Nuggets guard Nick Van Exel pulls up for a jumper against guard Jason Williams.

Our One On One feature this week will deal with a pair of flashy guards who will meet a bunch of times this season in Allen Iverson and Stephon Marbury. Look for this feature on Friday. And, as always, click here to register your comments via e-mail.

Jason Williams Kings Has to run after Steve Francis twice this week. Pretty interesting matchup.	Kenny Anderson Celtics Has to run after Marbury and Tim Hardaway this weekend. Or at least he and Dana Barros have to.	Toni Kukoc Bulls Is the Toni watch on? His play in the next few weeks may interest a team in getting him.	Jimmy Jackson Hawks With J.R. out, now has another chance to take all the shots. Is he worthy?	Nick Van Exel Lakers Think the Lakers game on Thursday doesn't matter to him?

While Malone, as well as graybeards John Stockton and Jeff Hornacek, isn't quite the same player he used to be, he's still pretty good. And while we're at it, same goes with Barkley and teammate Hakeem Olajuwon.

Ewing will not suit up for Wednesday's game, and chances are we won't see him in uniform until 2000. The Knicks, though, don't seem to miss him very much. New York made its run to the NBA Finals last season without Ewing and have shown they can be tough this season as well.

Saturday: New York at Golden State, 10:30 p.m. ET
Latrell, meet P.J. P.J., meet Latrell. Now shake hands. Hey, we said hands!

We shouldn't make fun of the unfortunate incident in which Sprewell's career took a huge turn out of California and the NBA for awhile because there's no way Carlesimo, the Warriors' coach, would appreciate that. But since the Knicks and Warriors didn't get the chance to meet in last year's shortened season, this is the first time Latrell and P.J. have been on a court together.

Sprewell says he'll treat Carlesimo like a professional and be cordial. Wanna bet he also tries to drop 40 on the beleaguered Warriors? And while we're at it, John Starks might also put just a little more effort into this one, as he gets to face his former team.

As for the game and not the sideshow, it's not much of a battle. The Warriors aren't just bad, they're real bad. They're worse than Bulls bad. Maybe the Knicks, in the midst of a Western swing, will be tired, maybe not. But all eyes will be on two individuals.

Sunday: Seattle at Phoenix, 8 p.m. ET
We like the Sonics, and we don't mind admitting it. We also like the Suns. Heck, maybe they aren't the league's top defensive team, but they are fun to watch. And we have these two teams ranked No. 8 and 9 overall in our Power Rankings.

Among the many angles to come from this game would be that two of the best point guards in the league will meet (Gary Payton, Jason Kidd), a few players rejuvenated from last season will play (Vin Baker, Brent Barry, Rodney Rogers, Anfernee Hardaway) and two emerging, high-flying, young forwards will cover each other (Ruben Patterson, Shawn Marion). So we'll focus on the players we think may ultimately hold these teams back instead.

In order to advance through the playoffs, you have to play good defense down low. The centers on these teams, 34-year-old Horace Grant for Seattle and 30-year-old Luc Longley, have been much-maligned in the recent past, but are key players here. Neither the Sonics or Suns need their starting centers to score, but they do need them to rebound and match up against Shaquille O'Neal, David Robinson and Hakeem Olajuwon in the West, especially in the postseason. Can they do that?

Both Grant and Longley have playoff experience, and each has proven to be able to rebound and defend in the post recently. They're not flashy and you won't notice their numbers in the boxscore. But keep an eye on these guys as the season goes along. You can bet fans in Seattle and Phoenix are.