Nasty Grudge Matches That We'd Love to See Later on in the Playoffs

What we love most about the postseason is how into the game each and every player gets.

This is the season that matters. The regular season was fun for a few months, but it means nothing in this final month. It's completely different, and there's no other way to put it. You can have teams that will constantly get beat by one team in the regular season, but then go into the postseason and beat that same team multiple times.

It's just the way the playoffs work when you have around eight players on each team going after one another with intensity that you never saw in the regular season. All of this talk about flipping on a switch is absolutely correct. There are certain players who will take it easy throughout the regular season before turning it on to a different level when the postseason starts.

Aside from seeing teams go after one another, it's always interesting to hear the story within a story of two players with a separate competition between each other. Those only add to the narrative that was written when the two teams were matched up. Having two players go after one another is only going to make for an even more fierce competition.

When you have two elite players going after one another at such a high level, you're bound to have some memorable moments that will last in your mind for a long time.

We look at five potential one-on-one matchups we'd like to see that could occur later on in the postseason.

Dwyane Wade vs Kobe Bryant

When you have two fierce competitors who play the same position, you're likely to see a rivalry that will result out of each player trying to outperform one another.

Once someone's nose gets broken, it becomes a grudge match.

There's always been a known rivalry between Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant. The two respect each other as elite players, but they despise each other as competitors. Bryant has been long recognized as the top shooting guard in the league, but has had Wade on his tail for years. Since Wade's recovery from a slew of injuries he dealt with from 2006 to 2008, it's arguable that Dwyane is the better of the two.

Both players have been going at it each other for awhile. In fact, the rivalry may not have even started because of each other, but rather because of a more public rivalry between Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal. When O'Neal joined the Miami Heat, the team became a media spectacle as a result, especially during the nationally televised games between the Heat and Los Angeles Lakers on every Christmas day.

With Bryant playing as hard as possible to defeat his former teammate, Wade could only respond by playing just as hard. When O'Neal moved on to Phoenix, the rivalry's foundation was already laid. We've become to witness to some of the NBA's most memorable and lasting images when these two play each other.

You might just remember that one impossible game-winner by Kobe Bryant over Dwyane Wade? Perhaps you recollect Wade stripping Bryant on a drive and then dishing off to a cutting LeBron James for a dunk to give the Heat a lead late in a game. No matter what image you're going to be left with, you will still have the entire game to remember because of the intense and feverish rivalry between Wade and Bryant.

When these two meet up, they turn from defenders who occasionally gamble on passes to lockdown defenders who won't take their eyes off of their assignment. Dwyane Wade has long wanted to become recognized as the league's top two guards, and Kobe Bryant has been right there every time reminding us why he should still be considered the best.

However, with Wade at 30 and Bryant at 33 years old, we won't have many more opportunities to witness these two go at each other and perform dazzling spectacles that would only occur when they face each other.

A Miami Heat and Los Angeles Lakers NBA Finals has been desired since LeBron James and Chris Bosh teamed up with Wade in South Beach. With the way each team has been playing, we may just be able to get the benefit of potentially watching seven games between two surefire Hall of Fame shooting guards.

LeBron James vs Kevin Durant

For a long time there, we thought LeBron James was going to be recognized as the definitive top small forward in the NBA.

Who would have guessed that some lanky kid who couldn't bench press 185 pounds would become his greatest competition?

That lanky kid was Kevin Durant, and it was only in 2007, when we first heard that he couldn't bench press 185 pounds at the draft combine. He was a phenom during his time at the University of Texas, but his strength came into serious question upon hearing that disturbing news. How would anybody expect Durant to defend guys like LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony when he couldn't even lift the set weight at the draft combine?

Well, Durant went to work. He was benching 315 pounds the last time we heard. Quite the improvement for a 19 year-old who was believed to be nothing more than a great jump-shooter who couldn't hold his own on the defensive end. He's not just holding his own nowadays; he's straight up owning the competition and has emerged into a MVP contender only five years into his career.

Better than Carmelo Anthony? Perhaps. Better than LeBron James? I'm not going that far. Durant may be the league's top offensive player who has become significantly more aggressive this season, but he fails to match the power and quickness of James, as well as the court vision and defensive skillset.

If you're attempting to compare Durant and James, just remember who will be the player that's going to guard the other team's top scorer and will possibly guard all five positions in the same night. You can talk all you want about who's the better scorer and who can close out games, but it will always be the better defender that gets the edge.

It was sort of the story in the Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder's two meetings this year. The Thunder were led by Durant and his 28 points, while James struggled to score 17 points on 18 shots in Oklahoma City's 16-point win. It would barely be a week later that James would take a more hands-on approach to guarding Durant in the two teams' second meeting.

Durant would go for 30 points, but James harassed him into nine turnovers, which proved to be costly in the Heat's five-point victory. In comparison, LeBron finished with 34 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and only two turnovers.

The consensus of NBA fans want Durant to be better than LeBron, and that's what makes this rivalry so electric. This isn't simply about a future MVP attempting to beat out a two-time MVP; this is about the fans watching a budding rivalry and wishing that the upstart kid will defeat the villainous figure that LeBron James has become.

The two worked out all summer over the offseason. They knew each other inside and out. They know where they're comfortable, and they know where they're uncomfortable. You are watching an unstoppable force running into an immovable object every time you see Durant and James go head-to-head.

Anyone still wonder why every NBA fan wants to see the Heat and Thunder in the Finals? It's solely because of this matchup.

Metta World Peace vs James Harden

This is a grudge match that we probably would prefer not to see get heated.

