NBA's second round of playoffs should be grand.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: Stephen F. Holder

MIAMI _ Well, the first round sure was fun.

But it was just an appetizer. The second course of this NBA postseason starts Sunday with the conference semifinals, which begin in grand style with the Los Angeles Lakers taking on the San Antonio Spurs.

Still to come are series pitting the Sacramento Kings against the Minnesota Timberwolves, and the Detroit Pistons against the New Jersey Nets. The second Eastern Conference series will be determined once the Heat and New Orleans Hornets conclude their first-round matchup, with the winner meeting the top-seeded Indiana Pacers later this week.

Want the inside track on predicting this year's champion? Then watch the Lakers-Spurs series closely. They have met four times in the past five postseasons, and each clash produced the eventual champion.

This series could wind up being as good or better than the previous ones between these rivals. Both teams have fortified their rosters, and that will only intensify the action.

But this is no Lakers-Kings, a series in which emotions are regularly on display. Lakers-Spurs is serious business, not a made-for-TV soap.