This should be an excellent series with many marquee matchups including Tony Parker vs. Chris Paul and Tim Duncan vs. David West. For a closer look at the matchups in this series, read on:

POINT GUARD: Chris Paul was one of the finalists for the MVP Award in the NBA this season and he is the main reason that the team was so good this season. Paul started all 5 games in the series vs. the Mavericks and he averaged 40.4 minutes, 24.6 points, 5.6 rebounds, 12.0 assists and 2 steals. He also shot 50% from the floor in that series.

Tony Parker has made a ton of big shots in his career with the Spurs but he’s playing the best basketball of his NBA career right now. Parker tormented Steve Nash in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. He started all 5 games of that series and he averaged 40.4 minutes, 29.6 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Parker also shot well in the first round as he hit 52.3% of his shots from the floor.

EDGE: EVEN

SHOOTING GUARD: Peja Stojakovic was in a zone against the Mavericks as he hit 17 of 28 three pointers (60.7%) in that series. He started all 5 games against the Mavericks and he averaged 36.8 minutes, 15.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. His size will likely cause matchup problems with the Mavericks.

Michael Finley started all 5 games in the first round of the playoffs but he appears to be slowing down. Finley averaged 33.0 minutes, 7.0 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Finley might also get some minutes at small forward if Bruce Bowen continues to struggle on offense.

EDGE: HORNETS

SMALL FORWARD: Morris Peterson will be starting at small forward for the Hornets in this series. He started all 5 games in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 19.0 minutes, 7.2 points, 2.0 points and 0.2 assists per game. Peterson will likely be able to focus on offense in this series as Bruce Bowen doesn’t have much of an offensive game.

Bruce Bowen is one of the best defensive players in the entire NBA but he has been awful so far this post season on offense. Bowen started all 5 games against the Suns and he averaged 22.0 minutes, 0.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He is also only shooting 16.7% from the floor in the playoffs.

EDGE: SMALL FOR THE HORNETS

POWER FORWARD: David West is a really good basketball player but he might need help from Tyson Chandler on defense to deal with Tim Duncan. West will make Duncan work hard on the defensive end, that’s for sure. West started all 5 games against the Mavericks in the first round and he averaged 40.6 minutes, 22.6 points, 7.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game.

Tim Duncan is quite simply, one of the best players in the NBA. The bigger the game, the bigger he plays. Duncan dominated the Suns in the Spurs’ opening playoff series. Duncan started all 5 games against the Suns and he averaged 39.8 minutes, 24.8 points, 13.8 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.4 blocked shots per game. Look for Duncan to have another huge series against the Hornets.

EDGE: SPURS

CENTER: Tyson Chandler had a breakout year this season for the Hornets. Chandler will have to help keep Tim Duncan off the boards to help his team succeed. Chandler started all 5 games against the Mavericks and he averaged 35.0 minutes, 7.2 points, 11.2 rebounds, 0.2 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game. Defense and rebounding is the name of Chandler’s game and it will be on full exhibit in this series.

Kurt Thomas will likely start at center in this series for the Spurs. Thomas played in all 5 games (3 starts) against the Suns and he averaged 22.8 minutes, 5.0 points and 6.8 rebounds. Thomas will split time with Fabricio Oberto to try to wear out Tyson Chandler in this series.

EDGE: HORNETS

BENCH: The Hornets don’t usually go to deep into the bench. But, reserve guard Jannero Pargo was incredible off the bench against the Mavericks in round #1. Pargo played in all 5 games against the Mavericks and he averaged 26.6 minutes, 14.6 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Pargo shot 50.9% from the floor and 45% from three point range in the first round. Bonzi Wells will get a lot of playing time at small forward in this series. He played in all 5 games against the Mavericks last round and he averaged 16.6 minutes, 4.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game. Rookie Julian Wright will also get some playing time for the Hornets at small forward. He played in all 5 games against the Mavericks last round and he averaged 11.4 minutes, 4.2 points, 1.2 rebounds, 0.4 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Hilton Armstrong gives Tyson Chandler and David West a breather when they need it, which isn’t often. Armstrong played in all 5 games aganst the Mavericks and he averaged 11.0 minutes, 2.2 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocked shot per game. Ryan Bowen is a good hustle player off the bench when he gets a chance to play, which isn’t too often. Bowen played in 3 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 4.0 minutes, 0.7 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

The Spurs have a very solid veteran bench and they use it often. Manu Ginobili is quite simply the best 6th man in all of the NBA. He played in all 5 games against the Suns and he averaged 31.0 minutes, 18.2 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Center Fabricio Oberto will likely get a lot of playing time in this series also. He played in 5 games (2 starts) against the Suns and he averaged 19.0 minutes, 5.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Oberto was also 10 of 13 shooting (76.9%) from the floor last series. Ime Udoka is a solid backup small forward. He played in all 5 games against the Suns and he averaged 12.8 minutes, 3.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. Brent Barry is the long range gunner off the bench for the Spurs. He hit 4 of 7 three pointers in the first round against the Suns. He averaged 14.2 minutes, 3.4 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Robert Horry also seems to raise his level of play in the post season but he looked his age against the Suns in the first round. Horry played in 4 games against the Suns and he averaged 8.3 minutes, 2.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game. Jacque Vaughn is the backup point guard but he could lose playing time to Damon Stoudamire if he doesn’t pick up his play soon. Vaughn played in all 5 games against the Suns and he averaged 5.8 minutes, 0.8 points, 0.2 rebounds and 0.8 assists per game. Damon Stoudamire played in only 2 games (0 starts) against the Suns and he averaged 7.0 minutes, 5.5 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

EDGE: SPURS

PREDICTION: I HAVE TO SIDE WITH THE SPURS IN 7 GAMES BECAUSE OF THE DEPTH AND EXPERIENCE THAT THEY HAVE.