Kobe, Lakers need a nemesis

By John DeCosta Sports Central Columnist

The Lakers won the NBA Championship series, 4-0, to end the 2001-2002 season. Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal dominated yet another overmatched Eastern Conference opponent. Three consecutive titles, each won more easily than the previous, and the lowest TV ratings in years for an NBA Finals series.

At age 30, it has become apparent that O'Neal, the mammoth, but agile center, will never have a player that will be able to contend with him, at least not until he nears the end of his career. But Bryant, the young, gifted shooting guard, needs a nemesis.

After two lopsided wins over the feeble New Jersey Nets, the Lakers found themselves down by eight in the latter stages of the fourth quarter of Game 3. It appeared as though the Nets were going to be able to take advantage of a poor showing by the champs and avert the humiliation of a sweep. But Kobe Bryant, our superhero, the heir to the Michael Jordan throne, decided it was time to transcend the skills of the average human pro basketball player.

First, he swished a 20-foot jump shot just before the hand of Kenyon Martin was grappled to his face. Then, moments later, he spent a brief instant teasing the mortal backcourt of the Nets, Jason Kidd and Kerry Kittles, by allowing them to almost take the ball from him before clutching it and easing in another jump shot. At that moment, the Nets realized they had no answer to Kobe's powers and the game slipped away.

While the Lakers were making the Nets look like a bad Division III team, "Spiderman" was defeating evildoers in movie theatres throughout the country. The latter had poor ratings, the former a major box office hit. The difference? Spiderman had to contend with the Green Goblin, an almost evenly skilled challenger. Meanwhile, back in Los Angeles, Kobe and the Lakers were at the same point as Spiderman was in the early stages of the movie, challenging villains with ordinary strengths.

If Spiderman were to only contend with the average human criminal throughout the film, there is no question the number of viewers would fall dramatically and be similar to that of the NBA Finals. What Kobe needs is a mean, athletic, trash-talking, clutch-shooting villain.

If Kobe is going to live up to the Michael Jordan comparisons, then he is going to have to experience the same kinds of obstacles. Jordan, our superhero of the '90s, had two shooting guards that played the role of the villain. The first was John Starks, the streak-shooting, hard-nosed defender was the perfect adversary for Jordan in the early '90s. Then, of course, there was Reggie Miller, the crafty, cool-under-pressure performer, served as the ultimate antagonist on Jordan's last three title quests.

Starks and the rest of the New York Knicks were the team that everyone loved to hate. The Knicks displayed a mafia air and featured not only the mischievous Starks, but had hit-men behind every pick in Charles Oakley and Anthony Mason. They were a team that effused toughness and often would take teams psychologically out of their game. They were the most difficult opponent for the Bulls, and a necessary hurdle for the team (and Jordan) to feel any level of accomplishment.

Jordan and Starks would wage war throughout the series, with Jordan winning the majority of the battles. But, Starks would have his moments of glory, the most prominent being his dunk over Jordan in the 1993 Eastern Conference Finals, exposing Jordan as a mere mortal, for at least a moment. As a result, Jordan, in classic superhero fashion, would counter the challenge times ten in disposing of the Knicks on the path to another Finals victory.

Miller and the Pacers were a different brand of opponent than the Knicks. They didn't have the same degree of toughness as the Knicks, nor was their entire team as disliked by fans throughout the country. But their leader, Miller, was one of the most hated players in the league.

Miller had tremendous basketball abilities and the rarest of powers over referees, placing a spell upon them to call "phantom" fouls on opponents, while "mysteriously" missing foul calls against him.

The shining moment of darkness occurred in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals, when Miller blatantly pushed Jordan to the side, permitting Miller to swish a game-winning three-pointer to tie the series. Once again, our hero, Jordan, would prevail against the forces of evil and attain his sixth title.

What immortalized Jordan as much as the six titles and countless MVP awards was the competition he had to face. At this point, Kobe, Shaq, and the rest of the Lakers have not had the individual players nor the rival teams with which to compete. In a time where most NBA players want to be the hero, there is no one to play the villain. Kobe has already staked his claim to the role of superhero. Now we just need someone to step up and be his dreaded nemesis.

Article courtesy of Sports Central.