<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The Lakers' next two home games are as good as it gets: LeBron James on Thursday, Shaquille O'Neal on Monday. If you have the coin not to care about in-demand, out-of-real-world pricing, let me be your guide to a courtside seat: LeBron for about $4,000 or Shaq for about $12,000? If you have the coin, you might not care, but I urge whatever errand boy is reading this column out loud and saving your eyes the strain to tell you the value is definitely in the cheaper ticket. Whereas Monday will be Kobe-Shaq IV, Thursday will be Kobe-LeBron I. Bryant and James have played one full game against each other, that coming last February in Cleveland, and they rarely guarded each other. Bryant also was in his first game back from a severe ankle sprain. Before that, Bryant twice got hurt in the first quarter of games against James and missed the other meeting altogether. The sparkle about this game is that Bryant and James should be matched up individually for the first time. The only thing to stop Thursday night from being the NBA's most must-see TV is if Cleveland coach Mike Brown decides to protect James and shuffle assignments so James doesn't have to guard Bryant amid his chart-topping scoring run. Lakers coach Phil Jackson is prepared to serve James to Bryant in every way, just as Jackson has with Ray Allen and Vince Carter, even though Allen and Carter were spared from guarding Bryant by their coaches. When the excitement was building in Staples Center toward game time Friday with the NBA's leading scorers - Bryant and Allen Iverson - in the house, Jackson pointed instead to the upcoming Kobe-LeBron matchup as the real doozy because they should guard each other. Bryant facing O'Neal has all sorts of additional intrigue on a personal level, but they do not guard each other. (Well, O'Neal can end up guarding Bryant if Jackson again runs a third quarter's worth of pick-and-rolls to exploit O'Neal's perimeter defense. Motivated because it was Bryant with the ball, O'Neal hustled out a few times before getting tired and sinking into the lane. Bryant noticed and opened up a steady stream of free foul-line jumpers as Christmas gifts.) Bryant and Dwyane Wade do guard each other, and as a result, we've seen that fire ablaze. The normally reserved Wade mouthed off to Bryant last season in Miami and flagrantly fouled him this season in Miami. Should Brown, who apprenticed with San Antonio's Gregg Popovich in 2000-03 and thus knows Bryant's potency well, prevent James from guarding Bryant when both are playing small forward in their offenses, that will be a statement on who is the best perimeter player in the NBA today. James worked to refine his defensive slides (and his outside shooting) in the offseason, but there is considerable doubt as to whether James can play elite defense yet. James was the primary defender against Houston's Tracy McGrady on Thursday when McGrady scored 23 first-half points in a home loss for Cleveland. Asked about guarding James, Bryant allowed he'd put in some extra preparation - "I'd better" - but didn't want to hype the individual matchup. As much as Bryant enjoys a controversy-free life these days, you know he can't resist a challenge - and James is his obvious challenger, if not the champion already, in certain ways. James is Nike's glamour boy, with those wonderfully understated characters in his current "The LeBrons" commercial. ("I wanted to get more of my personality to come out," James said.) Bryant will get his chances next month, when his new signature shoe is officially released, along with a Nike clothing line, and Bryant did pass James in the latest announced returns in All-Star balloting, becoming second to Yao Ming. But the only place a rivalry between Bryant and James will be born is on the court. Despite Bryant scoring more, James has better numbers in just about every other category this season, and Cleveland's 20-11 record is way ahead of the Lakers' pace. What James doesn't have is any gold credit - or even a single playoff experience. After a triple-double in Week 3 of the regular season, James said, "I've never been in a playoff game before, but my teammates said this felt like a playoff-level basketball game." James, who referred to Bryant last season as "the greatest player on Earth," does know what he's missing. And in the current ESPN The Magazine, James offered a telling quote about multiple-champion rivals Bryant, O'Neal and Tim Duncan, saying he prefers Bryant above all.</div> Source
Nice article. I'm going to the Lakers-Cavs game on Thursday, and I can't WAIT! I'm so excited, it's going to be such an amazing game. I tried to get tickets for the Heat game, but tickets were just too expensive. LeBron's defense sucks, although he's a good shot blocker. I just hope his extra height and reach doesn't affect Kobe too much. The kid is going to be too busy biting his nails (can't believe he does this during games) while Kobe is scoring left and right on him.
I hope the Lakers do three things Thursday. Win(obviously), Kobe score 40+, and keep Lebron under 20 pts.
I'll tell you one thing, I highly doubt LeBron will get 20 or less, only because the guy is a scorer (#3 in the NBA) But, if Kobe does keep him to under 20, that would really prove how good Kobe's defense is, that would be great to see. Esp considering that comparison SHapeCity showed, it would be very impressive.
It'll be a really good game. I think Kobe will score more than LeBron, and with the way he's been rebounding lately, possibly out-rebound him. I don't think he'll have more assists though. I do think Kobe will top the 40 point mark in this one, I see L.A. winning it by 1 point, also. 97-96.
