Kobe Bryant antagonist Matt Barnes (right) recently signed with the L.A. Lakers. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Kobe Bryant says anyone who is crazy enough to mess with him on the court is crazy enough to play with him.

Two seasons ago, Bryant got into an altercation with Ron Artest – who was with the Houston Rockets at the time – during a playoff game. A year later, Artest signed with the Lakers and became an integral part of the Lakers’ championship run in 2010. Last week, the Lakers signed another Kobe antagonist – Matt Barnes.

Barnes, who played with the Orlando Magic last season, got into a heated battle with Bryant during a regular-season game in Orlando. There were back-and-forth intimidating glares, some words were exchanged and Bryant even shot an elbow at Barnes’ chest as he finished off a dunk. Barnes retaliated by showing the ball right in Bryant’s face on an out-of-bounds play. The two went face-to-face on more than one occasion, and the officials and teammates had to separate them.

Barnes downplayed the whole incident and claimed the encounter was a bit overblown.

“What we went through during the regular season was [something] the media built up,” the seven-year pro said on ESPN’s First Take on Wednesday. “That was just two competitors trying their best not to let their team lose.

“When you’re in the heat of battle sometimes it gets tough down there,” Barnes added. “Either of us wasn’t going to back down, and that’s really what all that was. There was a lot of talking back and forth, there were a few cuss words said.”

It was Barnes who reached out to Bryant this offseason when the opportunity to join the Lakers presented itself. Barnes was close to signing with the Toronto Raptors, but when the deal fell through the Lakers became a viable option for the former UCLA standout and Santa Clara native.

“Once I started thinking about the Lakers that’s where my heart kind of went. It was between them and Miami as my two main choices,” said Barnes, who signed a two-year deal worth about $4 million. “Being from California and going to UCLA, I just thought it would be a great opportunity and a dream come true to play for the Lakers.”

Barnes added: “The Lakers have always been on my radar. Talking to [Lakers GM] Mitch Kupchak, he said he felt the same way.”

Barnes said he grew up idolizing the Magic Johnson, James Worthy, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the Showtime Lakers during the 1980s. He joins a Lakers squad that has won the last two NBA titles. He’ll play backup shooting guard or small forward. The feisty defender and a decent outside shooter should be a welcomed addition to an already talented Lakers roster. The Lakers are Barnes’ eighth NBA team.

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Game 7 is here!

Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles is jumping early, but you can feel the tension in the building. Laker fans are in full force, with a few Celtic fans sprinkled around the arena.

Tons of streaks are on the line, as well as legacies. Game 7 is where star players become legends. This is one of those career-defining moments that would be replayed over and over again. It’s the Lakers against the Celtics. Amazing does happen! A quarter-by-quarter account of Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals:

FIRST QUARTER:

Derek Fisher opens the scoring with a 3-pointer. Lakers are pounding the offensive boards early and Pau Gasol is having his way against Kevin Garnett on the glass, but can’t finish. Gasol also missed two free throws, a clear message that he’s as tight as a low-rise jeans. Lakers have a 9-0 edge on the offensive boards, but are missing a lot of easy shots.

Ron Artest appears to be lost. Phil Jackson may need to buy him a GPS so he can finally re-join the action.

Rajon Rondo gets a couple of easy baskets and Rasheed Wallace is 2-for-3 from the field early. Wallace goes out with four minutes left in the quarter in favor of Big Baby Davis, who immediately contributes with a couple of layups and two free throws.

The opening tip of Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Artest’s inactivity has allowed Paul Pierce to sag on defense and is playing free safety. Lakers appear very tight, while the Celtics are in total sync defensively. The winner of the first quarter has gone on to win each game in the series. Not a good sign for L.A. CELTICS 23, LAKERS 14.

SECOND QUARTER

Despite shooting poorly from the field, Lakers continue to pound the glass and that is what’s keeping them in the game. Kobe Bryant makes a short jumper (he’s 2-for8 from the field thus far) and Artest gets a put-back off an offensive rebound to get the Lakers to within four, 23-19, with 10 minutes left in the quarter.

After Wallace missed a three, Lakers had three chances at 3-pointers but Artest, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic all missed. Bryant re-enters and immediately sets up Gasol for an easy layup. Artest takes the ball out of Ray Allen’s and scores a layup to tie the game, 23-23. Staples crowd finally has something to cheer about.

Celtics are in a serious drought, and haven’t scored in four minutes. Both teams are playing so hard that it is affecting their offense. More bricks than swishes in the first half.

Just saw Ellen Pompeo. Loved her in “Old School.”

Artest finally makes a 3-point shot and he points to the stands. I think he was giving props to his man Boogie. Lakers continue to jack up threes. Not sure why. Memo to the Lakers: If you have an open three, it doesn’t mean you have to take it. There’s a reason why you they’re leaving you open.

Bryant and Gasol are a combined 6-for-26 in the first half. Yikes!

Lamar Odom’s head is somewhere else besides Staples. LO has one more point than his wife Kloe Kardashian. LOL!

Artest and Pierce gets tangled up under the basket and both got double Ts for staring at each other. Brian Scalabrine sighting! Who gave him tickets to the arena? I guess Doc Rivers feels he can’t do any damage in 34 seconds. Lakers shoot a miserable 26% from the field and Pierce got to the free throw line late to give Boston a six-point cushion. CELTICS 40, LAKERS 34.

Halftime.

