Winning on the road is proving to be the most troublesome task this postseason. The Boston Celtics can attest. Coming into the playoffs, the Celtics were pinned as a favorite for the championship. Fast-forward one month and the Celtics, who have yet to win a game on the road, are beginning to look like the underdog in Eastern Conference finals.

Taking a look at the Western Conference finals, the importance of the road is just as present. The Lakers and the Spurs both closed out their semi-final series' on the road. The route for the Lakers may have been a tad easier with it being in game six, but facing the unruly crowd in Utah, the sentiment is the same as San Antonio's game seven win in New Orleans.

There's no doubt that the majority of Lakers fans would have preferred to see New Orleans for the simple reason that they aren't the Spurs, but the schedule is set, and there's no question that it's going to be an all-out war. This series is a battle of the two most fit teams in West, and regardless of the turnout, it's going to be a fun one to watch. This is the series that brought us 0.4 seconds; one of the greatest shots in Lakers' history. Need I say more?

Their last postseason meeting was in 2004 where the Lakers knocked off the Spurs in six games, cruising to a 12 point lead at home one game after Derek Fisher's heroics in game five. The Spurs were the defending champs then, and they're the defending champs now. Will history repeat?

Foremost, I have some news on the Lakers injury beat:

1. The Lakers announced today that center Andrew Bynum will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee this week. The procedure is scheduled for Wednesday in New York and involves cleaning some rough spots and fraying on the underside of his kneecap. It will be performed by Dr. David Altchek. [LA Times]

2. As we know, Trevor Ariza was cleared for full contact last week. Rumors swirled that he was going to suit up for game six in Utah, but that didn't end up happening. He had full involvement in practice yesterday, and according to KLAC AM 570's David Vassegh, he finished off the scrimmage with a reverse dunk. He should be suited up for game one. I would expect either Ira Newble or Chris Mihm to be moved to the inactive list.

3. Kobe has said that his back is 100% with "no lingering effects from the back spasms that plagued him a week ago." [LA Times]

Time for the fun stuff:

The Season series between the Lakers and Spurs is tied 2-2 with both teams protecting their home floor. Since I've made the "post-Gasol acquisition era" a bit of a trend, I'll add that the post-Gasol acquisition era Lakers have faced the Spurs once. You might remember that 21 point win near the end of the season where Kobe dropped 20, Lamar dropped 17 and 14, and Pau dropped 14 and 11.

In the regular season, the Lakers scored 108.6 points per game and allowed 101.3 points per game with an offensive rating at 3rd of 30 and a defensive rating at 5th of 30. The Spurs scored 95.4 points per game and allowed 90.6 points per game with an offensive rating at 15st of 30 and a defensive rating at 13th of 30.

Series Schedule:
Game One
Wednesday - 5/21
Spurs @ Lakers
6:00pm - TNT
Marv Albert and Doug Collins

Game Two
Friday - 5/23
Spurs @ Lakers
6:00pm - TNT
Marv Albert and Doug Collins

Game Three
Sunday - 5/25
Lakers @ Spurs
5:30pm - TNT
Marv Albert and Doug Collins

Game Four
Tuesday - 5/27
Lakers @ Spurs
6:00pm - TNT
Marv Albert and Doug Collins

*Game Five
Thursday - 5/29
Spurs @ Lakers
6:00pm - TNT
Marv Albert and Doug Collins

*Game Six
Saturday - 5/31
Lakers @ Spurs
6:00 - TNT
Marv Albert and Doug Collins

*Game Seven
Monday - 6/2
Spurs @ Lakers
6:00pm - TNT
Marv Albert and Doug Collins

Starting Matchups: (Playoff Averages)
Point Guard
(LAL) Derek Fisher - 6-1, 205 - 11.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.7 APG
(SAS) Tony Parker - 6-2, 180 - 23.6 PPG. 3.5 RPG, 6.2 APG

Shooting Guard
(LAL) Kobe Bryant - 6-6, 220 - 33.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 6.8 APG
(SAS) Michael Finley - 6-7, 225 - 7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.1 APG

Small Forward
(LAL) Vladimir Radmanovic - 6-10, 234 - 8.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.7 APG
(SAS) Bruce Bowen - 6-7, 200 - 5.6 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.5 APG

Power Forward
(LAL) Lamar Odom - 6-10, 230 - 15.6 PPG, 10.67RPG, 3.1 APG
(SAS) Tim Duncan - 6-11, 260 - 19.3 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 2.6 APG

Center
(LAL) Pau Gasol - 7-0, 260 - 20 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 4.5 APG
(SAS) Fabricio Oberto - 6-10, 245 - 3.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.3 APG

All-Time Series Facts - regular season (from game notes):


Lakers vs. San Antonio in Postseason (from game notes):
The Lakers and Spurs have met 10 times in the postseason (1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004) with Los Angeles advancing on seven occasions, most recently 4-2 in the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals after falling behind in that series 0-2. The teams have twice met in the First Round (2-0), five times in the Conference Semifinals (2-3) and three times in the Conference Finals (1982,1983 and 2001,3-0). The Lakers 47 playoff games against the Spurs are the fourth highest total against a single team in the postseason for Los Angeles, trailing only Boston (57), Phoenix (51) and Portland (48). The Lakers are 17-8 against the Spurs at home, 13-9 when visiting San Antonio and 30-17 overall against the Spurs in the postseason.

Staples Center Advantage (from game notes):
Since moving to STAPLES Center prior to the 1999-2000 season, the Lakers have won 82% of their postseason games (48-10). The Lakers have topped the century mark in half of their postseason home games at STAPLES Center (31-of-58) while the opposition has been held under 100 points in all but 16 of those games. In their last 21 home playoff games, the Lakers are 18-3.

Additional Reading:
Playoff Central [Lakers.com]
LA Times Lakers Blog [LA Times Lakers Blog] - Inside info, audio and updates
Game Notes (PDF) [Lakers.com]