Spurs vs. Thunder: Point Guard Play Will Determine Series Champion

The Western Conference finals will pit Russell Westbrook and Tony Parker against each other. This matchup will decide the winner of the series.

Westbrook has been a dynamic scorer all season long for the Oklahoma City Thunder. His 23.6 points per game during the regular season is best among all players at his position.

Parker averaged 18.3 points per game to go along with 7.7 assists while leading the San Antonio Spurs to a tie with the Chicago Bulls for the best record in the NBA. Many felt that Parker should have received more MVP consideration than he did, as he finished fifth in the voting with four first-place votes.

When the Thunder and Spurs match up, these two will go head-to-head. 

Westbrook is the younger and more athletic player. At 23, he is one of the league's most explosive leapers and routinely finishes his fearless drives to the rim.

At 30, Parker's game shows more finesse. He too is a nightmare for a opposing defenses when he gets into the lane. The Spurs guard finished 65.7 percent of his shots at the rim, compared to a mark of 61.6 percent for Westbrook.

Parker has been the more efficient overall player this season, shooting 48.0 percent from the floor, while Westbrook made 45.7 percent of his field goals. In addition, Parker has an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.03, which is twice as good as Westbrook's number of 1.52.

However, Parker plays a very different role for his team compared to Westbrook.

The Thunder relied on Westbrook, Kevin Durant and James Harden for 65.5 percent of their points this season. All three players like to attack their defender in isolation or pick-and-roll situations.

In contrast, the Spurs' offense is much more reliant on spacing and ball movement. It runs like a well-oiled machine, and Parker is at the center of everything.

Defensively, Westbrook must stop Parker in order to disrupt the timing of the Spurs' offense. For Parker, he will try to frustrate Westbrook, thereby eliminating a huge chunk of the Thunder's scoring output.

Parker is more important to the Spurs' offense than Westbrook is to the Thunder's offense. This is because Harden and Durant are capable of picking up the slack if Westbrook has an off night, whereas the whole Spurs' offense gets off kilter when Parker is not performing.

In addition, Westbrook is the better defender of the two because of his quickness and athleticism. Due to this, he will affect Parker on offense more than the Spurs' guard will slow him down.

In the end, Westbrook is going to edge out Parker and have the better series. The Thunder point guard's play will be the deciding factor in what is sure to be a fantastic matchup.