THIRD QUARTER

Celtics start the half with an alley-oop to Garnett on a feed from Rondo, who is playing a very controlled game. Celtics go up 42-34. Kobe misses a long three. He’s 3-for-15 for the game. Just as I was typing that, Kobe just missed another three. Make that 3-for-16.

Garnett’s 3-point play and Rondo’s floater in the paint gives the Celtics their biggest lead of the game, 47-36, at the 9:45 mark. After a Laker timeout, Bryant misses another jumper (3-for-17!). Rondo follow-up gives Boston a 49-36 lead. Bryant finally ends his drought with a short mid-range jumper to cut the lead to 10.

Celtics have stalled a little bit, allowing the Lakers to make a little run. Artest blows a layup, but Odom follows. His first field goal, cutting the lead to six at 51-45 five minutes remaining in the quarter.

Kobe turns the ball over and his teammates jog back on defense. Pierce hits a three to push Boston’s lead back to nine. Fisher heads to the locker room. Shannon Brown in the ballgame. Lakers had a chance to cut the lead to under five, but Bryant turns the ball over which leads to a Celtic fastbreak. Ray Allen is 1-for-9 from the field. He’s not walking on water in Game 7.

Odom follow up makes it a four-point game with under two minutes left. Odom has provided a nice spark off the bench. Both teams looked gassed. Starters played heavy minutes in that quarter so the benches will play a pivotal role in the fourth quarter. CELTICS 57, LAKERS 53.

FOURTH QUARTER

Gasol posts up Big Baby Davis, gets fouled and hits the shot. Lead down to two. Pierce overdribbles and turns the ball over. The two best players in the series are struggling mightily. Did I say both teams are gassed? Geez. This is like a marathon with both runners stumbling across the finish line. Water break!

Kobe is playing like someone with a 500-pound weight on his shoulders. Everything is a struggle, even with his ball handling. His timing has been off the whole game and he just can’t find a rhythm on offense. Still plenty of time to correct his issues, but as the game wears on that 500-pound weight becomes heavier and heavier by the minute.

Kobe Bryant protects the ball from Paul Pierce (left) and Rasheed Wallace during Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Bryant catches a break when Ray Allen got his arms locked up with Kobe’s shooting arm. Three free throws for Bryant, which could get him going. Kobe hits all three. It’s now a 59-58 ballgame! Artest scores and gets fouled. His 3-point play ties the game, 59-59 with seven minutes left.

Fisher back in the game, which is key because he’s one of the best clutch shooters in the game. Lakers need his offense and leadership down the stretch. Gasol misses two free throws. Lakers are now 13-for-21 on the line. If L.A. ends up losing this game, they can point to the missed free throws as killers.

Fisher on cue! He hits a huge 3-pointer with 6:13 left to tie the game at 64. Rondo misses a shot and Kobe grabs the rebound and gets fouled. This could be a big five-point swing for L.A. I’m exhausted typing up the action. Imagine how those players feel on the court. Lakers role players have done enough to keep the Lakers in the game. Now it’s Bryant’s turn to close the deal.

Bryant’s FTs give the Lakers their first lead since the second quarter, 66-64, then hits a jumper over Ray Allen to give the Lakers a four-point lead. Doc Rivers is sensing this game is slowly slipping away. Timeout Celtics.

Boston’s offense is on a serious gridlock. Pierce is tired. KG is running on fumes. Where are the Celtics going to get some offense? It doesn’t appear C’s have enough left in the tank to finish this game. They are just fouling the Lakers at this point, which is a sign of a very, very tired team.

Lakers are two minutes away from an NBA championship.

Gasol may have just iced the game. He blocks Pierce’s layup on one end and then drops in a shot on the other end to give L.A. a six-point lead with 90 seconds remaining in the NBA season, 76-70. The crowd is sensing a big-time celebration. Cue the riot squad because there is a party about to happen on 11th and Figueroa.

Wallace, Artest and Ray Allen exchange 3-point shots. With under 40 seconds left, Bryant jacks up a three but Gasol gets the rebound (L.A.’s 23rd offensive rebound), feeds Bryant and he gets fouled. Gasol has been huge in the fourth quarter. I think he just elevated himself to first-team All-NBA status. Kobe makes both foul shots to make it 81-76 with 25 seconds left. Artest has been huge in this game. He’s got 20 points and has locked up Pierce on defense. Queensbridge in the house!

Rondo knocks down a miracle three to cut the L.A. lead to two, 81-79. Rondo then knocks the ball out of bounds with 13 seconds left. Vujacic is fouled by Allen. Facing the two biggest FTs of his life, Sasha swishes two HUGE free throws. Somewhere in Phoenix, Goran Dragic is cursing at his TV.

Rondo misses a 3-pointer and Gasol grabs the rebound (his 18th of the game), outlets to Odom and he flings the ball down the court to Kobe, who runs out the clock. As the great Chick Hearn would say: “The game is in the refrigerator. The door is closed, the eggs are cooling, the butter is getting hard and the Jell-O’s jiggling.” Lakers win the NBA title! LAKERS 83, CELTICS 79.

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The L.A. Lakers are a proud basketball team that doesn’t easily back down from challenge – at least the leaders of the team don’t.

So, after losing two of three in Boston, Lakers head coach Phil Jackson and team co-captain Kobe Bryant were in very salty moods. And who can blame them? For the first time in the 2010 NBA postseason, the Lakers trail a best-of-seven series 3-2 and are on the brink of elimination. Bryant and Jackson have had to answer a boatload of questions regarding the team’s shortcomings, but in reality, the Celtics should be given credit for holding serve and now it’s the Lakers’ turn to do the same.

