The NBA playoffs. Goons and gentlemen?

Looking at the NBA playoffs, the San Antonio Spurs will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder for the Western Conference championship. The old pros against the young guns. It would appear Okla City will be a power for years to come -- but can the wily vets and arguably the best coach in the game down in Alamo land get it done one more time? Hard to say, but it will likely be a long series, perhaps coming down to the 7th game.

Thing is, neither of those teams is known for getting overly physical, AKA "gooning it up". They both play hard and smart, just in different ways.

Conversely, in the Eastern Conference championship series, the Miami Heat will likely take on the Boston Celtics. Though Lebron James has pretty much stayed above it, his teammate Dwyane Wade has been known to get down and dirty when things aren't going his way, along with a few other guys on the Heat. Sometimes they get caught and sometimes they don't, but they're certainly not above "cheap shots" here and there on the court.

That could get ugly going up against the Celtics. Some have claimed Kevin Garnett, Boston's "big man", is the dirtiest player in the game. His teammates Paul Pierce and Ray Allen aren't exactly considered angels either. Throw in the supporting cast of a proud, tough team, along with their coach, Doc Rivers, no punk himself, and that series could turn out to be a brawl, perhaps literally.

I fully expect the Heat to eventually prevail and move on to the NBA Finals, but chances are they'll get dinged up along the way.

In the meantime the kids and the geezers will be deciding things out west. They'll make just as many incredible plays for the highlight reels as the goons in the East, but in a good way. Like the consummate professionals they are, I wouldn't expect either team to engage in the "dirty" stuff. In other words, play hard, but respect the game and remain gentlemen.

Let's take it a step further. Boston and Miami players talk "smack" on and off the court all the time. You haven't heard anybody from San Antonio or Okla City do that -- ever. They're humble.

One way or the other, the Finals are going to feature the goons against the gentlemen.

I know who I'm going to root for, but still think this is Lebron's year.