[TheKid]

Interesting article, I'm sure it's reporter trying to stir something up but it makes you go HMMMMMMM?


Shaq-Kobe controversy still lingers after second title
By Sean Deveney - The Sporting News


PHILADELPHIA--- This time last season, Kobe Bryant was sitting on Ron Harper's lap, smiling, dousing Harper with champagne, dousing himself with champagne. He was slightly tipsy, giddy like a schoolboy.

Fast forward to Friday night, and it was a different Bryant sitting at the podium with the NBA championship trophy (first of all, what was that jacket he had on? Give him four wheels, and he'd be ready for the NASCAR circuit).

This version of Bryant was not exactly giddy. He sat, his cheek crinkled in his hand like a bored kid in Social Studies class, almost annoyed to be there.

Maybe it was being home in Philadelphia, rather than in LA. Maybe it was that 5-for-16 start he had. Maybe he had somewhere else to be. Or maybe it was that question, the one that kept popping up Friday night even as the Lakers wrote the finishing line in Chapter 2 of the Lakers' Big Dynasty Book.

So, uh, all that stuff that happened this season between Kobe and Shaq, is that going to happen again next year? Oh, yes, that's the question Bryant was waiting for, the one that drew the aggravated smile and deep sigh, the one that made his voice tremble as he replied.

"Right now, it's a thing of the past," Bryant says. "Next year, when people see us talking aggressively, it's not gonna be a thing of the past. Someone's gonna blow it out of proportion until we win another championship, and it's gonna happen again.

"It's a cycle. It's gonna happen like that."

Make no mistake, this championship was not quite as sweet for the Lakers. And though they won the second of what could be six or seven championships, the question Bryant is so annoyed with is still a valid one. As long as O'Neal and Bryant are teamed, the Lakers will have an uncomfortable feel about them.

They simply have conflicting personalities, and Bryant bears the brunt of the criticism when things go wrong. In the third quarter, for example, with the Lakers up 11, Bryant lost track of his man, Eric Snow, as Snow cut into the lane and fed Dikembe Mutombo for a dunk. As the team walked off for the ensuing time out, Lakers coach Phil Jackson met Bryant on the court for a loud talking-to.

"The first championship was like a honeymoon," Bryant says. "This time around, we went through so much adversity, so many ups and downs. It feels good to win it. But you have mixed emotions. It's different."

Of course, the Shaq-Kobe personality divide is easily bridged with wins, and whether this team wins or loses consistently next season depends on factors beyond Bryant's control. O'Neal must show for the first half of the season in shape. The other Lakers must show up inspired. That did not happen this year.

"It's tough. You come back from winning a championship, and it's hard not to gloat a little bit and say to yourself, 'Aw, we know what it takes, we're the champs, we've done it already,'" says Lakers guard Brian Shaw. "You have yourself thinking you can flip the switch any time, and that is what we did this season. I'd like to think we won't do that again."

O'Neal admitted his culpability. "Most of the year we messed around, let a lot of teams beat us, let a lot of games slip away," O'Neal says. "But the last 15, 20 games, we just became a great team."

It's a great team that could be great for a long time. Just wish they would be a little happier about it