If the Lakers are going to win an NBA title this season, how appropriate it is that they will have to take out the champs to do it. The Spurs forced their championship will on the youthful Hornets of New Orleans on Monday night winning a road game for the first time in that series. Luckily for them it happened to be the game 7 clincher.

So now the Lakers must battle their toughest foe yet, a bend but don’t break San Antonio team with as much moxie as ever. These Spurs are older, but certainly wiser and its going to take the Lakers’ best shot to take them out. Los Angeles was the better team all season long and look to be the stronger team in the post-season thus far. However, to steal the words right out of Jalen Rose’s mouth, you can’t bet against the Spurs until you actually see them lose.

While a Hornets vs. Lakers match-up would have been fun, pitting the top two MVP vote getters mano e mano, a series against the Spurs is no less intriguing. More boring maybe, but equally dramatic. This is the same Spurs core that Derek Fisher sucker punched with his miracle four tenths of a second shot back in 2004. Roert Horry is set to go against his old team, however minimal his impact these days. These team’s respective histories only add to the anticipation. Adding more spice to the mix is that this series will feature two of the all time greatest floppers, Derek Fisher vs. Manu Ginobili. As Kobe Bryant attempts to fill a large whole in his resume and get the Lakers a title without Shaq, the Spurs challenge is just as harrowing…winning back to back NBA championships.

This is something the Spurs have yet to accomplish despite their 4 titles in the last nine years. Let’s not forget that each of these coaches have something on the line as well. Common belief among NBA experts and the media has Popvich and Jackson as two of the greatest coaches of all time. Even though Jackson has more titles (9) than Pop (4), each can add to that legacy with a series victory that would punch their ticket to another Finals appearance.

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