“If you look at it they’ve come home and carried the 3-2 lead back and it’s basically homecourt, homecourt. Now we’re going back to [our] homecourt, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be,” Jackson explained.

When Jackson was asked about the leaky Lakers defense, the Lakers coach pretty much dismissed it and thought L.A. defended well enough to win Game 5.

“If I’m not mistaken they scored 92 points, am I right? We’ll live with that and come back and play that game again, regardless of what they shot,” Jackson said. “They had their run, we know they’re gonna have their run and as I told the players before the game this team is going to shoot well one of these games. They haven’t shot well, yet, on their homecourt so they’re gonna have a game when they shoot well and you’re just going to have hang with them.”

Boston’s defense has gotten much of the credit for putting the Celtics ahead in this series, and Bryant believes the team dominates the hustle board and plays with more efficiency on offense has come out on top.

Kobe Bryant says the Lakers have a challenge ahead of them down 3-2 in the NBA Finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

“They got all the hustle points, got all the loose balls and offensive rebounds down the stretch,” Bryant said. “They just got to every ball. They played with more tenacity than we did, and we have to do a much better job in Game 6.”

Bryant continued: “They do a good job defensively. We normally do a good job moving the ball. We missed a lot of shots. We shot 37 percent, but that’s a testament to their defense as well. To be honest with you, the offensive part of the game kinda comes and goes. I just felt like defensively we weren’t very good at all. We didn’t get any stops. They shot layup, after layup, after layup. Can’t survive when a team shoots 57 percent.”

So, how confident is Bryant that his Lakers can win these next two games at home to win the NBA title?

“Nah, I’m not very confident at all,” Bryant joked, then broke into a wide grin to accentuate his sarcasm.

“We have a challenge, obviously, down 3-2. It is what it is,” Bryant said. “You go home, you got two games at home that you need to win. Pull your boots up and get to work.”

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The only thing standing in the way of Kobe Bryant and winning a fifth NBA championship is the Boston Celtics. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Kobe Bryant wanted to win another NBA title so bad it nearly cost him.

Despite shooting a pathetic 6-for-26 in Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics, Bryant was awarded the Finals MVP trophy as he celebrated his fifth NBA championship.

Is Bryant the greatest Laker of all time? That’s the unavoidable question that everyone seems to be throwing around now that Bryant has just as many championship rings as basketball Hall-of-Famers and Laker legends Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and four more than his idol Jerry West.

Few can argue Johnson’s status as GLE (Greatest Laker Ever). He owns five championship rings, six MVPs (three in the NBA Finals) and made arguably the greatest shot in Lakers history when he swished the junior skyhook against the Celtics in Game 4 of the 1987 Finals.

And, oh by the way, his bronze statue stands on Star Plaza at Staples Center.

Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal and Abdul-Jabbar are three of the best players in NBA history, but because they played for other teams longtime Laker fans – as well as Dr. Buss – consider them as hired guns.

For whatever reason, Kareem has always taken a backseat to Magic. Just look at their positions in the current Lakers hierarchy. Magic is part owner while Kareem is a special assistant. Fair? Probably not. Dr. Buss has always favored Magic over Kareem. Same goes with West over Wilt and Kobe over Shaq.

West and Johnson played their entire careers with the Lakers, and Bryant has a no-trade clause in his big, fat contract so he should finish his career wearing purple and gold.

West has told everyone who would listen that Bryant is, without a doubt, the best player to ever wear the Laker uniform. Kobe is the franchise’s all-time leading scorer, the 2008 regular-season MVP, a two-time Finals MVP and a five-time world champion.

However, there is a dark side to Bryant that has kept him from becoming Mr. Laker. Often times, Bryant can be very pugnacious toward the media, which really hurts his Q rating.

Bryant is a polarizing figure. He is both loved and hated. He may go down in history as the most talented Laker of all time, but his off-the-court persona and his 2004 rape charge still haunt him.

If Bryant had Magic’s personality, he would easily be the most beloved celebrity in Southern California. Right now, he’s stuck somewhere between Vic “The Brick” Jacobs and Kim Kardashian in the likeability rating.

But all of this may soon change now that Bryant has filled one hand with championship rings, and has a very good shot at surpassing Michael Jordan – who many consider as the G.O.A.T. (Greatest Of All Time). It’s all about the rings, and Kobe is far from done.

Bryant certainly solidified his Laker legacy with a Finals victory over the Boston Celtics, the same franchise that broke West’s heart seven times in the Finals and the same franchise that Johnson had to hurdle to cement his legacy.

When Bryant was asked if he needed to defeat the Celtics in order to be considered the greatest Laker of all time, Kobe said “no” at first but then came clean after the Lakers’ 83-79 victory in Game 7.

“I was just lying to you guys,” Bryant admitted. “When you’re in the moment you have to suppress them. Because if you get caught up in the hype of it all you don’t really play your best basketball. But I mean you guys know what a student I am. I know every series that the Lakers have played in. I’m a Laker nut. I know every Celtic series, I know every statistic so it meant the world to me. But I couldn’t focus on that. I had to focus on playing.”

He added, “It was the most physical one. They believed they could beat us, especially after what happened in ‘08. Guys made big shots. It was tough. They weren’t going to beat themselves.”

Of course beating the Celtics meant the world to Bryant. This is a guy who can recite the NBA record book in his sleep and works himself to exhaustion to maintain his status as the No. 1 player in the world.

“It’s not in the front of his mind. It’s about his personality. It’s about winning,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of Bryant’s alleged quest to surpass Magic Johnson or Michael Jordan. “I think in retrospect he’s going to see that at some point.”

