08' was bitter enough but 04' might be even worse. they had a super team in 04 with the well-vaunted big 4 (similar to what they have this year

) and they got real lucky to beat the spurs in the 2nd round. they weren't that great as 00-02 but they were still favorite to beat the pistons who were generally considered the underdogs. pistons hadn't won a championship for more than 10yrs and they had just made a big trade. 04 was maybe more of an upset than 11 imho.
it surely hurts to get blown out in a decisive game 6 and to witness your opponents celebrating their 19th NBA le, but they should've been prepared for that. 08' celts got the big 3 who were all desperate to win it (like the 11' mavs) and it was such high level of ambition rather than anything else that drove the greens to the summit, and the lakers had no bynum in the 08' playoffs. the celts just looked certain to win it that year imho