone who didn't know that in October.

Sound extreme? This year's playoffs will feature the giants of the Western Conference and the dwarfs of the East. In other words, get ready for some great ball over the next three weeks followed by the giant sleep aid known as the Lakers and Magic.

The league wants LA-Boston, but could end up with the Hornets and Pistons. David Stern hopes all the viewers who think Mos Def is a typographical error will see the matchup and think Bird and Magic are back and come running back to their sets.

Dream on.

The best matchups (the ones out West) are going to play out early. Reseeding after each round based on regular season records might have helped, but the league wants to maintain the fiction they have two conferences worth of elite players (they don't).

After some great matchups out West we're going to move to the annual mystery of how long it will take LeBron James "international icon" to disappear along with the Cavaliers. Along the way the Celtics will make a run, then fade, and Orlando or Detroit will emerge.

And then the finals. Four oh or four one, it won't be fun to watch. The nightmare scenario for the league is New Orleans-Orlando, with ratings about those for a rerun of "Family Matters" with Steve Urkel. It could happen.

But don't let that discourage you. The battles out West are going to be intense, the talent on the floor outstanding. It will be three weeks of great action, the way the playoffs are supposed to be.

It's just going to end too soon.