Image via WikipediaContenders don't faze Kobe Bryant. Past champions don't concern him too much, either. In the world of the man known as the Black Mamba, known as much for his ability to demoralize with enjoyment as for winning titles, any threat to the Los Angeles Lakers' supremacy in the Western Conference is purely a figment of someone's elaborate imagination fueled by ignorant pundits and destined for exposure and humiliation in April, May and June.
But make no mistake, the contenders are coming.
"Luckily, some of us may actually have some say in the matter before it's all said and done," Dallas Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle told me recently. "Hey, if you don't believe you can change things … if you don't believe you can win … if you're not intending to go for it all, then why even bother playing?"
As great and intriguing as this NBA season has been, all indications say the best has yet to come. The Lakers, the reigning two-time defending world champions, may be 24 games above .500 (43-19), winners of five straight and a top-three seed in the West. But there's something to be said about one's aura of invincibility, and in the Lakers' case, they don't have it right now.
http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/columns/story?id=6179119
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