The NBA got the conference championship match-ups that, in its heart of hearts, it probably wanted all along.

The San Antonio Spurs used defense and their playoff savvy to end the New Orleans Hornets run, 91-82, in Game 7 of the second-round series last night.  That sets up a Spurs-L.A. Lakers Western Conference finals, beginning tomorrow, with some of the most recognizable names in the game playing.

In the Eastern Conference finals, it will two familiar powers -- one of them resuscitated -- starting this evening.  The worst-to-first Boston Celtics, riding its Big Three of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, against the Detroit Pistons.  Missing, of course, is arguably the league's most entertaining player, Cleveland's LeBron James, but he contributed to a classic Game 7 when the Celtics beat the Cavaliers in that second-round series.

It remains to be seen whether getting some of the the more popular teams and most famous names in the game into the NBA's final four will help with TV ratings, especially in the league championship series.  Last year's rating for San Antonio's title sweep of Cleveland was 6.2, lowest in history and more than 25 percent lower than the previous year -- the Dallas-Miami finals, won by the Heat in six games.

There is a well-known "Laker Effect" -- the phenomenon that Los Angeles frequently boosts the ratings because of the franchise's mystique.  We'll see if the Kobe Bryant-Lakers will have the same TV draw as its predecessors.