The Clippers and Spurs are two of the deepest and most talented teams in the NBA, so this is going to set up to be an outstanding series. Here are a look at the matchups:

POINT GUARD: Chris Paul is one of the best point guards on the planet and he’s a big game player. Paul played in 7 games (all starts) for the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 38.9 minutes, 20.4 points, 5.7 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 2.7 steals per game.

Tony Parker is also a big time, big game player, so it’s going to be fascinating to watch these two point guards duke it out in this series. Parker played in 4 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 32.8 minutes, 21.0 points, 3.5 rebounds and 6.5 assists per game.

EDGE: EVEN

SHOOTING GUARD: Randy Foye did a solid job for the Clippers after Chauncey Billups went down to injury earlier this year. He played in 7 games (all starts) for the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 26.4 minutes, 7.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. The Clippers are going to need Foye to step up in this series.

Daniel Green came literally out of nowhere this year to earn big time P.T. for the Spurs in 2011-12. Green played in 4 games (all starts) for the Spurs in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 24.5 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.0 rebounds, 1.0 assist and 1.0 blocked shot per game.

EDGE: EVEN

SMALL FORWARD: Caron Butler is a warrior. He is playing with a broken left hand, that only caused him to miss one game. Tale about tough guys. Butler played in 6 games (all starts) for the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 27.0 minutes, 9.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game.

Rookie Kawhi Leonard had a solid first year in the league and he looked solid in the first round of the playoffs. Leonard played in 4 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 20.0 minutes, 7.0 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

EDGE: SLIGHT FOR CLIPPERS

POWER FORWARD: Blake Griffin needs to step up in this series if the Clippers are going to pull the upset. Griffin played in 7 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 35.4 minutes, 18.0 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.1 steals per game.

Boris Diaw started in the first round of the playoffs at power forward. Diaw played in 4 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 24.0 minutes, 5.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He will be at a size disadvantage in this series.

EDGE: HUGE FOR CLIPPERS

CENTER: DeAndre Jordan’s game is defense rebounding. But, he didn’t play too well in the first round of the playoffs. Jordan played in 7 games (all starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 21.6 minutes, 3.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 0.4 rebounds and 2.0 blocked shots per game. The Clippers need Jordan to step up in this series.

Tim Duncan moved to center in the first round of the playoffs for the Spurs and he played well there. Duncan played in 4 games (all starts) for the Spurs last year and he averaged 30.3 minutes, 14.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.8 blocked shots per game.

EDGE: SPURS

BENCH: The Clippers have a very versatile and deep bench. PG/SG Mo Williams is an offensive force off the bench for the Clippers. He played in 7 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 21.4 minutes, 9.7 points, 0.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. SG/SF Nick Young also comes off of the bench shooting the rock. Young played in 7 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 19.3 minutes, 8.1 points, 1.0 rebound and 0.3 assists per game. Kenyon Martin and Reggie Evans provide muscle off the bench for the Clippers. Martin played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Clippers in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 18.4 minutes, 4.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocked shots per game. Reggie Evans played in 7 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 22.3 minutes, 3.3 points, 8.7 rebounds, 0.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Eric Bledsoe has been giving Chris Paul a break here and there. He has played in 7 games (0 starts) so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 13.9 minutes, 5.9 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. Bobby Simmons only played in 1 game in the first round of the playoffs, as he started in place of Caron Butler. He scored 9 points and grabbed 1 rebound in 22 minutes in that game.

Manu Ginobili didn’t have to play much in the first round of the playoffs, but I look for that to change in this round. He played in 4 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 24.8 minutes, 8.5 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game. SG/SF Stephen Jackson is also going to bring instant offense off the bench for the Spurs in this series. Jackson played in 4 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 24.5 minutes, 10.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game. DeJuan Blair will likely get to play more in this series than he did against the Jazz. Blair played in 4 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 11.5 minutes, 5.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. SG/PG Gary Neal also will bring offense off the bench for the Spurs in this game. Neal played in 4 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 13.0 minutes, 8.3 points, 1.3 rebounds and 1.0 assist per game. Power forward Matt Bonner can really shoot for a big man. He played in 4 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 16.0 minutes, 4.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. Center Tiago Splitter is going to help out with some muscle off the bench. Splitter played in 3 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 15.3 minutes, 8.0 points, 3.7 rebounds, 0.3 assists and 1.0 steal per game. Patrick Mills could also help out off the bench. He played in 3 games (0 starts) in the first round of the playoffs and he averaged 5.7 minutes, 3.0 points, 0.3 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game.

EDGE: EVEN

COACHING: 45-year old head coach Vinny Del Negro did a solid job in the first round of the playoffs, getting his Clippers to prevail in 7 hard fought games. Del Negro is 8-11 (42.1%) in the post-season as a NBA head coach.

63-year old head coach Gregg Popovich is one of the better coaches in NBA history. He got his Spurs to make short work of the Jazz in four straight games in the first round of the playoffs. Popovich is now 112-73 (60.5%) in the playoffs in his NBA career and he has led the Spurs to four NBA Championships so far in his career.

PREDICTION: CLIPPERS IN SEVEN GAMES