sentences:  Some have even speculated this has caused NBA ratings in recent seasons to drop due to a lack of narrative surprise in the regular season.The 1984 NBA Finals was highly anticipated, with the Boston Celtics and the Los Angeles Lakers playing in their eighth Finals matchup ever since their first showdown in 1969.It also featured two of the biggest young stars of the era, Larry Bird and Magic Johnson, who had previously faced off in the finals of the 1979 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament, where Magic's Michigan State team defeated Bird's Indiana State squad.