When longtime L.A. sportscaster Jim Hill asked Bryant what a fifth ring meant to him personally, Bryant took a shot at a former teammate and a current rival. “I just got one more than Shaq. So you can take that to the bank,” Bryant said with a big smile on his face. “You know how I am. I don’t forget anything.”

A lot of times, Bryant’s comments drip with sarcasm. But his verbal shot at O’Neal was calculated and serious. It was a direct response to O’Neal’s disparaging remarks through a rap song two years ago after Bryant’s Lakers lost in the ‘08 Finals. Like Bryant told the media, he never forgets anything – and he means it. Kobe had more chips on his shoulders than Phil Hellmuth.

Jackson said when he first became the Lakers coach, he received a call from West, the Lakers’ vice president and player personnel director at the time, and West told him that Bryant wished to bump up his scoring average close to 30 points – just like West and Elgin Baylor did for much of their Laker careers – but knew it would be difficult because O’Neal was the focal point of the offense.

“At that time of his career at 21, which was the age Kobe was at that time, he was very concerned about his mortality and how history is going to look at him as a basketball player,” Jackson said. “This time, I don’t think it’s in the back of his mind that he has to catch Magic or he has to catch Michael. He wants to win.”

If Bryant wins a sixth NBA title, it should not only vault him over Magic as the greatest Laker of all time but it should propel him into the Jordan conversation.

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Derek Fisher drives past Kevin Garnett at halfcourt on his way to the basket with under a minute left in the fourth quarter. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Too old, too slow, too limited athletically and too short.

Derek Fisher has heard all the criticism, but the two aspects of his game that never gets questioned are his heart and his toughness, physically and mentally. Fisher, who is listed at 6 feet but is probably closer to 5-10, has such a strong belief in himself it allows him to play big in big moments. That was definitely the case in Game 3 of the 2010 NBA Finals when the 35-year-old Lakers guard – and one of the most highly respected men in the Association – stepped up in the fourth quarter to help the Lakers defeat the Boston Celtics, 91-84, at TD Garden.

L.A. now leads the best-of-seven series 2-1, and since 1985 the team that wins Game 3 after the series was tied 1-1 has won the NBA title 10 out of 10 times.

Fisher scored 11 of his 16 points in the final quarter and was 5-for-7 from the field in the fourth. He was 1-for-5 and had just five points through the first three quarters. He also played exceptional defense on Ray Allen, who torched the Lakers for a Finals record eight 3-pointers in Game 2. But in Game 3, Allen scored just two points and was 0-for-13 from the field and 0-for-8 from behind the arc.

“He’s been criticized quite a bit for his age. It’s a huge thrill for him and for all of us to see him come through in these moments. Truthfully, he’s done it over and over again. It’s his responsibility to our team to do these things,” Kobe Bryant said of Fisher, his longtime teammate and Laker co-captain.

“I went through years where I didn’t have him,” Bryant continued. “I had point guards nowhere near his caliber in leadership and shot-making ability and toughness. It changes things drastically for me personally. Now, I don’t have as much responsibility as I have when we wasn’t there.

“He’s the heart and soul of this team, as simple as that.”

Bryant, who led the Lakers with 29 points in Game 3, also credited Fisher for pulling the team together after the Celtics wiped out a double-digit lead at halftime and trimmed L.A.’s lead to a single point in the fourth quarter.

“Derek is our vocal leader. He’s a guy that pulls everybody together. He’s always giving positive reinforcement, and I’m the opposite. We play off each other extremely well. That’s what he does, that’s what he’s been doing and he has a knack for saying the right thing at the right time,” Bryant said of Fisher, who may be the only guy on the Lakers, other than coach Phil Jackson, who can pull Bryant aside and reel him in when he’s hurting the team.

“He’s the only one I listen to. Everybody else is a bunch of young kids,” Bryant admitted.

When the Lakers’ offense got a little stagnant late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter, Bryant and Fisher decided to go away from the triangle offense and played more side pick-and-rolls to free up Bryant and apply a little more pressure on the Celtics’ defense early in the shot clock.

“We did a lot with Kobe in that third quarter, which really got us in trouble. In the first half, we were much better with our execution and ball movement. It makes it hard for their defense when we’re moving the ball and we’re moving players. In that third quarter, we weren’t getting into our offense fast enough, which left Kobe having to do some things at the end of the clock and that’s not good, ” Fisher explained. “We saw some things we could accomplish by playing a little two-man game between Kobe and myself.

“When Kobe sets a screen his man is gonna be very reluctant to help off of him, so it allows somebody else to get in the interior of their defense. Couple of times I made a pass or two, and a few other times I was able to knock down shots.”

Fisher knocked down five huge shots in the fourth, none bigger than the one he made with under a minute remaining in the game.

With the Lakers ahead 84-80 with 56 seconds left, Ray Allen missed a 3-point shot from the corner and Fisher grabbed the rebound. Instead of holding the ball in the backcourt, Fisher wisely pushed the ball up the court and caught the Celtics napping on defense. Once Fisher got past Kevin Garnett at halfcourt, he noticed that no one was protecting the basket so he drove all the way to the rim on a one-on-four fastbreak, went up against three defenders, got fouled by Glen Davis and banked in a layup with 48 seconds left. His 3-point play made it 97-90 and essentially put the game out of reach.

“We have to do a better job in closing quarters and closing the game,” said Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo. “All five guys out there made a mistake when the score was 84-80, and Fisher made a great play. We didn’t get back in transition. That play won the game.”

