Both New Orleans and San Antonio are playing with confidence after the Hornets knocked the Mavericks out of the postseason in five games, and the Spurs turned the trick by eliminating the Suns in five. This series begins with the match-up at the point as two of the best in all of basketball — New Orleans' Chris Paul and San Antonio's Tony Parker — will go at it. Both Paul and Parker were dominant in the first round and ushered in the new era of point guard excellence in the process by disposing of longtime standards at the position, Jason Kidd of Dallas and Steve Nash of Phoenix.

Two of the best coaches in the business will match wits in this series as well. San Antonio's Gregg Popovich, owner of four NBA titles with the Spurs (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007) and a 96-52 career playoff record, made a huge impact in the first round. Time after time, Popovich effectively gained an advantage for his team by exploiting match-ups and implementing strategy that slowed the pace and took the Suns out of their rhythm. He was undoubtedly the better-prepared coach in the Spurs' first round series with Phoenix. Meanwhile, New Orleans boasts this season's NBA Coach of the Year in Byron Scott, who holds a 29-15 playoff record including two NBA Finals appearances with New Jersey, giving us another match-up to monitor as the series unfolds.

In Round 1, San Antonio showed an innate ability to make big stops and big shots alike when it mattered most. Look for San Antonio to attempt to slow Paul by defending him with shutdown defender Bruce Bowen in the fourth quarter (a strategy the Spurs effectively employed against Steve Nash and Phoenix) and rotate and extend their defense to guard against New Orleans' bevy of long-range shooters. New Orleans will need the 3-point shot to consistently drop and get out and run offensively. Defensively, the Hornets will have to quickly get in position to stop Parker and Ginobili's penetration and keep their hands in the passing lanes when they are sealed. New Orleans' starters match up fairly well with San Antonio, but it's difficult to account for the lack of playoff experience and depth. In that respect, this is a David vs. Goliath match-up, and while it's tough to go against Chris Paul, it is why the Spurs will ultimately win the series and advance to the Western Conference Finals.