I have a lot of respect for the San Antonio Spurs but the fact of the matter is the Los Angeles Lakers are well rested, they haven't really been tested in the playoffs (and they won on the road in one of the toughest places to play in the NBA - Utah) and the Spurs, on the other hand, needed 7 games to beat a game Hornets team and as good as they are and for all the experience they have they're also older and they're about to run into a buzz saw that is the Los Angeles Lakers.
Tim Duncan will get his and I have a feeling he may slow down Pau Gasol considerably but at the end of the day the difference in this series will be Kobe Bryant and a Los Angeles lakers team that is just "feelin' it."
Make no doubt about it... this LA Lakers team isn't a team of destiny or anything stupid like that... this is just a really good team that just got put together this year with a bunch of players in their prime or just short of it and unfortunately for the rest of the NBA the LA Lakers are hitting their stride just when the higher echelon teams of the past decade (The Spurs, the Mav's, the Suns, etc.) are beginning to show signs of decline...
It's only fitting that the LA Lakers should have to go through the San Antonio Spurs to embark on what I predict will be a new dynasty in the NBA for the next 3-5 years.
Can you imagine what they'll be like next year when Andrew Bynum comes back?