That play may have sealed the game for the Lakers, but the Celtics may have lost this game long before Fisher’s layup. Boston got down by as much as 17 points in the first half and struggled to score points because Paul Pierce got into early foul trouble and Allen suffered through the worst shooting night of his playoff career.

Pierce played 33 minutes and finished with 15 points, three below his season average. He made five of 12 shots for the game, but at one point was just 2-for-9.

It was a very tension-filled game in a highly competition NBA Finals between two storied rivals, and an emotional Fisher had to fight back tears when he spoke to ABC’s Doris Burke after the game.

“I love what I do and I love helping my team win,” Fisher said. “Even when things maybe aren’t going the way I’d like them to go for reasons I can’t control, I still pretty much keep my mouth shut and keep doing my job and remain faithful that things will come around when they need to. To come through tonight again for this team, you know, 14 years in after so many great moments it’s always quite surreal and quite humbling to experience it again and do it again. Just like being a kid … you never get tired of that candy.”

Fisher – who is now two victories away from winning his fifth NBA championship ring, the most of any active player in the league besides Kobe – noted that having trust within an organization is the formula to success.

“I was reading a book that talked about companies and businesses that they try to do to keep everybody focused on what the goal is,” Fisher said. “I recently have been reading a lot about trust. And that’s basically what we’ve talked about. Trusting each other, trusting the triangle offense, trusting our coaches, trusting that when you get into foul trouble the guy next to you or behind you can come in and get the job done and that there’s nothing to fear. Just go out there and give everything you have and trust that that will be enough. It was enough tonight, and I’m hopeful that it will be good enough [for Game 4].”

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Ron Artest was at the TD Garden when the Boston Celtics crushed the L.A. Lakers in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals. He went to the Lakers locker room to seek out Kobe Bryant, following the Lakers’ star all the way to the showers.

Artest told Bryant, and anyone else who would listen, that he can help the Lakers win a title and would love to wear the purple and gold. Two years later, Artest will have an opportunity to fulfill his promise.

“This is his chance to shine,” said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who told reporters on Wednesday that he plans to stick Artest on Boston’s Paul Pierce. “We had a tough matchup with Pierce last time we played them in the playoffs. [Artest] is a guy who we know can defend, so we anticipate this as a matchup of interest.”

Ron Artest will be matched up against Paul Pierce in the 2010 NBA Finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Artest is one of two Lakers starters who did not play in the ‘08 Finals, the other being center Andrew Bynum. The Lakers signed the eccentric but gifted forward with the idea that he’ll be the physical defensive stopper that L.A. severely lacked against physical small forwards such as Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Pierce.

The Lakers never had to face Anthony or James in the playoffs, but they are facing Pierce, the 2008 NBA Finals MVP and a player who makes the Celtics a more dynamic team with his ability to create his own shot and get to the free throw line. He averaged 21 points in the ‘08 Finals and has a career 25-point average against the Lakers.

However, in two games against the Lakers during this past regular season and primarily guarded by Artest, Pierce was held to 13 points and shot just 40% from the field.

“Pierce is a tough matchup. He’s very smart, he’s one of the few players that has a long ball, has mid-range game, can get to the basket so, I think, that makes him a tougher cover than most. But Ron’s up for the challenge,” said Kobe Bryant, who also believes the presence of Bynum, despite his ailing knee, will be a factor in the series.

“It helps having him against this Celtics team. They’re a big team, a physical team. I’m excited for him. This is a big challenge for him,” Bryant said of his 7-foot, 280-pound starting center, who averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds in two games against Boston during the regular season.

Bynum and Artest are two defensive layers that discourages Pierce from driving to the basket, making him a one-dimensional player. If Pierce puts up similar numbers in The Finals, the Celtics are going to lose the series because they are not good enough offensively to make up for Pierce’s scoring.

Artest will use his 260-pound frame to uproot Pierce out of his sweet spots. He’ll make him work extra hard for his points and not allow him to camp out on the free throw line where he has made his living for the past 12 years.

“It’s not going to change my mentality. I’m gonna approach the game the way I approach a lot of these games,” Pierce claimed. “Just a scorer’s mentality, being real aggressive. Obviously, I’m playing against one of the top defenders in the game. So, he’s going to make things a little bit more harder, a little bit more physical. You gotta expect that. I mean that’s what Ron Artest is – a guy who tries to get in your head throughout the game, grab on you, pull on you, scratch on you. You gotta expect those things. When I go to a game, playing against him, I expect all those things.”

Though Pierce knows what to expect from Artest, the matchup will still be extremely difficult for him – similar to what transpired in the Cleveland series in which Pierce had to wrestle with LeBron – and the Celtics will need to find their offense somewhere else. But where? Bryant will blanket Rajon Rondo and Pau Gasol should be able to handle Kevin Garnett. The only real matchup advantage for the Celtics is Ray Allen against the smaller Derek Fisher. But at this stage of his career, Allen can’t be counted on to score 30 points every single night.

There is a strong perception around the league that the Lakers are soft team and the way to throw them off their game is push them around. But that was two years ago. The Lakers are no longer pushovers and Artest provides them with an edge, a type of bulldog-type player who embraces ruggedness and doesn’t back down from a challenge.

“Ron is unique. He’s very much an individual,” Jackson said. “As the NBA goes, every player has his own individual personality you have to handle in a different way. Ron is determined, I think he’s dogged and that’s what makes him a great defensive player.”

