NBA Conference Finals: A Mouth-Watering Prospect!

So, after the long wait and anticipation, it's now clear just who faces whom. It's the LA Lakers vs. the San Antonio Spurs, complete with history and rivalry. And it's Boston vs. Detroit with the young, eager hotshots against the old, experienced warriors.

In a way, it makes sense that the four best remaining teams of the regular season and the playoffs are now meeting to decide the two teams that will go to the finals.

Boston vs. Detroit and LA vs. San Antonio—what a mouth-watering prospect!

As I write this, Boston has just taken a 1-0 lead over the Pistons...at home, in case you forgot! This Boston team has yet to prove it can go all the way playing like this on the road.

But then, chances are that in this series, they might...just might, because they really have to...after all, it'd be one huge travesty if they were to win the whole thing without taking a road game!

What then of LA-SA? How will this turn out? Most analysts I've read recently have given it to LA for six or seven. I agree with them, but only reluctantly.

I'm not one to underrate the Spurs, not with their history, but given the fact that LA has been the team of the playoffs, I am a little concerned about the Spurs' ability to take this one.

And when you consider that they're facing a team that is progressively getting better, that has KOBE BRYANT on it, and with a supporting cast that is slowly getting every bit as good as Bryant wants it, and the fact that they're a slightly younger team than the Spurs, you might just find yourself edging for the Lakers.

But then again, there's no better thing than experience. Talent, the will to win, determination, it all fades away because experience is all this and more.

And this Spurs team has plenty of it. They've been through so much this decade, and I have a feeling that Gregg Popovich is on his team night in and out with this single foundation: that the Lakers may be the NBA's team of the moment, but even they don't, as with Boston, have the experience that his Spurs, or even the Pistons, have.

Sure, Bryant and Fisher have been there before. Sure, KG and Paul Pierce have been there before. But it's a newer, younger team that these four have.

But real-time pressure in clutch games can either make or break champions...a Gasol or an Allen, or even a Duncan. Surely, a few will crack.

I have full faith in LA, but Gasol's game, as versatile and wonderful he is, will be susceptible against the Spurs. If you think Duncan's going to lay down and let Gasol ride roughshod over him, you've got another thing coming.

If you think Gasol will find a way to dominate, either offensively or defensively, he's in for the test of his life. The Spurs are no Nuggets, no Jazz, these guys have been there, done it before.

This Spurs team is all about efficiency and defense. The former might be a natural tendency for the Lakers, but the latter still remains an afterthought. And don't forget the rebounding disadvantage so far in the Lakers' playoff journey.

It's well-nigh important that LA rights its wrongs, because Duncan can rebound, because Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili are two of the most underrated small men in the league, and because both Vladimir Radmanovic and Sasha Vujacic have never been here.

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