Kyle Lowry vs. Chris Paul: 5 Things to Watch for from the West's Best One Guards

One is a herky-jerky, change of pace dribble surgeon capable of dissecting your defense. The other is a bull in a china store with acrobatic shots and vastly improved long range shooting at his disposal.

Chris Paul and Kyle Lowry may have contrasting styles of quarterbacking their squads, but they share the most important quality a one guard needs in the NBA: the will to push their teams to victory.

Tonight, Paul and Lowry will square off at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. Even more so than the earlier matchup between Paul and Derrick Rose, this promises to be a barn burner.

While Rose and Paul were great to watch, it can be argued that Rose is more a shooting guard posing as a point guard.

These are two true points that will be gunning to gain a foothold for their teams in the convoluted Western Conference standings.

I'll be in the place live from tip off, and these are the five things that I'll be looking for.

Pushing the Rock

Both Kyle and Chris have a real penchant for dictating the pace of the game.

Although Paul has often slowed transition plays this season while he finds his groove with his new teammates, he will push the ball early and often against the undersized Houston Rockets.

Lowry will have no choice but to force the issue against a Clippers defense that boasts Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan. Trying to play the Clippers in half court sets all night would result in quite a few shots in the paint being sent into the front row of the crowd.

The Rockets must play fast and furious and hope to outrun the run-and-gun Los Angeles squad.

Getting the Team Involved

While the Los Angeles Clippers now have the superstar advantage (2-0) over the Houston Rockets, both teams implement a brand of team-first ball.

The Clippers will rely on Blake Griffin for a great deal of scoring, but look for Paul to make sure all of his sharp shooters get a clear lane to hoist the three point shot.

Even with Chauncey Billups expected to make his return tonight, Paul will still continue his role as Mayor of Lob City. At the pace that I expect the game to go, a 15 assist night is not out of the question.

The Rockets on the other hand, while not as loaded with stars, still have enough quality pieces to form a cohesive juggernaut. Luis Scola, Kevin Martin and Chase Budinger need Lowry get them off offensively as they can be limited in creating their own shots.

Lowry will need to find a balance of when to pass and when to aggressively score, as he recently set an NBA record for the most assists (18) without a single field goal.

Out of This World Plays

This probably goes without saying, but Paul and Lowry are world class athletes. It is one thing to make that statement, it's quite another to see it in action.

At any given moment this game could explode because of an incredible assist from CP3 or a jaw dropping shot from K-Low.

I would advise against blinking during the game unless you have TiVo.

Defense, Defense, Defense

Paul's "Man of Steal" mantra goes toe-to-toe with Kyle "Pitt Bull" Lowry. These two tiny wonders are known for denying the opponent across the ball from doing his job.

Whether it comes in the form of steals, blocks or just plain old fashioned shot denial, this will be a matchup of epic defensive dimensions.

Thought vs. Action

The final aspect of the game that will be important for these two spark plugs is their style of play.

While Lowry is a rush in, consequences be damned sort of general, Paul likes to takes his time and find his team the most high percentage shot.

It will be a battle of two high flying teams, with lots of scoring and great defensive plays. In the end though, the play of the floor generals will decide who has the upper hand.

We can only hope that this will be the first of many, meaningful battles between these two.