The only way I can interpret your Etiolate comment is that you are saying the entire league now sucks, as opposed to being awesome like back in the day. Which is at odds with what you're saying above (that you were happy with last season). And also not something I can agree with in any way. So clarify please.
I can understand the angst of small-market fans like etiolate, of course, but you have to remember that for every one that falls, another one rises. LeBron brought the Cavs back to relevance (and a trip to the Finals), as did Dwight and the Magic, Paul and Hornets, and on and on. Even the Jazz looked like contenders again for a while, and they never really went away. So those 'interesting' 90's teams like Reggie's Pacers or Barkley's Suns are just being moved around. You can of course debate which team was better, or more fun, or more interesting all day - I enjoy that too. But you can't simply say one era was awesome and the one we have now can't compare. That's nonsense.