The Celtics are not the only team in this series who can play in-your-face defense. The Lakers can play that too. Boston’s defense pitted against L.A.’s offense is a stalemate. But L.A.’s defense is much, much better than Boston’s offense. Ultimately, that is the difference in the series.

Prediction: Lakers in 6.

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The Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics met in the 2008 NBA Finals, a series won by Boston in six games. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

When Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times asked Phil Jackson if the memory of the 2008 NBA Finals still lingers, the Lakers coach responded with a sarcastic quip. “I forgot. I have amnesia,” Jackson claimed. “What year was that now? 2-8? Ok.”

Jackson was obviously kidding about not remembering anything from the ‘08 Finals. He certainly hasn’t forgotten the terrible feeling he had when he walked off the TD Garden floor in Game 6 when his Lakers were destroyed by 39 points by the Boston Celtics – the largest margin of victory in a series-clinching game in the playoffs. He certainly hasn’t forgotten how the Celtics big men manhandled his frontline. And he definitely remembers Game 4 when the Lakers wasted a 24-point lead and lost at home.

The 2008 Celtics and the 2004 Detroit Pistons are the only two teams to beat Jackson in the NBA Finals, and the Zen Master – owner of 10 NBA championship rings – admitted that he hates to lose, especially in The Finals.

“There’s nothing worse than to lose in The Finals. It’s about as low as you can get,” said Jackson. “I’ve done it twice now, so I know it’s a real difficult summer after that.”

Just moments after the Lakers defeated the Phoenix Suns in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, all the attention and focus shifted to the much anticipated and very attractive Lakers-Celtics showdown in the 2010 NBA Finals, and Jackson couldn’t resist bringing up an unexpected encounter last summer involving one of Boston’s Fantastic Four.

“After the 2009 Finals, I ran into [Paul] Pierce at a complex where my daughter lives in L.A. I said to him ‘Get it back. I want to meet you in The Finals,’ ” Jackson recalled. “So, here it is. Almost a year later. We have an opportunity to renew this rivalry.”

When it comes to great rivalries in sports, few compare to the Lakers and the Celtics.

The two basketball superpowers have combined to win 32 NBA championships – the Celtics have 17 and the Lakers 15. Boston has reached the league’s ultimate game 21 times while the Lakers have been part of it a record 31 times.

“It’s a matchup that is very easy to talk about,” said Kobe Bryant, whose Lakers are facing the Celtics for the second time in three years in The Finals. “They are a lot of things people can write about. It’s a sexy matchup. So, we’re looking for to the challenge and looking forward to the test.”

The NBA as we know it now was built on the foundation laid down by the great Lakers-Celtics battles in the 1960s with legendary figures such as Red Auerbach, Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor. The league then experienced an astronomical growth in popularity during the 1980s thanks to headliners such as Pat Riley, Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Larry Bird, Kevin McHale and Robert Parish.

If it were not for the Celtics, the Lakers would have 24 world titles and a New York Yankees-like dynasty. The Lakers and Celtics have met 11 times in The Finals with Boston walking away with the trophy on nine occasions. The last meeting came in the 2008 Finals and the Lakers are still seething over how it ended.

For two years, the Lakers have been waiting to get their shot at the Celtics, a team who taught them a lesson in physicality and mental toughness. The Lakers feel their have overcome their deficiencies and they can’t wait to show the hated Celtics how much they have improved from the last time they met in the playoffs.

“We’re looking forward to the challenge,” Bryant said. “The last time we played them it was a great learning experience for us. It taught us what it takes to be a champion, with the defensive intensity that they play with and the tenacity that they play with. We learned a great deal in that series.”

So, did L.A. secretly hoped to play Boston in The Finals because they have a score to settle with the Celtics? “I don’t give a damn who we play. Doesn’t matter to me,” Bryant said. “The challenge is to win a championship, and the Celtics are in the way.”

Bryant may not say it publicly but he is thrilled to be playing the Celtics. He knows he can cement his legacy by conquering the team with a storied history, and he can put more distance between himself and the rest of the field by taking down a Boston team that knocked out Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Dwight Howard in this year’s playoffs.

But it won’t be easy.

The Celtics own one of the league’s top defenses and they have not lost a series since Kevin Garnett came on board on 2007. Boston employs a very physical but cerebral defensive plan. The scheme begins by loading up one side of the court and keeping all the opposing perimeter players away from the paint. Because the Celtics flood the paint the tendency is to shoot 3-pointers, which is exactly what they want you to do and they have the athletes who can close out on shooters.

“We’re playing a different style of ball now,” Bryant said. “We’ve had three series where every single one has been different. Now we’re going into this where the level of physicality and intensity will be at an all-time high. We’re not looking at games in the 115, 110-point range.”

The Lakers are certainly well equipped to handle any style, having faced three different philosophies in their path to the NBA Finals. They played a quick, athletic team in Oklahoma City, a rugged but methodical Utah squad and a high-scoring, loose bunch from Phoenix.

But going from Phoenix’s loose zone defense to Boston’s air-tight man-to-man concept will be a big adjustment for the Lakers, despite their familiarity with the Celtics.

“I don’t know if it’ll be a tough transition, but it’ll definitely be different,” said Lakers co-captain Derek Fisher. “If you really breakdown the Celtics defense, it’s basically a zone defense.”

The great Celtics’ defense vs. the great Lakers’ offense. It’s a match made in basketball heaven.

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Kobe Bryant is all smiles after his Lakers defeated the Suns in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Kobe or LeBron?

