Can the San Antonio Spurs win their third NBA Championship in five years, or will LeBron James carry the Cleveland Cavaliers to a fairytale upset victory?

Let's have a look at the match-ups of the respective starting fives:

Bruce Bowen v LeBron James

The edge here must go to James. Bowen is a defensive specialist but when he is on song, there is no one in the league that can guard the Cavaliers superstar. James has averaged 27.3 points per game during the season, and if Bowen can hold James to anything less than this, he will have done his job well. Edge: Cavaliers.

Tim Duncan v Drew Gooden

Duncan has been the cornerstone of the Spurs for the past 10 season and has averaged more than 20 points and 10 rebounds this season. Gooden leads his team in rebounds (8.5 per game) and is no slouch, but will have his work cut out stopping the consistent Spurs big man. Edge: Spurs.

Fabricio Oberto v Zydrunas Ilgauskas

This match-up is where the Cavaliers will look to show their superiority. All seven foot, three inches of Ilgauskas be required throughout the series as Spurs coach Gregg Popovich will tag team Oberto with bench players Francisco Elson and Robert Horry. Ilgauskas will work hard against whatever the Spurs throw at him, but he may need to improve on his 11.9 points per game average if the Cavaliers are to cause an upset. Edge: Cavaliers.

Michael Finley v Sasha Pavlovic

Finley has been one of the best acquisitions this season, having come from the Dallas Mavericks at the end of the 2006 season. Although averaging just nine points per game this season, Finley has the ability to hit the big shot in the clutch. Pavlovic will attempt to reduce Finley's output, but may well have his hands full. Clear advantage to the Spurs on this match-up. Edge: Spurs.

Tony Parker v Larry Hughes

Parker has the ability to lift his game when required and is now one of the most consistent players in the game. His average of 18 points per game, and 5.5 assists per game is extremely good and he is just as valuable on the defensive end. Hughes averaged 14.9 points per game throughout the season and he will need to provide the Cavaliers with at least this amount of output as he has been relatively quite so far in the playoffs. Edge: Spurs.

Bench:
Spurs - Popovich has a plethora of options on his bench which he can utilise at any time he wishes, none with as much value as Manu Ginobili. The Argentinean arguably has as much talent as anyone in the league, and has so often sparked the Spurs into action in the past. Brent Barry is one of the best three-point shooters in the league, and 'big shot' Horry has got the Spurs out of jail on more than one occasion.

Cavaliers - The emergence of rookie Daniel Gibson has been the biggest plus for the Cavaliers so far this playoff series. Gibson hit a career high 31 points, including five three-pointers, in the Cavs' game seven victory over the Detroit Pistons in the Eastern Conference finals. Anderson Varejao is another player who can provide Cavaliers coach Mike Brown with some spark off the bench, while Donyell Marshall has an excellent knack of hitting an important three pointer. Edge: Spurs.

Prediction: Spurs 4-2.