The defending champions, the San Antonio Spurs, would be a difficult matchup for the Lakers. Aside from the Detroit Pistons, the current Spurs core possibly has the most playoff experience in the past decade. However, the Spurs' roster currently walks a very fine line between veteran and old.
Kobe Bryant will undoubtedly draw the attention of Spurs defensive ace Bruce Bowen. Bowen will have to try to play Kobe straight up without any consistent help. The Lakers are loaded with three-point shooters in Radmanovic, Fisher, Walton, Vujacic and Farmar. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom both are capable of creating their own shot and too dangerous to leave unguarded.
Although Tim Duncan's numbers have declined in recent years, he will be able to have his way with the Lakers. Duncan will primarily be guarded by Pau Gasol. Gasol has not played well when matched up against Duncan this year. Gasol grabs fewer rebounds and scores less against Duncan.
The Lakers will also run into the same problem in the point guard matchup against the Spurs, as the Spurs did against the Hornets. Derek Fisher is experienced, but he will not be able to stop Tony Parker from getting into the paint at will.
Most teams try to limit Parker by forcing him to be a jump shooter. Without the strong presence of Andrew Bynum in the paint and a slow Derek Fisher guarding him, Tony Parker will mostly likely not have to go to his jump shot.
Lamar Odom will have the advantage against the Spurs power forward tandem of Kurt Thomas and Fabricio Oberto. Both Thomas and Oberto are good defenders, but Odom is not the typical forward. Odom is able to operate outside of the three-point line, well beyond Thomas and Oberto's comfort zone.
The Laker bench is evenly matched with the Spurs' bench unless Gregg Popovich decides to pull Manu Ginobili back to the bench.
The Lakers match up stronger against the Hornets than the Spurs. The Spurs' Big Three all are difficult for the Lakers to cover. The Spurs also have a reliable defender who can chase Kobe around for the entire game while the Hornets do not.
Throw in the Spurs experience and the choice seems clear.
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