We'd love to see Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade go after each other, but I'm not exactly sure we'd feel the same if Metta World Peace and James Harden approach each other with the same ferocity and intensity as those two. The effects could end up turning just as sour as the last time the Los Angeles Lakers and Oklahoma City Thunder met up.

In case you've been living under a rock or just new to the world (if you are, welcome!), there was a recent incident involving the Thunder's sixth man, James Harden, and Lakers small forward Metta World Peace.

Following a World Peace dunk off a fastbreak, he began to pound his chest while running downcourt. When Harden passed by him a little too close, World Peace continued to pound his chest, but then found himself throwing a vicious elbow into the side of Harden's head. The blow was so intense that it knocked out Harden and gave him a concussion.

World Peace has always been a bit of a hothead. He's had over 10 suspensions in his NBA career, with nine of them along coming during his time with the Indiana Pacers. The most infamous of those suspensions lasted an entire season as a result of instigating the riot that transpired in the Palace at Auburn Hills in 2004. Since then, however, World Peace has maintained a low profile and has become a likable personality.

The moment World Peace's elbow struck Harden's head, he turned back into Ron Artest. It doesn't matter that he's relatively cleaned up his image and toned down the violence and instigating. That elbow he threw into Harden was just as frightening to see than watching Metta run up into the stands and start beating up Detroit Piston fans.

World Peace has constantly denied the elbow had any malicious intent, and Harden hasn't carried any sort of animosity.

What we should be most looking forward to is how a frenzied Oklahoma City crowd responds to seeing World Peace on their court. It's enough of a narrative that World Peace will possibly be matched up against Harden in some instances, but it'll be even more compelling to watch when you see one of the most intense fans in sports chomping at the bit to give World Peace an earful.

Remember LeBron's first visit to Cleveland last year? It'll be like that.

Zach Randolph vs Kendrick Perkins

In the 1993 playoffs, Michael Jordan responded to Cleveland Cavaliers guard Gerald Wilkins that he had been effective at defending him.

Jordan's response was 43 points on 16-of-30 shooting. The moment to come out of that game that once again puts Michael at a higher level than the game of basketball itself came late in the game after a Wilkins foul on a Jordan shot. Michael looked over to the scorers table and said "He can't guard me, he can't guard me."

Why do I bring this up? Because Memphis Grizzlies power forward Zach Randolph did nearly the same exact thing as Jordan by telling his opponent that "he can't stop me" and "he's too slow."

The person Randolph was speaking of was Oklahoma City Thunder center Kendrick Perkins. Randolph made those comments after Perkins downplayed Randolph's game.

Randolph's response was a lot more in-depth than Perkins' response of saying that Zach wasn't the best power forward in the league, which was said by Perkins' teammate, Kevin Durant. Randolph stated in response to Perkins' comments:

"

Perk’s good, but all Perk can do is foul me. That’s the only thing he can do. The best thing about his defense on me is to foul me . . . He can’t (stop Randolph). He’s too slow. He’s a big body. He can foul. I don’t think nobody in the league can stop me. Not only Perk. I tell Perk to his face. I already told him before.

"

Remember that this also occurred during the Grizzlies and Thunder's semifinal series last year. Randolph never had a moment with Perkins during their series, but he did with the individual battle by averaging 23 points and 12 boards per. However, the Grizzlies' improbable run ended in seven games despite Randolph's heroic effort.

When you hear talk like that between two scrappy players whose purpose on the court is to actually create as much as contact as possible with their opponent, you want to see as many matchups as possible between the two. Randolph and Perkins both make up for their lack of athleticism with size and tenacity.

Perkins and Randolph are two old-school players. They don't care about fouls. Their prime objective as big men is to grab rebounds and frustrate opponents, and they both do each of those extremely well. Have those same two players with those mindsets and angry at each other, and you have a matchup that you can't wait to see.

Chris Paul vs Pau Gasol

There are some people out there who bode well with personal contact, and there are others who get extremely irked when being touched.

Chris Paul is one of those people. We found that out near the end of a heated battle between the Los Angeles Lakers and Paul's Los Angeles Clippers. With the Lakers heading to the line to all but close out the game, Pau Gasol placed his hand on top of Paul's head. Paul responded by doing the same thing to Gasol.

The two exchanged words prior to this exchange, however, beforehand. After Gasol was fouled on one end, Paul immediately attempted to strip the ball from Pau after the whistle was already blown to instigate the exchange. The two then walked down court for a few feet, with Kobe Bryant playing peacekeeper, and then Gasol did the unthinkable act of placing his hand of Paul's head.

The two made comments after regarding the incident.

Paul's statement:

"

Don't touch the top of my head like I'm one of your kids. I don't know what his intention was, I don't know if he's got kids, but I'm not one of them. I'll treat him like little Chris.

"

Gasol's statement went as such:

"

I'm sorry he felt that way. I do that all of the time with my teammates. It's OK, it's like if I touch your shoulder or your back. Nothing mean mean about it.

"

What seemed to occur was Pau touching the head of someone who had problems with contact from people he wasn't comfortable with and was already irked that he had to come to terms with losing.

It's absolutely glorious that the Lakers and Clippers now have a rivalry. We've been waiting for decades to see the other team in Los Angeles play some quality basketball, and we've finally received that. The Clippers aren't as good as the Lakers, but they do have Chris Paul, and that will keep them in every game if the two teams face off.

Gasol and Paul won't guard each other. It's probably for the best since that is extremely one-sided. However, they will probably meet each other a few times at the rim, and we'll be able to see how much Paul enjoys receiving heavier contact from the Laker seven-footer.