No. 2 LOS ANGELES (56-26, 4-1) vs.

No. 3 SAN ANTONIO (57-25, 4-0)

Season series: Lakers won 3-1, all the wins coming during the first 5 1/2 weeks of the season. The Spurs won the final matchup 95-89 on April 4 at Los Angeles.

Storyline: The teams meet in the postseason for the fourth time in five years, both having made major personnel changes since the Spurs beat the Lakers 4-2 a year ago in the second round of the playoffs.

Whom to watch: Gregg Popovich vs. Phil Jackson. Mr. Military vs. Zen Master. Popovich once compared being swept by the Lakers to being in Gen. Custer's shoes; Jackson already has tossed an insult at the Spurs by calling San Antonio a "tourist trap." A guarantee: One will complain about the officiating after Game 1.

X-factor: Robert Horry. The player with a penchant for hitting game-winning 3-pointers was 0-for-15 from behind the arc - including a last-second in-and-out miss to end Game 5 - in last year's Lakers-Spurs series when he played for L.A. He's with San Antonio now.

Little-known fact: The last time one of these two teams did not win an NBA championship was 1998, when Jackson was coaching in Chicago and Kobe Bryant was battling Eddie Jones for playing time.

Prediction: Spurs in 7.

Key matchup Karl Malone vs. Tim

Duncan. Of the four times Duncan has met the Lakers in the playoffs, this is the first time he'll face a player of Malone's caliber. Malone has been the player who makes the Lakers click when he's healthy, and his physical style could frustrate Duncan.