LOS ANGELES -- No doubt, LeBron James gets it. He already owned the brain and the brawn for solo greatness, but he now has the ability to spread his killer instinct to folks in his locker room. The same goes for Chauncey Billups, the primary reason why the Denver Nuggets have dribbled this far into an NBA postseason for the first time since the start of the second Reagan Administration.Kobe Bryant?
Not so much.
Actually, it's been not at all, at least compared to James, Billups and others in league history. With every playoff game that the Kobe Lakers fail to display the passion of a champion, you have to question Bryant's ability to inspire. That's why nobody inside Staples Center Tuesday night had a clue about whether the Lakers would open the Western Conference Finals against Denver as that wimpy bunch that struggled against the inferior and injured Houston Rockets or as a replica of their lordly forefathers, ranging from Jerry West to Magic Johnson to Shaquille O'Neal.
If a rivalry between 
Isiah Thomas

Everyone knows that Los Angeles Lakers forward
FanHouse was recently fortunate enough to get some one-on-one time with NBA legend
ESPN is all about making the big splash. And what's bigger than inking 


