It’s a debate that has sounds ridiculous at this point because one of them is sitting at home planning field trips to Chicago, New York and Miami, while the other is making reservations for the NBA Finals.

The more we watch Kobe Bryant, the more we begin to realize that the title of “Best Player in Basketball” clearly belongs to him at this point in time. Sure, LeBron James put together an outstanding 2009-10 season and deserves to be in the MVP debate, but the conversation starts and ends with Bryant.

The bottom line is this: Kobe is simply head and shoulders better than anyone else in the sport. He is the most decorated player in the league in terms of records and accomplishments, he’s without peer when it comes to pure basketball skill, he has an incredible drive, toughness, focus and determination, and no player in the league is more feared at the end of the game than The Black Mamba.

Just ask Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry.

“Every time we got it close, Kobe made an incredible tough shot that is well defended,” said Gentry, whose team lost 4-2 in the Western Conference finals because they simply couldn’t hold Bryant in check.

In six games against the Suns, Bryant averaged 33.7 points and shot 52% from the field and 43% from the 3-point line. And in the series-clinching Game 6, he scored nine points in the final three minutes to fend off a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Suns.

“I’ve always been a big fan of his, and he knows that, and I’ve always thought he’s the best player in basketball,” said Gentry. “He didn’t do anything in this series against us that made me think otherwise. As a matter of fact, it probably solidified my thought process that he’s the best player in basketball right now.”

Better than, dare I say, Michael Jordan?

“Now, I’m not going to get into that. I might work for the Bobcats some day,” Gentry said. “All I’m saying, at this time right now, he’s the best player in basketball. It’s not even close.”

Kobe Bryant gives Suns coach Alvin Gentry a stare after knocking down a fadeaway shot near the Phoenix bench during Game 6 of the Western Conference finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

When you think about it, Bryant has been the best in the league since 2006. That was the year he averaged a mind-boggling 35 points per game and lit up Toronto for 81 points. But, for some reason, voters gave Steve Nash the MVP that year and the following year the same voters gave Dirk Nowitzki the nod.

Bryant finally got the media’s attention in 2008 when he collected his first – and only – league MVP trophy. But the past two seasons, basketball writers have developed such a man crush on LeBron that Bryant has become almost an afterthought and didn’t receive a single first-place vote. Are you kidding me? We’re talking about the reigning Finals MVP and undisputed best closer in the game. He pulled the Lakers out of the jaws of defeat six times during the regular season. Six times!

“Kobe’s so good he makes incredible normal for us,” says Laker teammate Lamar Odom.

After the Suns cut the Lakers lead to three at the 2:19 mark in the fourth quarter of Game 6, Bryant decided to take it upon himself to pull his team out of a tough situation. He got the ball on the wing and buried a jump shot over Grant Hill and Channing Frye to give the Lakers a 101-96 lead with under two minutes left. Then, with 35.2 remaining, Bryant put the game away when he drove past the Suns bench, rose up over Hill and swished a fadeaway shot from about 22 feet to make it 107-100. Ballgame!

“I’m not sure if those are shooters’ shots. Those are scorers’ [shots]. You know, best-player-in-the-game type shots,” Steve Nash said of Bryant’s fourth-quarter baskets with a high degree of difficulty. “He is incredibly skilled and talented, and he’s a great competitor – and clutch. He deserves an incredible amount of praise.”

Bryant finished with a game-high 37 points – his 10th 30-point game in his last 11 playoff games. He now has 75 30-point games in his playoff career, tying him with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Michael Jordan holds the record with 109 30-point games.

“Just had to keep attacking, trying to stay aggressive,” he said. “They had help coming from the weakside, with traps and things like that, and made it difficult for me to get to the basket. So, I just had to create a little bit of space and raise up. It looks like a tougher shot than it actually is. I got a good look, got my legs underneath me and was able to knock it down.”

Gentry got a great view of Bryant’s ridiculous fall-away shot over Hill, who played it about as well as any player could defend it. Unfortunately, Bryant was just too good.

“After I knocked down the shot, I just heard him mutter something like ‘That’s BS!’ Something to that effect. It just made me smile. I just padded them on the butt,” Bryant said of his sideline encounter with Gentry.

“I mean, what can you say about Kobe?” Gentry asked.

“There’s an intense game going on and you almost have to laugh at what he does,” Gentry said while shrugging his shoulders. “I thought we played great defense on him and he just made tough shot, after tough shot. I thought Grant was going to block his shot. You realize that was a fall-away 3-pointer with a hand in your face, off-balance. That’s who he is.”

When asked what he told Bryant as he fell back into the Suns bench after swishing the game-clinching shot over Hill, Gentry said: “I said ‘Good defense’ to Grant and [Kobe] said ‘Not good enough.’ ”

Kobe was just too good.

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Kobe Bryant made sure there wasn’t going to be a Game 7 as he made three clutch shots down the stretch to lead the L.A. Lakers to a 111-103 victory over the Phoenix Suns and clinch the 2010 Western Conference championship.

L.A. will face the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, a matchup of two teams with a combined 32 NBA championship banners. Game 1 of The Finals begin Thursday night in Los Angeles.

Against the Suns in Game 6, the Lakers built a 12-point lead at halftime and led throughout the second half. But backup point guard Goran Dragic led a furious fourth-quarter rally by the Suns in which the home team sliced an 18-point deficit to three points with under three minutes remaining. Dragic ignited the surge when he scored six points in nine seconds, two coming on free throws after Sasha Vujacic was called for a Flagrant 1 foul when he hit Dragic in the chin as the two Slovenians got tangled up in the backcourt.

Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher make their third consecutive trip the NBA Finals, their first trip with Ron Artest as a teammate. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

But when the game got close, the Lakers turned to the best closer in the game – Bryant.

After the Suns cut the lead to 99-96 with 2:19 left, Bryant got the ball on the wing and buried a shot over Grant Hill and Channing Frye to give the Lakers a five-point lead. Then, with 35.2 remaining, Bryant put the game away when he drove past the Suns bench, rose up over Hill and swished a fadeaway shot from about 22 feet to make it 107-100.

“Just had to keep attacking, trying to stay aggressive,” said Kobe Bryant, who scored a game-high 37 points – his ninth 30-point game in his last 10 playoff games.

“They had help coming from the weakside, with traps and things like that, and made it difficult for me to get to the basket. So, I just had to create a little bit of space and raise up,” Bryant said. “I had a good look, it looks like a tougher shot than it actually is. I got a good look, got my legs underneath me and was able to knock it down.”

Suns coach Alvin Gentry got a great view of Bryant’s fall-away shot and thought Hill played it about as well as any player could defend it. Unfortunately, Bryant was just better than any defense the Suns threw at him.

“After I had knocked down a shot, I just heard him mutter something like ‘That’s BS!’ Something to that effect. It just made me smile. I just padded them on the butt,” Bryant said of his sideline encounter with Gentry.

“I mean, what can you say about Kobe?” Gentry asked. “There’s an intense game going on and you almost have to laugh at what he does. I thought we played great defense on him and he just made tough shot, after tough shot.”

Bryant’s got some help offensively from Ron Artest, who carried over his game-winning play from Game 5 to a very solid 10-for-16 shooting night and 25 points in Game 6.

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Kobe Bryant collected the 11th 40-point game of his playoff career in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Suns. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

Despite all the things he has achieved in his soon-to-be Hall-of-Fame basketball career, Kobe Bryant still finds little things to motivate him. It’s what makes him the best player in the Association. It’s the reason why he has four NBA championship rings. It’s the kind of closer mentality that separates him from his peers. Actually, take that back. Kobe Bryant is without peer.

Bryant loves to take on challenges. Kevin Durant pushed him in the first round, and Bryant pushed him out of the playoffs. Utah fans made fun of his L.A. Times photo shoot, and Bryant responded by sending the Jazz home after four games. Now, in the Western Conference finals, Bryant has taken on the challenge posed by the Phoenix Suns and forward Grant Hill.

Hill got a five-page scouting report on Bryant courtesy of his Duke buddy Shane Battier. Well, after Bryant lit up Hill and Suns for 40 points to lead the L.A. Lakers to a convincing 128-107 victory in Game 1, Battier may need to send five more pages to help out his fellow Blue Devil.

Since LeBron James accepted his second consecutive NBA regular season MVP award, Bryant has scored 31, 30, 35, 32 and 40 points and the Lakers have won five in a row. Coincidence? Hardly.

Bryant believes he is still the top dog in the league, and not receiving a single first-place MVP vote burns him to the core. (Are you kidding me, media members? Zero first-place votes for the reigning NBA Finals MVP. Unbelievable!). Now, Kobe is going to take it out on the Suns or whichever team comes out of the East.

“Kobe carried a lot of the offense tonight. I don’t know about [taking it personally], but I would say he shouldered the game,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said of Bryant’s 13-for-23 shooting in Game 1, a game in which the Lakers shot 58% from the field and outscored Phoenix 56-36 in the paint.

“The way he got those points, when he’s in that zone like is tonight there is not a whole lot you can do about it,” Suns coach Alvin Gentry said of Bryant, who scored 21 points in the third quarter and pushed the Lakers to a 14-point lead almost on his own.

“Every time [Kobe] plays he takes it personally,” Gentry added. “That’s his motivation. He understand how important this first game is and I just thought he played at a real, real high level. Since he walked into the league, I’ve never underestimated him. You knew at some stage that he would try to take the game over. That’s what he does. He’s a great player. He is focused on one area and that’s try to win a championship.”

When Kobe was asked if he takes things personally whenever he takes the court, he replied (with a smile): “It’s never personal with me.”

“He’s the best scorer in the league,” Lakers forward Lamar Odom said of Bryant, his teammate of six seasons. “Fadeaways, of course he gets out on the break, playing with his back to the basket, inside, outside, shoots the ball with his left hand when his right hand is broke. Time off was exactly what he needed.”

Given a week off to prepare for the conference finals, Bryant feels healthy and now has a bounce in his step.

“I’ve done a lot of work during the season,” Bryant said. “You see me before games, working on my shooting and just working on different things. Now I feel like I have two legs to play with. I have better balance on my shot, so shots aren’t going short anymore they’re going in. It’s a combination of those two things.”

Though he won’t admit it publicly, Bryant felt completely disrespected with the MVP voting. It was bad enough that his chief rival for the top spot was a runaway winner, but it was compounded by the fact that three media members left him off the All-NBA first team and Durant finished ahead of him.

LeBron may have a case for No. 1, but in no way shape or form that Durant has surpassed Bryant. It’s not even close. Durant led the league in scoring because he was on a team that needed scoring. Bryant could have averaged 30 points during the season if he wanted to, but he’s playing for an NBA title not a scoring title.

And here’s a question for the media who voted for MVP: “How many players had six game-winning shots during the season?”

Not LeBron. Not Durant. Not Dwyane Wade. It’s the guy who is STILL playing in the playoffs and the guy who is about to win his fifth NBA championship ring.

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