I grew up in the 1980s.

Saw the Sixers-Celtics rivalry, the Lakers-Celtics rivalry and the Pistons-Bulls rivalry.

Doc choked Bird. McHale took down Rambis. Bad Boys put the Jordan Rules on M.J.

Saw the New York Knicks when they dueled with the Miami Heat and Indiana Pacers in the ’90s.

Zo  and Grandmama went at it. John Starks head butted Reggie Miller.

Those were battles. Tough. Physical. Intense. The essence of playoff basketball.

What’s going on between the Heat and Pacers in this year’s Eastern Conference semifinals isn’t at that level. In fact, it’s reach a point of bush league.

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Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs have won 18 consecutive games. Will the Thunder challenge them?/AP

18 wins in a row. The San Antonio Spurs are rolling.

Unbeaten in this year’s NBA playoffs, the Spurs swept the Utah Jazz and Los Angeles Clippers to reach the Western Conference finals. They’ve been unstoppable.

They haven’t been tested, either, but that’s all about to change Sunday.

Here come the Thunder. The Oklahoma City Thunder.

The Spurs have the best team, but the Thunder have the two best players in the series in Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook and the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year in James Harden.

So make no mistake. The Spurs will lose a game in this series, but will they lose the series?

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Oh how we forget.

On TNT, Hall of Famer Charles Barkley said Indiana Pacers reserve Lance Stephenson shouldn’t have given the choke sign when LeBron James missed a free throw Thursday night in Game 3 against the Miami Heat.

The Heat lost, 94-75, before winning Game 4 Sunday to even series at 2-2.

In clip below, you’ll see at the :57 second mark Larry Bird miss two free throws in a loss to the Sixers in the 1985-86 season. Julius Erving hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer off a jump ball Barkley tipped to him.

It’s a great play by Barkley, huge shot by Dr. J., but guess who’s giving the choke sign after rebounding the second Bird miss.

Oh Charles.

If anyone has ever checked out Stephen A. Smith on ESPN’s First Take, you know how he gets down.

Like the “Nature Boy” Rick Flair, he’s custom made from head to toe.

In debates with Skip Bayless, Smith is direct, detailed and downright devastating when on a roll.

For those who haven’t caught Smith’s face-to-face verbal battles with Bayless, Saturday Night Live’s Jay Pharoah comes about as close as one could get in impersonating ESPN’s NBA expert.

Hilarious.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade must take over or find themselves watching the NBA Finals from home./AP

60.

That’s the magic number.

With Chris Bosh out with an abdominal injury that will take 2 1/2 to 6 1/2 weeks to heal depending on who you believe, the Miami Heat need their two superstars – LeBron James and Dwyane Wade – to average at least 60 points in order for the Heat to get past the Indiana Pacers and win it all.

Right now, James and Wade are averaging a combined 46.6 points in this Eastern Conference semifinals series that the Heat are trailing 2-1 heading into Sunday’s Game 4 in Indianapolis.

James is at 27.3 a game. Wade 19.3.

That’s not enough.

In desperate times, the superstars get it done.

Ten years ago, Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant showed us all how.

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San Antonio's Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich may be the NBA's best point guard-coach duo./AP Photo

The debate is finally going to be settled where it should be settled – on the court.

Chris Paul and Tony Parker are considered two of the top five point guards in the NBA along with Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Rajon Rondo.

Some say they’re the top two. They’re generals in their own way.

Paul leads and motivates the Los Angeles Clippers with an iron hand, is the mayor of Lob City and closes games with great decision making and precision.

Parker leads and motivates the San Antonio Spurs with flair and creativity, gets to the rim at will and leads an offense that is arguably the most potent in the NBA.

The question is which one will do more to help their team get one step closer to the NBA Finals?

Will that ultimately determine who’s better? No, but people can use the results of this series as a barometer to pick one over the other.

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Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol better be up to the challenge of Kendrick Perkins (5) and Serge Ibaka or else./AP Photo.

Denver pushed them to the brink.

The Los Angeles Lakers needed a Game 7 at home and the return of Metta World Peace to outlast the Nuggets and advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

Up next? Durant. Westbrook. Harden.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have their Big 3 – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden - muscle and shot blocking on the inside and depth at power forward and center positions.

What they don’t have is Kobe Bryant, who in his 16th season is still the game’s best closer.

As great as Bryant is, he’ll need help to get past the Thunder.

Paging Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

By the way, watch the elbows World Peace and watch out for them Harden.

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Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies couldn't come back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the L.A. Clippers./AP Photo.

Not bad. Not bad.

With the Los Angeles Clipppers beating the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 7 Sunday to advance to the Western Conference semifinals, all the first-round series are complete. I finished 6-2 in predicting the first round.

Eastern Conference

(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (8) Philadelphia 76ers.
Prediction: Bulls in 5
Outcome: Sixers in 6.
What happpened: Derrick Rose got hurt. Joakim Noah got hurt. Bulls didn’t have enough.

(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) New York Knicks
Prediction: Heat in 6
Outcome: Heat in 5
What happened: Knicks not ready as a team to seriously challenge Miami.

(3) Indiana Pacers vs. (6) Orlando Magic
Prediction: Pacers in 5
Outcome: Pacers in 5
What happened: Without Dwight Howard, Magic had no shot to win this series.

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Dwyane Wade and LeBron James (w/headband) are eying an NBA title, but Indiana is doing the same./AP Photo.

It’s just a formality.

The Indiana Pacers will be just a footnote in their storybook championship journey. Just another team the Miami Heat had to beat because they’re going to win it all right?

Right?

They’ve got the game’s best player in LeBron James, who won his third NBA MVP today.

They’ve got the league’s second and third best option in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, respectively.

And they don’t have to contend with the Chicago Bulls, who lost Derrick Rose to a season-ending injury and their first-round series to the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in six games.

The road is paved for Miami to take it all. Indiana is just a speed bump in the road right?

Right?

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Up next for Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics? An familiar rival. The Philadelphia 76ers./AP Photo.

Whenever these two teams met in the 1980s, it was classic.

Bird vs. Dr. J. McHale vs. Barkley. Moses vs. Parish.

Go back even further to the 1960s. Legends emerged.

Wilt vs. Russell. Havlicek vs. Greer. Jones vs. Walker.

On Saturday, the Sixers and Celtics will renew their rivalry in the Eastern Conference semifinals as the two teams haven’t faced each in the postseason since 2002 when the first round was still a best-of-5 series.

Boston won 3-2.

Who will take this series and likely face Miami in the conference finals?

Go Green.

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