Monday, June 4 Bryant stops acting his age By Mitch Lawrence Special to ESPN.com Our deepest sympathies go out to you, Eric Snow. You are the unfortunate soul who will have the assignment of trying to stay with Kobe Bryant, starting Wednesday. Kobe has always had the athleticism. Now he has the maturity to go with it. Did you hear what Gregg Popovich said after Bryant and the Lakers used Pop's Spurs to mop the courts at the Alamodome and Staples Center in the Western Conference Finals? "He's not just going up and down the court anymore, playing on talent," Popovich said. "He's using his ability and playing wisely. He knows what time of the game it is, what the situation is and where his teammates are. That takes time to learn. In terms of development, he's really made a big leap." Kind of like starting your jump in L.A. and touching down somewhere around ... New York. Or in Bryant's case, coming down in the land of maturity. In five short weeks, he's all grown up, even if he still hasn't celebrated his 23rd birthday. His development into the best all-around player in the game today is the primary reason the Lakers have made their own leap, from an underachieving regular-season team to a playoff juggernaut with 15-0 in its crosshairs. And the main reason why the Sixers don't stand a chance. Of winning. Perhaps, even one game in the Finals. "I've always held the bar up very high for Kobe and he's not only reached that bar, but he's jumping over the top of it right now," Phil Jackson said. "It's the best that I've seen a player of mine play with an overall court game." You might remember, Eric, that Jackson once coached a player named Michael Jordan. When the Finals start, you'll probably keep hearing those comparisons, too. But let Phil clear up one thing now, before everyone takes the comparisons to the extremes. "I never asked Michael to be a playmaker," Jackson said. "That's the greatest player I ever had, that I could consider the greatest player in the game. Yet I never asked him to be a playmaker in those terms. I asked him to be a playmaker when he was doubled or tripled. Kobe has to set up the offense, read the defense, make others happy and he's doing a great job of it. Kobe has become the floor leader on a basketball team that was looking for that player who can not only be a scorer, but also be a playmaker who can consistently make big plays at critical times. It was very important for Kobe to step into that role he was envisioned at." Just a couple of months ago, there were serious doubts whether Bryant would ever accept such a role. All season, he seemed intent on jacking up shots, winning the scoring title and ticking off Shaquille O'Neal. Back in March, when Jackson was asked whether he could ever get through to Bryant, his response was telling: "Only if he wants to be coached," he said. “ It's amazing the transformation he went through. When he came back and started playing again, Kobe started to get everybody involved. He still picked his spots to get his shots off. But he started penetrating to get somebody else a shot. He wouldn't really do it in the past. Before, he was looking more to score. Now, he's getting the ball to everybody. ” — Robert Horry on Kobe Bryant Over the last 19 games, all Laker wins, Kobe got with the program. In their 11 playoff victories, he's averaged 31.6 points on 49 percent shooting, 7.0 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.6 steals, all in 42 minutes a game. What turned it around? You remember that foot injury late in the season, when Bryant had to sit out nine of 10 games, playing only 11 minutes in the one game he tried to go in? He didn't just sit and watch during his two-week hiatus. As his foot healed, the light went on upstairs. He finally figured out what he needed to be for the Lakers to defend their title. "It's amazing the transformation he went through," L.A.'s Robert Horry said. "When he came back and started playing again, Kobe started to get everybody involved. He still picked his spots to get his shots off. But he started penetrating to get somebody else a shot. He wouldn't really do it in the past. Before, he was looking more to score. Now, he's getting the ball to everybody." Bryant also spent quality time talking to Jerry West, the team's former president who has been a guru to Bryant during his struggles. "I can't say that one meeting was a big turnaround for me personally," Bryant said. "But his support, all his support, kept me from going crazy. It's a wiser man talking to a young guy who wants to be successful." Now that he's playing the all-around game, nobody on the perimeter compares. Not Allen Iverson, Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter. The beauty of it is, Bryant can still get his shot whenever he wants and take command of a game, if the Lakers need it. As he did in the opener of the conference finals. Anytime the Spurs tried to mount a comeback, Bryant personally held them off with key fourth-quarter baskets. "When he took over, it's what Michael always used to do," said Spurs reserve and ex-Bull Steve Kerr. "A team would start to come back and make a run, especially in their home building, and their fans would get behind them, and all of a sudden -- bam! -- he just sucks the air out of the place. That's what Kobe was doing." Now it's your turn, Eric, to see what you can do with No. 8. Hey, it could be worse. You could be trying to stop Shaq. Mitch Lawrence, who covers the NBA for the New York Daily News, writes a regular NBA column for ESPN.com. Send this story to a friend | Most sent stories

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