Ho-hum playoffs?

Something seems a little off about this spring’s version of the NBA playoffs.

It’s the middle of the Conference Finals and I find myself barely invested in the proceedings.

Are these playoffs really that boring?

Only one series has gone seven games, the 1st round duel between Atlanta and Milwaukee. While it went the distance, it did not produce any memorable moments and the seventh game was a clunker.

Four series have ended in sweeps. Only two series, Thunder/Lakers and Celtics/Cavs, have been somewhat compelling. The rest have been ho-hum. Try to remember a game, a shot, a moment that really stands out from these playoffs.

You’re hard-pressed to think of one, right? After a few minutes thinking, the only ones that come to mind are Pau Gasol’s series-winning tip-in with under a second left in OKC, Paul Pierce’s winning shot in game four against Miami, and the image of LeBron tearing his jersey off after the Cavs’ season ended in Boston.

That’s all I can come up with through the first 70 games of these 2010 NBA Playoffs.

Maybe these playoffs just seem a little flat because last year’s were so good. There was the all-time classic seven game Bulls/Celtics first round series that featured multiple spellbinding moments, four games decided in overtime and five games by three points or less.

There were the scrappy Rockets, without T-Mac and Yao, taking the Lakers to seven games. There was LeBron’s three-point buzzer beater in game two of the East Finals. Then in the NBA Finals, there was Courtney Lee’s just-miss on a perfectly executed inbound play that would have silenced the L.A. crowd and won game two.

Time still remains for these playoffs. The Suns could still come back from a deficit that not many opponents of Phil Jackson-coached squads have. The Magic could still come back from 3-0 down, a feat that no NBA team has ever accomplished. And who knows…maybe the Finals will be a classic duel between the Celtics and Lakers. It was a pretty good Finals the last time those two met two years ago.

For now, it’s the series finale of 24, even the confusing conclusion of Lost, that are more exciting. Tonight’s Celtics/Magic game was a step in the right direction, with the first overtime of the playoffs. Let’s hope it starts a trend for the coming three weeks.