San Antonio's Tony Parker and Gregg Popovich may be the NBA's best point guard-coach duo./AP Photo

The debate is finally going to be settled where it should be settled – on the court.

Chris Paul and Tony Parker are considered two of the top five point guards in the NBA along with Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook and Rajon Rondo.

Some say they’re the top two. They’re generals in their own way.

Paul leads and motivates the Los Angeles Clippers with an iron hand, is the mayor of Lob City and closes games with great decision making and precision.

Parker leads and motivates the San Antonio Spurs with flair and creativity, gets to the rim at will and leads an offense that is arguably the most potent in the NBA.

The question is which one will do more to help their team get one step closer to the NBA Finals?

Will that ultimately determine who’s better? No, but people can use the results of this series as a barometer to pick one over the other.

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Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol better be up to the challenge of Kendrick Perkins (5) and Serge Ibaka or else./AP Photo.

Denver pushed them to the brink.

The Los Angeles Lakers needed a Game 7 at home and the return of Metta World Peace to outlast the Nuggets and advance to the Western Conference semifinals.

Up next? Durant. Westbrook. Harden.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have their Big 3 – Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and James Harden - muscle and shot blocking on the inside and depth at power forward and center positions.

What they don’t have is Kobe Bryant, who in his 16th season is still the game’s best closer.

As great as Bryant is, he’ll need help to get past the Thunder.

Paging Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

By the way, watch the elbows World Peace and watch out for them Harden.

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Marc Gasol and the Memphis Grizzlies couldn't come back from a 3-1 series deficit to beat the L.A. Clippers./AP Photo.

Not bad. Not bad.

With the Los Angeles Clipppers beating the Memphis Grizzlies in Game 7 Sunday to advance to the Western Conference semifinals, all the first-round series are complete. I finished 6-2 in predicting the first round.

Eastern Conference

(1) Chicago Bulls vs. (8) Philadelphia 76ers.
Prediction: Bulls in 5
Outcome: Sixers in 6.
What happpened: Derrick Rose got hurt. Joakim Noah got hurt. Bulls didn’t have enough.

(2) Miami Heat vs. (7) New York Knicks
Prediction: Heat in 6
Outcome: Heat in 5
What happened: Knicks not ready as a team to seriously challenge Miami.

(3) Indiana Pacers vs. (6) Orlando Magic
Prediction: Pacers in 5
Outcome: Pacers in 5
What happened: Without Dwight Howard, Magic had no shot to win this series.

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Dwyane Wade and LeBron James (w/headband) are eying an NBA title, but Indiana is doing the same./AP Photo.

It’s just a formality.

The Indiana Pacers will be just a footnote in their storybook championship journey. Just another team the Miami Heat had to beat because they’re going to win it all right?

Right?

They’ve got the game’s best player in LeBron James, who won his third NBA MVP today.

They’ve got the league’s second and third best option in Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, respectively.

And they don’t have to contend with the Chicago Bulls, who lost Derrick Rose to a season-ending injury and their first-round series to the eighth-seeded Philadelphia 76ers in six games.

The road is paved for Miami to take it all. Indiana is just a speed bump in the road right?

Right?

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Up next for Kevin Garnett and the Boston Celtics? An familiar rival. The Philadelphia 76ers./AP Photo.

Whenever these two teams met in the 1980s, it was classic.

Bird vs. Dr. J. McHale vs. Barkley. Moses vs. Parish.

Go back even further to the 1960s. Legends emerged.

Wilt vs. Russell. Havlicek vs. Greer. Jones vs. Walker.

On Saturday, the Sixers and Celtics will renew their rivalry in the Eastern Conference semifinals as the two teams haven’t faced each in the postseason since 2002 when the first round was still a best-of-5 series.

Boston won 3-2.

Who will take this series and likely face Miami in the conference finals?

Go Green.

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Ivan Johnson's first NBA season ended with the Boston Celtics beating the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of the NBA Playoffs, but he'll be remembered for more./AP Photo

Ivan Johnson is out.

So is Mike James. Include Blake Ahearn as well.

The three former Erie BayHawks are on NBA teams that have been eliminated from the playoffs. Last night, the Boston Celtics escaped the Atlanta Hawks, 83-80, to win Game 6 and the series, 4-2.

Johnson has been with the Hawks all season. Not playing in Game 6, Johnson gave a fan the middle finger as he left the TD Garden court in Boston.

There were better ways for him to end the season.  After having a great year with Erie in 2010-11, Johnson, for the most part, took advantage of his first NBA season, but didn’t end it graciously.

Before the Celtics eliminated the Hawks, the Philadelphia 76ers pulled out a miraculous 79-78 win in which Andre Iguodala hit a game winning free throws with 2.2 seconds left.

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If Carmelo Anthony wants to get his New York Knicks past teams like LeBron James and the Miami Heat, he needs help, but he also needs to do his job - lead them to a championship. Can the game's best scorer do it?/AP Photo.

Another season.

Another early playoff exit.

The Miami Heat put the New York Knicks out of their misery by eliminating them in five games to conclude a season that wasn’t going to go far anyway.

How could it?

Added new players. Changed coaches during the season. Lost key guys due to injury.

When the highlight of your season can be capsuled in a single word – Linsanity – the journey wasn’t going to be a long one.

The question now is where to does the affiliate of the Erie BayHawks go from here?

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Rookie power forward Ivan Johnson (44) is averaging five points for the Atlanta Hawks in the NBA Playoffs./AP Photo

Three former Erie BayHawks – PF Ivan Johnson (Atlanta Hawks), PG Blake Ahearn (Utah Jazz) and PG Mike James (Chicago Bulls) – are still flying in the NBA Playoffs.

How long will their teams stay in postseason flight is the question.

The Hawks are tied 1-1 in their best-of-7 series against the Boston Celtics. Had they won Game 2 at home with Boston not having Rajon Rondo, the Hawks would be in good shape to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Boston already the edge in experience and resolve. Now they have home court advantage and Rondo is back from his one-game suspension for bumping a referee. This isn’t looking too good for the Hawks.

As for Johnson he’s averaging five points, five rebounds and a steal in this series, but is shooting just 36.4 percent from the field. Johnson shot 51.3 percent during the regular season.

Game 3 is today at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.

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The Austin Toros came back from a 0-1 deficit to win the 2012 D-League title against the Los Angeles D-Fenders. The Toros won Game 2 and the deciding Game 3 in Los Angeles.

The D-Fenders had the league’s best record followed by the Toros, who were a third seed.

Springfield had the second seed. Expansion Canton beat the Armor in the first round.

The Toros began their championship run with a 2-1 series victory against fifth-seeded Erie. In fact, Austin lost Game 1 of all three of its series only to win the the final two games of each one.

(1). San Antonio Spurs (50-16)

1st round foe: (8) Utah Jazz (36-30)

Biggest concern vs. Jazz: With big boys Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, Utah can cause the Spurs problems in the paint.

Last 10: 10-0 (Won 10)

Strengths: The hottest team in the NBA, the Spurs have great chemistry, Tony Parker is playing at a very high level and they’ve got one of game’s best coaches in Gregg Popovich.

Weaknesses: Still wondering if this regular-season success is a product of the schedule? Are they really as good as they appear to be? What happens if Parker gets in foul trouble early?

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