Unlike the Eastern Conference, the Western Conference Finals will have the best two teams playing for the title. The Spurs and Thunder are lined up to have a classic series as they match up very well against each other. Here is a look at the matchups in this series:

POINT GUARD: Tony Parker outplayed Chris Paul badly in the last round of the playoffs and he’s going to try to do the same to Russell Westbrook in this series. It won’t be easy for him. Parker has played in 8 games (all starts) so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 35.0 minutes, 19.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 7.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

Russell Westbrook is going to have his hands full with Tony Parker, especially at the defensive end of the court. Westbrook needs to play well in this series if the Thunder are going to move on. Westbrook has played in 9 games (all starts) for the Thunder so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 36.0 minutes, 24.1 points, 4.7 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.9 steals per game.

EDGE: EVEN

SHOOTING GUARD: Daniel Green has been a very solid role player for the Spurs. He has started all 8 games in the playoffs for the Spurs so far and he is averaging 24.8 minutes, 10.4 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game.

Thabo Sefolosha is a defensive stopper, so the Thunder are going to need him to shut down Green when he’s on the court. Sefolosha has started all 9 games for the Thunder so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 18.3 minutes, 3.9 points, 1.9 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.0 steal per game.

EDGE: SLIGHT FOR SPURS

SMALL FORWARD: Rookie Kawhi Leonard is going to have his hands full trying to deal with Kevin Durant in this series. Leonard has played in 8 games (all starts) for the Spurs so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 24.4 minutes, 8.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 0.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game.

Kevin Durant has been outstanding in the playoffs and he is the key to this series for the Thunder. Durant has played in 9 games (all starts) for the Thunder so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 40.7 minutes, 26.7 points, 8.1 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.1 blocked shots per game.

EDGE: GIGANTIC FOR THE THUNDER

POWER FORWARD: Boris Diaw has been the starting power forward for the Spurs so far in the playoffs. He has played in 8 games (all starts) for the Spurs so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 25.0 minutes, 6.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. The Spurs are going to need Diaw to be productive on the court in this series, despite playing a much bigger player in Serge Ibaka.

Serge Ibaka is the Thunder’s enforcer on D. He guards the basket like no other player in the NBA, period. Ibaka has played in 9 games (all starts) for the Thunder so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 28.2 minutes, 9.8 points, 6.1 rebounds, 0.7 assists and 3.7 blocked shots per game.

EDGE: THUNDER

CENTER: Tim Duncan is one of the best players in the history of the NBA. Head coach Gregg Popovich limited Duncan’s workload during the regular season so he would be ready for the playoffs. It’s looks like a master stroke. Duncan has played in 8 games (all starts) so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 32.0 minutes, 17.6 points, 9.0 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.0 steal and 1.9 blocked shots per game.

Kendrick Perkins is on the court to rebound and play D for the Thunder, and he’s good at both of those things. Perkins has played in 9 games (all starts) for the Thunder so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 26.0 minutes, 3.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game.

EDGE: HUGE FOR THE SPURS

BENCH: The Spurs like using a lot of players to keep everyone fresh on the court. I don’t look for that to change much in this series, due to the depth of quality players on the Spurs’ bench. SG Manu Ginobili is the sparkplug off the bench for the Spurs. He has played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Spurs so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 26.3 minutes, 11.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game. SG/PG Gary Neal also comes off the bench shooting the rock. He has played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Spurs so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 14.1 minutes, 8.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Center Tiago Splitter comes in to throw his body around under the basket. Splitter has played in 7 games (0 starts) for the Spurs so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 16.4 minutes, 7.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. SG/SF Stephen Jackson is a rock solid player for the Spurs too. He has played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Spurs so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 19.6 minutes, 5.6 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. PF Matt Bonner brings long range shooting to the court when he comes off the bench. Bonner has played in 8 games (0 starts) for the Spurs so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 13.9 minutes, 3.4 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.6 assists per game. PF/C DeJuan Blair has been lost in the shuffle so far in the playoffs for the Spurs. Blair has played in 6 games (0 starts) for the Spurs so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 8.2 minutes, 3.8 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

SG James Harden is the best player the Thunder have to offer coming off the bench. Harden has played in 9 games (0 starts) so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 30.3 minutes, 17.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.0 steals. He needs to have a good series if the Thunder are going to beat the Spurs in this series. PG/SG Derek Fisher is a money player, and the games are getting bigger. Fisher has played in 9 games (0 starts) in the playoffs and he is averaging 20.8 minutes, 6.0 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. PF Nick Collison will give Serge Ibaka a break when he needs one in this series. Collison has played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Thunder so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 18.4 minutes, 2.9 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. Center Nazr Mohammed will need to step up in this series when Kendrick Perkins needs a break. Mohammed has played in 7 games (0 starts) so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 11.1 minutes, 2.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.1 assists per game. SG Daequan Cook will take some long range shots off the bench. Cook has played in 9 games (0 starts) for the Thunder so far in the playoffs and he is averaging 8.3 minutes, 2.7 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game.

EDGE: SPURS

COACHING: 63-year old Gregg Popovich is one of the best head coaches in NBA history as he has already won 4 NBA Titles so far in his career. He has led the Spurs to an amazing 8-0 record so far in the playoffs. Popovich is now 116-73 (61.4%) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career, and that is downright impressive.

46-year old Scott Brooks has his Thunder playing at a very high level right now. The Thunder are 8-1 (88.9%) in the playoffs so far this year. Brooks is now 19-13 (59.4%) in the playoffs so far in his NBA career.

PREDICTION: THUNDER IN SEVEN GAMES