Forget the challenge of the Los Angeles Lakers entering the playoffs with their starting small forward suspended and pay no mind to their 3-7 record during the regular season against the five teams ahead of them (San Antonio, Oklahoma City, Chicago, Miami and Indiana) in the NBA standings."I expect to win it, absolutely," Bryant told 710 ESPN's "Max & Marcellus Show" on Wednesday. "I think the thing that's our biggest strength is our versatility and our size. (Ramon) Sessions has added another dimension to our team in terms of speed and point guard that can score the ball. Our bench has been playing extremely well. We've been shooting the ball extremely well, and our biggest key is our perimeter shooting, limiting our turnovers, and keeping the game at our pace. If we can do those things in the postseason, I like our chances."The Lakers play their final regular season game on Thursday in Sacramento but already have locked up the No. 3 seed in the Western Conference playoff standings which, as of Wednesday, would pit them against the Denver Nuggets in the first round. There is still a chance the Lakers would play the defending champion Dallas Mavericks in the first round, however. Dallas trails Denver in the standings by just a half game. Source: ESPN
Kobe had the Lakers on his back during many of their playoff runs. If he does it one more time there's not reason to think it couldn't happen again (in spite of his psycho teammate's behavior). As a Suns fan I can't stand him or the Lakers, but the reality is that Bryant is one of the best of all time and if he grabs the bull by the horns his teammates just might respond enough to win it all. All they have to do is win 4 out of 7 games. Go Dallas, but look out for Kobe.
